Cheers Steve,

The fire is still a bit of a debate atm, but Im sure I actually have a shader somewhere thats very similar to what Im after, I think it may be okay with a bit of a tickle in PS afterwards too.

i know what you mean about it being a crutch - make an environment for environments sake, but I think if I had Vue, i'd take advantage of it for sure, especially with the Xtreme plugin for Maya. Im not exactly ILM here but I tell you I'd give it a bloody good caning to get some quality crap out. Its all swings and roundabouts though at the end of the day. This particular set is going to get a full Zb3 treat, with dis maps. Plus I have a feeling theres going to be lot of matte work and projection cameras....

cheers
Jay