Thank you so much - all of you guys (and girls) are amazing.  Your tips and advice are really appreciated here.  I was a musician for most of my life - but have virtually retired now - and I am really enjoying this world of 3D imaging.  I have been experimenting with wings and thinking of downloading a trial of zbrush to try that approach also.
I am also trying to use metaballs to see what I can come up with there. 
Thank you everyone for the links too - I guess I will try a bit of everything in a sense - and see what fits the best.