George,
The blast furnace for this model was made by another fellow. He actually used a vacuum cleaner motor to create the furnace, he added valves and piping. In my opinion he captured the image of a blast furnace. You are right about trying to make all the details correct. It is not easy and takes a lot of time. I think one of the biggest things you have to consider is viewing distance and other structures being in the way. Based on this, you can decide where to put in the detailing time.
