The ten best 3D models and one exceptional 3DVIA Experience uploaded to 3DVIA.com during the week of Saturday, August 14th through Friday, August 20th, 2010 are highlighted here. Sorry for the delay in getting this week’s Top 10 into your eyeballs. Being sick and some bizarre technical glitches have made things almost as interesting as the models themselves. But the models and their modelers always shine through any problems! Enjoy the variety!

(Easy links to all 85 previous Top 10 posts are right after the current week’s models and Scene.)

The Top 10:

I think that BG3 by Lionel (lionelnicolas) is a gorgeous bracelet, but I could be wrong about the bracelet part. It is definitely gorgeous! Solidworks was used to model this beauty.

Empresa by aoribe was built using 3DVIA Composer and provides an incredibly useful tool for planning new or changing needs within the building. [aoribe lives in Chile]

Leave it to Alfred (alfredix) to make Patriot OE-349 Antenna Mast Group both interesting and incredibly detailed. Take a closer look at those winch arms and then go read the comments on the model to realize the level of modeling that Alfred goes to. He uses Pro/E and then translates into STEP format for upload. [Alfred lives in Germany]

DELMIA Virtual Plant Tractor is a great showcase put together by DELMIA using 3DVIA Scenes. With a soundtrack and the ability to walk all around and up to the mezzanine, it is easier to understand the plant layout and to make the inevitable changes too!

It’s been too serious around here lately, so I’m livening it up with Interesting Dinosaur in Drumheller by Tomy. What a great job to distill a true-to-life landmark into such a fun 3DVIA Shape model. [Tomy lives in Canada]

Michael (smike) has blown me away with his stupendous MI24 35 PN Production Version. He basically took a few months off and reinvented the way he models! His research is impeccable and he taught himself new skills to make his own textures! Take a look at his presentation and read the comments to get the whole story. Google SketchUp has rarely been used so well. [Michael lives in Denmark]

Time for some more fun! Escorpion by jstalbain would make a great toy with the right joints for some good scary action. 3DVIA Shape was used to create the model. [jstalbain lives in Mexico]

M1A1 Abrams by manx and the following model show two totally different approaches to modeling a similar subject. Manx has kept his poly count low and used his textures to make it believable. Great job and a very small file size.

On the other hand, Tank by Kreator01, uses geometry to rule the detail end of things without any textures added yet. Both are valid methods of modeling when chosen for the right reason. In gaming you have to keep it light. For demonstration and definition, then the detail better be there. Both have been well-modeled.

Nikola (zenox) provided his own renderings in his 3DVIA model gallery for his Audi A1 Project. It’s a hot little rocket that he did a super job modeling in Blender! [Nikola lives in Serbia & Montenegro]

I included Full Montaj by ufuk because it is a fairly complicated and nicely detailed industrial installation. It was modeled using SolidWorks.

Just so everyone knows, the order that the Top 10 are displayed is based on color, type of model and how I’m feeling, not any particular ranking. I just rearrange them until I like the way it looks. It’s as simple as that!

Easy links to the previous Top 10 lists: 001 – 002 – 003 – 004 – 005 – 006 – 007 – 008 – 009 – 010 – 011 - 012 – 013 – 014 – 015 – 016 – 017 -018 - 019 – 020 – 021 – 022 – 023 – 024 – 025 – 026 – 027 – 028 – 029 – 030 – 031 – 032 – 033 – 034 – 035 – 036 – 037 – 038 – 039 – 040 – 041 – 042 – 043 – 044 – 045 – 046 – 047 – 048 – 049 – 050 – 051 – 052 – 053 – 054 (seven weeks in one) – 055 – 056 – 057 – 058 – 059 – 060 – Best of the Best 2009 – 061 – 062 – 063 - 064 – 065 – 066 – 067 – 068 – 069 – 070 – 071 – 072 – 073 – 074 – 075 – 076 – 077 – 078 – 079 – 080 – 081 – 082 – 083 – 084 – 085

Here’s a brief recap of what I look for when I select the Top 10:

Variety – One of the most important factors. I try to show models created using lots of different software products and showing lots of different ways of using 3D. I include brief comments on why I chose each model.

Creativity, unusual subject matter and humor – These are big factors. We should all be having fun and feel free to model our passions!

Models entered in the 3DVIA Challenge contests will not be considered – They’re already getting plenty of attention and I want to spotlight models we may have missed.

There is no reward given – Other than the satisfaction of being noticed, spotlighted and being brought to the attention of more modelers. In my personal experience, the pleasure of having my work appreciated is the ultimate reward anyway.

From time to time I will make mistakes and not follow my own rules – I will review these mistakes on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes I will change the post and sometimes I won’t. I will be consistently inconsistent. I am human.

Your comments are always welcomed and encouraged! Your responses will help the modelers and the 3DVIA community as a whole. Feel free to bring other models to my attention and let me know why they attracted you.

(PLEASE NOTE: In order to make it easier to explore, all photos are linked directly to the model’s page.)

One final note of caution: these are my choices (dswavely) and my choices alone. So, aim the tomatoes appropriately.