Don't forget about GMax. It's made by discreet (same people that make 3D Studio Max.) It's main focus is on game creation and game modelling. But from what I've heard it's a great little program and the interface is fairly similar to that of Max. Another one you might want to check out is Carrara, it's a pretty powerful little program. But it does lack some things like Nurbs and patches. Still good for the price though! I think around $400 - $600US. Most modelling programs are gonna run you anywhere from $150 - $600 for the "inexpensive" ones :) Jared