Alan, you say you still have a lot to learn about Bryce but it is obvious that you have learned a lot ALREADY! Either that or you apparently have some other advanced modeling skills from other applications. I like your cutaway. Very precise and yet has some nice extra touches that really adds to the appeal (ie, the little pieces of dirt & gravel). I vote for the technique of the two separate renders. That would be the simplest to achieve I would think and in the business world the quicker route is more money in the bank as long as the result is as desired.