"you should have a look at Polytrans ..."

Actually, I have - didn't really care for the interface.  Fortunately, PR/3DXpl  meet my modest needs pretty well. I also have meshlab (http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/) though I haven't tried it yet. Seems to be capable some interesting slicing and diceing, though again, probably beyond my needs/knowledge :-) 

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken