I think yes, I'm no expert of 3D things but the guide is based in Brazil renderer and I think you have to use it. But there are other ways of rendering, using the default renderer for example.
The key is to find good materials and a good illumination. I can't help you with that but there must be someone who knows.
Setting up the model is exactly the same wther you have Brazil or not. The only differenct is that any reflections or glass would have to made compatible with either the Defult Scanline renderer or Mentalray, both of which you can find tutorials for on the net.