Back when Blender first came out there was a beginners' guide that you could find pretty easily in bookstores. I'm not sure if they ever updated it but I had planned on sitting down with it when I finally got through the Max Bible.

I ended up tossing it all away though out of discouragement as the PC I had back then could in no way handle those programs like the old PC I have now does. So I mostly ended up with a text book education in 3D but that Blender guide had covered all of Blender inside and out.

I do know that you're not alone as a user and fan. There are tons of Blender users out there on the net and it's good to see so many people paying tribute to a quality design program that's generously offered as a freebee.

Once I get all the info hammered down that I need for Mod Tools I"m going to move back into Silo again but from what I've seen, it was pretty much a bare bones modeler for the modeling and sculpting aspects. If it had other features like stage set ups, hair or a 3D painter, they're all still hidden in a menu I haven't found yet.

I know there's someone here whom mentioned recently that they use Silo mostly so I'm assuming that it's a pretty competent app if you're video card will accept it. 

My card messes up with Metaseqouia which is a shame as I really liked that program.