The things that I liked about SketchUp were it's ease of use for quickly knocking together simple models, and the intuitive nature of the tools. IE: you have the wall of a building, and you want to add a window. You draw a rectangle on the wall (and the way SketchUp works, your drawing pencil stays on the wall, just like you'd expect it to) then delete the new rectangle - poof: window. You don't need to "add nodes", "subdivide surfaces", "increase poly count", "triangulate" or any of that malarkey. In other words, it's 3-D software someone who doesn't already know 3-D software could actually use.

True, you can't get a .OBJ file out of the free version - for now. I really see that as a temporary obstacle. In fact, I haven't checked the MAKE: blog yet today - they may already have a solution posted.

A competitor to Hexagon? Probably not. I wouldn't want to model a human head in SketchUp, although I'm sure it's possible. The timing of my original post was just coincidence.

I was tempted to jump on the DAZ-PC bandwagon just to grab Hexagon, but ultimately decided against it. I find myself thinking about how cool it would be to model something a lot more than I actually wind up modelling anything. For years I used trueSpace for modeling, developing a deep attachment to (and loathing for) the program. I too got Shade, and have never used it. Too confusing & klunky, although to be fair part of that was me running it on too small a screen and being too lazy to shimmy up the learning curve. (Good thing I only sprang for the LE version!)

Right now I'm working on learning Wings 3D. I like it VERY much and can't see my modest modelling needs realistically outstripping it any time soon. I've also got Anim8or (which I think is nice) and there's always Blender in case I develop a real case of masochism. So I'll just keep my $30+++ for now.

• Jimdoria  ~@>@