Ok, so the pipeline I have going now is creating basic shapes with Mod Tools (was using Metaseqouia but for some reason it doesn't agree with my graphics card very well and although I love GMax it runs out of memory too easily and exporting to obj is a pain in the arse.), then working magic to make those fbx exports into obj files, cleaning those objs in Meshlab, making a UV map in UV mapper and hoping to god they'll port into Sculptris. 

From Sculptris I glue all the parts back together again in Mod Tools (and I still have yet to find a sound manner in which to get them painted other than painstaking texture projection in Mod Tools - if Mod Tools has a painter side to it, someone please point out where to find it in the haystack of menus!).

But I've realized that even though I can get all these parts proportionately subdivided in Mod Tools so that everything jives, when I port in all the objs from Sculptris again they are all heavily smoothed and not as clean to merge together.

I think it would be practical to build all the shapes of the model first and glue them together before taking them to sculptris but I have a seven year old computer and I think if I took the entire model into Sculptris I'd wind up in an eternal hourglass slide show.

Ultimately it would be awesome to be able to get those details on my poly meshes from a poly mesh modeler (like you guys all do) but I have a feeling that's advanced modeling knowledge that is going to take yonks to muster.

So, can anyone see the fall backs of gluing together Sculptris converted parts in a poly mesh modeler other than everything turning out looking He-Man toys?

Is there a more practical way that I'm overlooking?

 I've just discovered that Mod Tools can paint textures in 3D!!!! This resolves some major software hunting and finding. Only problem is, this simplistic procedure, in Mod Tools appears to be for smarty smart peoples whom knowed the smart stuffs only.

My weak and fragile neurotransmitters are all but subdued and clouded over when it comes to drooling at a screen full of nodes to wire and not quite comprehending why I need a weight map or what a 'weight map' is. 

Looks like I'm going to be watching that car door video over and over again. 

 Viewing the tuts some more it's hard to believe that Mod Tools is free. It does a more complex and accurate 3D paint than 3D paint  specific software appears to.

The fun never ends!
Put your glue down and weld your verts (before sculptris). If you can't get metaasequoia working then try wings.

 Wings is my all purpose file converter. ;)

 I love Metasequoia but Metasequoia doesn't love my setup.

You know, I almost fell out of my chair backwards and crapped my pants all silly like last night when I realized that I could use a NURBS curve as a route to guide an extrusion along?

I'm learning all sorts of cool new tricks! =D

 Ah yes, no more crashing and crying in Crack Art. 

No more disappointment for not being allowed to clone textures the old-fashioned way for free in Blacksmith 3D.

No more 'Sorry, your model is much too large for me to even begin to comprehend.' in Tattoo.

All I need now is an Master's degree in Color Science and Sloppy Node Wiring and I'll be rocking it like Pixar!