@marfx..get thee to the Wings tutorials here and find dracs' 'spaceship' tut..and a few others there..Wings is really a lot easier than it looks..even I can get results in it..;)
Never thought of doing this, but it makes sense..another point to make, tho, is for best results in Bryce, set the display to 'edge' (vertex, lines, whateveryoucallit), and select the knurls area and set to 'hard'..and the details will be there when you export the object..just a tip..;)

I wish I'd said that.. The Staircase Wit

anahl nathrak uth vas betude doth yel dyenvey..;)