Starting this month, I am endeavoring to build the F/A-18E Super Hornet completely within Blender. This is a personal project for me as I learn Blender. I have built and animated in Cinema 4D for over 20 years, but it is time for me to move to Blender, and this project is an exciting one for me as I train myself to learn new tools and techniques. 

After obtaining 3D drawings of the Super Hornet and laying them out in Blender, I begin the model by building basic "placeholder" shapes for the different sections of the aircraft

model. This includes the fuselage, wings (including the leading edge extension), engines/inlets, vertical and horizontal stabilizers.

Next, I start tackling the more complex shapes like the engine area aft forming into the squared off inlets. I'm working in symmetry.

I then start to carve the inside areas of the inlet. Everything at this point is very basic and I will make a lot of adjustments to optimize the polygons.

Below, I'm working to shape the fuselage around the nose and canopy all the way back to the engine area. 

Refining the engine inlets as I go, there's lots yet to do.

I needed bulkhead templates to refine the shapes more precisely, so I brought those in as well.

Below, you can see the placement of the bulkhead templates

I applied a material that kind of matches the primer colors of alternating blue/green tones of the Super Hornet when it was still at the factory. Doing so actually helped me observe the complex shapes better

The Super Hornet is coming along nicely. Obviously, there's a long way to go, but I feel confident that this model is coming together well within a new modeling program that I'm still getting used to. I am really loving to learn to work within Blender which I feel has powerful features. There are a few things I wish were a bit easier to do that I did in Cinema 4D, however, I feel that once I memorized the techniques in Blender, I will get faster.

F/A-18E Super Hornet work in progress within Blender