You could take a look at Simon le Bon's tutorial on Gothic panels:
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9781&p=62185&hilit=gothic+panels#p62185
Regards,
Bob
"Google SketchUp for Dummies" by Aidan Chopra is an excellent text, and I love his writing style. Also check out his videos on YouTube and the other SketchUp tutorials there. "Google SketchUp for Site Design" by Daniel Tal is also a really helpful book.