I would run with the challenge idea. I just got into Maya myself. I always ran into issues with it or it frustrated me or I was in a war zone hehehehe so time never let me get started on learning Maya. Now days I have quite a bit of time on my hands and am learning. So other then a huge memory advantage for you sir, I think the challenege would teach me something. Either rate take care and post a pic of your model when you can.