I have looked at a lot of hard surface sculpting tips, and I have learned a lot with trimming, voxel merging - subtracting and adding. I have tried with multiple tubes and changing the profile of the tubes and trying to merge them together, but it ends up looking really dumb and rubbish. My amateur brain still thinks tubes may still be the path to take.
How would you guys go about it?
Many thanks in advance.
Infinite ways to do it and none is wrong as long as it achieves the desired result, right?
You can use the tube to get the general curvature of the various parts. For me, I would build different Facegroups along the tube and flatten the Facegroups as needed to get the different flat faces.
But then again I don’t do a lot of hard-surface sculpting so I’m sure there’s way better ways.
Thank you!
I will try the face group technique you mentioned!
I would try it far more simple: Tube tool for the basic shape, then use tubes for the separate more detailed ones - and boolean it, with the basic shape - remember symmetry! And than: go to even further more details - if even required…
I’m sure there will come the next with a far better suggestion for this specific one - but I know (as I’m old): my approach is better for at least one of your next projects (although sucks in many others…).
That’s how it is, what makes master! He/she knows when to take which of the hundreds solutions to a specific problem, but avoids the millions to fail… That’s why it is called “art” - and the secret is not to tell anyone: that, after all these years of struggle - still to be not even close to become a master 
This is probably simpler with curve modeling software.
might also be worth triying boolean combining (intersect, subtract) shapes like a large torus, stretched spheres.
