Ok, first real attempts at creating paneling using a subtractive method (on top of the nose). First I tried hand drawing a mesh to Boolean out, but that wasn't very satisfactory. Then I drew a path in Inkscape and used a knife project to cut the surface and extruded in .1m.
The shape on this second attempt is a lot cleaner, but there's a lot of funny buckling on the rest of the surface around the cut that I'm not sure how to clean up. Also, I'm not totally sure how to go about beveling the top of the panels.