Launch any one of the models (including the section of a ship’s bow) with the trebuchet from the future and you may never find where they land! If you’d rather stay in the present and indoors, you can relax, have an ice cream sandwich and enjoy the kitchen or the complete house. The Robot will obey your every command – maybe. You can also save a life with a heart model or build a locomotive. All that’s left is to take a ride in your Aston Martin and make sure that the thug stays in the far, far distance!

The ten best 3D models and one 3DVIA Scene uploaded to 3DVIA.com during the weeks of Saturday, June 18th through Friday, July 1st, 2011 are highlighted here.

(Easy links to all 115 previous Top 10 posts are right after the current week’s models and 3DVIA Scene .)

The Top 10:

Kitchens are where we spend a large part of our time at home and can be a joy to relax in and enjoy the company of others. This beautiful design, Lilian, was modeled  by Asero using Google SketchUp. Pull up a stool and have a snack and a chat.

Oscar (mynameisoscarjo) modeled his incredible Aston Martin V12 Vantage WIP using Blender and a huge amount of creativity and patience.  He has maintained a thread on CGCARS for his Aston Martin (and his other supercars), which gives him feedback from some of the world’s best car modelers. His model is amazing and his renderings help bring it even more to life for us. Fantastic work! [Oscar lives in Sweden]

I can’t say it any better than they can: “Heart In Your Hand (HYH) has designed and produced multiple devices with the participation of leading physicians and engineers who specialize in dealing with disorders of the heart. In addition to the initial library of defects that is offered, many more models are in production. These include but are not limited to devices for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and various other forms of cardiovascular malformation.”

This is an amazing use of 3D models to help save lives! HYH 007 (iPad) – Hypoplastic LV was modeled by hyteam specifically for downloading and viewing on an iPad so that the model can also be accessed wherever they may find themselves. It was uploaded in the OBJ format. [Heart In Your Hand is in the US]

Trebuchet Catapult of the Future by i9Ball is a great concept combining the historic with the futuristic! I bet it could launch a piano for quite a distance! Google SketchUp was the modeling weapon of choice. [i9Ball lives in the US]

Michel_C modeled the Wespi de Meuron House in Brione (architects – Wespi & de Meuron) using Google SketchUp. The model; just like the house, doesn’t appear to have much presence or interest, but when I did a little research I found the house as explored by archdaily.com and it took on a whole new interest. It is a fascinating home built around a very unique theme. Take some time and see if you can find each room. The photos that I used as a guide to my exploration are by Hannes Henz.

I can’t be sure that Robot by dpaquette01 is a good robot – is that a mischievous glint in his “eye”? dpaquette01 used SolidWorks.

Un Rez-de-Chaussée Néo-Haussmanien is a great design modeled by architurn using Google SketchUp. I want to spend some serious time enjoying that sun room!  The model takes a long time to load and is difficult to navigate, so tomy came to the rescue and created this 3DVIA Scene of the home. Now you can go and wander around to your heart’s content. [Architurn, the company, is in France]

When you’re making something this complex it sure helps to have patience and excellent modeling skills. Product1 shows that tankokyang has these virtues in abundance and used CATIA V5 to show it.

You can’t look at Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich by maheshak without getting a smile on your face and an immediate desire to have one right now! He built this yummy model using 3DVIA Shape. [maheshak lives in India]

I love things that move and seeing how things are made, so Layout of the Locomotive by Valiant makes me happy! I can explore the structural elements and learn new things. Valiant used SolidWorks.

Vicolaships did a really scary job modeling Mafia Guy . I would not like to meet this guy anywhere, he just looks mean to the core! Excellent modeling! It was uploaded in OBJ format. [Vicolaships lives in France]

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 Best2009 – 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 – 086 – 087 – 088 – 089 – 090 – 091 – 092 – 093 – 094 – 095 – 096 – 097 – 098 – 099 – 100 – 101 – 102 – 103 – 104 – 105 – 106 – 107 – 108 – 109 – Best of the Best 2010 – 110 – 111 – 112 – 113 – 114 – 115

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.