Colonial Fleets - converting from Max to another format.

Nope.

You need someone with 3ds Max to be able to export a MAX file as a .3ds or .DXF file--but even then the conversion is problematic. Expect to spend a lot of time cleaning up the mesh.

Alias's FBX format (a free download) does allow the export from MAX into Kaydara/Alias's "Filmbox" format, but again, you need MAX to start and the conversion--especially if the MAX model is loaded with too many objects and details--can be quite the resource hog.

I don't know much about Polytrans , but it is supposed to be able to convert MAX to other models--but requires MAX to work.

As you can tell, Discreet , the makers of MAX, have made the exportability from their format very difficult.

As far as free or low-cost modelling programs, the best advice that I can give you is to see if you can fit under a student pricing option from one of the mainstream programs. Newtek has one for Lightwave, and I believe that Discreet has one for MAX. Alias has the Maya Personal Learning Edition , which is available as a free download--but produces watermarked renders and has a fairly steep learning curve. Softimage may have one--I couldn't spot it on their website. Electric Image has a 30-day trial, but they got rid of their modeller and chose to go with Silo--they also worked with DVGarage to produce the 3D Toolkit ($99).

3DSMAX also released GMAX , a free modeller--but this seems to be very limited in its render and output formats. It's really designed more for working with different game packs.

There are a few others out there I may have missed--Cinema 4D, Truspace, FormZ, Modo, and more--so there is no lack of choice in CGI Tools.

If you're serious about pursuing CGI as a hobby, I would recommend investing in the full version of a 3D program like MAX or Lightwave. My personal preference is Lightwave, but your's may be different.

Hope this helps.