thanks for the input

I'm going to give the weld group thing a try, sounds like it could help, thanks TetsuTora, got ask you about your lighting technique as well

hmm, not sure if I've tried to weld on import, worth a try also

was hoping I wouldn't have to mess directly with modifying polys, etc, but perhaps it gives you a lot more control

once you know you way around does it take long to do such edits? like changing geometry, uv maps, adding textures, sounds like hours of work?