Need a little help modeling

[Badot]

First and foremost I apologize if this is covered somewhere else, however I could not find it.

I wanted to try doing some models for the game -- I've already modified the stock parts .cfg files and textures to give myself a little more selection, so I wanted to take it a step further. I had a few problems though.

With both 3DSMax 2010 and the OpenCOLLADA plugin for it, whenever I try and import a vanilla model it crashes. If I save an object I've made and import it, it's fine. I've never used COLLADA before. As a side note, for those who model, which would you say the best program for modeling in this game is? Preferably something simpler and/or free if it's not 3DS.

Whenever I export to a DAE or OBJ file, set the .cfg file and load the game, the part appears on the left side of the loading screen after a bit and the game doesn't get any farther. Yes, I've red the guidelines for modeling on the wiki.

I've tried using the SDK tool provided, however when I highlight the part folder (such as fuelTank), the select button is greyed out.

I seem to be out of any way to figure out what's going on without help, so any tips on what I'm doing wrong/how to do it would be greatly appreciated.

[Badot]

Got it... except for importing models now... OpenCOLLADA seemed to be breaking stuff, and there were a few little stupid mistakes I made.