For those guys who are developing Shapeways models, what program do you prefer? I'd like something to model, for instance, the Gunstar and Deck Fighter from The Last Starfighter and already have some nice models to work from, but I'd like to have them printed at Shapeways and I don't think the program I use will work for the purpose.

If it can save as an STL it can be uploaded at Shapes.

Metasequoia can't save in STL, which is why I'm in the market for a new modeling program. Meta is free and I love it for making papercraft models, but I'd like to make a few that are more permanent, especially of my own custom starship designs.

Wings 3d is what i use. It is also free. And while it isnt as advanced as some programs with a bit of practice it can be used to make some nice ships. My biggest issue with the program, and it isnt a big one, is the grid marked in inches instead of mm which makes it a bit of a pain for some detailing. But it is easy enough to make a 1 inch ruler and divide it by 25 which i know isnt exact but the extra .4mm gives a bit of breathing space so to speak since the minimum thicknesses on the better modelling materials is between .3 and .7mm

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look at Wings 3D . . .

When I was working on models a couple of years back I was using Blender. It's not the most intuitive program but it's quite powerful, and does work in mm.

I never could get the hang of blender. i know people who swear by it, but it just didnt fit me modelling style i guess

I never could get the hang of blender. i know people who swear by it, but it just didnt fit me modelling style i guess

The problem was it was an industrial program designed for in house work. So it is designed with things like minimizing RSI for people that work on it 8 hours a day 5 days a week rather than being designed intuitively.

I never could get the hang of blender. i know people who swear by it, but it just didnt fit me modelling style i guess

I used the horror that is Blender for a bit, but my head never could get to liking it.

Let us know what you end up working on MF.

There is a blender before and after though. At some point - not sure which version - they switched to a far more conventional and more intuitive gui, which made it far easier to start using it. I did like the old versions interface, but it took time to get used to, and to do everything by shortcut. Unfortunately I used the program sporadic, meaning I had to relearn it over and over, which is why I never really started using it. I also have access to Cinema 4D, which is also a program shapeway supports and has a tutorial for as well:

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/440-modeling-in-cinema-4d-for-shapeways.html?%2Farchives%2F440-modeling-in-cinema-4d-for-shapeways_html=

Cinema 4D is not free though..