I assume that roBOT's workflow was as follows: model and subdiv all hardsurface parts in max; bring that stuff into zbrush, apply unified skin and reproject the details; sculpt; decimate; and pop the final mesh back into max. I might be wrong here of course; if that's the case I would love to hear about the workflow too…
Still messing around ... Friend of mine introduced me to Hypershot, and it's been mentioned on that Gnomon DVD about robot kitbashing too. Giving it a try!