The best models uploaded to 3DVIA.com during the week of Saturday, 11/29 through Friday 12/05 are highlighted here. This is the 6th weekly post with the purpose of bringing models to your attention that we all may have missed. The definition “best” will change as I find new things to help us all become better modelers and enjoy the site more.

Be sure to visit the previous Top 10 lists: 001 – 002 – 003 – 004 – 005

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!

Be sure to check out the models that received Honorable Mentions too.

Since our users live all over the world, I’m also adding to my comments where each modeler is from. It’s great that language and distance are not barriers when we’re all sharing in 3D! (Modelers may choose not to share where they are from, so some countries of origin will remain a mystery.)

The Top 10:

complete assembly was created by a team of modelers including Aaron Klapheck, Edward Little, Salvador Ordorica and Shervin Davod using a vrml generator. The combination of reality (pc board, battery pack and structural elements) with great color make it a model that I just had to open and explore (besides trying to figure out what it does). (Team entries are not normally permitted, but the entire team was not revealed until after this was originally posted. It is still a great model for us to enjoy, now we just get to congratulate more people for their efforts. Great job team!)

tower1bin is an exceptionally nice architectural model that johnnymasto created using an stl generator (lots of generators around). It is an exceptionally nice architectural model except that it is upside down in 3DVIA, which makes it hard to explore.

Never one to miss an opportunity to point out the use of a valuable 3DVIA Player tool, I found a flat surface (check out the image below) that is on the bottom of the model and after moving the mouse arrow right over the surface, pressed and held down the middle mouse button. That causes everything in the gray circle to show up.

The little blue cone (in the yellow oval) shows where the spot where any of the tools in the gray ring will now focus if I move the mouse arrow over them and release the button. If you move over the tool inside the red oval (the “Repositioning – Set the new model position” tool) and then let go of the button the model will reposition itself so that the surface you selected is now the bottom of the model! Pretty cool!

Now this great model is easy to look at.

If you own the model, you can use the “Save current settings” button, as shown inside the red oval below, to save your changes. Then when anyone else opens the player, your model will display the way you want it to!

BostonDave continues his amazing abilities to find new ways to use 3DVIA Shape with his model Squibbey Road. He’s given the Beatles’ Abbey Road a whole new 3D twist! We don’t know why Ringo got special treatment, rather than Paul, since all of them are barefoot. [ BostonDave is from the US ]

PRODUCT Assembly is one of my favorites! Manufacturing as sculpture. mave used a vrml generator to create this wonderful model. Under all the fancy bits that we sit on and inside of, there is something like this in each of our automobiles. Great job mave!

Matthew Viets (mvcomputers) has been making us all drool with his Cookie Plate. 3ds Max is his modeling tool of choice and he knows how to get his textures to look just right! [ mvcomputers is from the US ]

Omind shows us another example of how textures can make the model. His model, StreetScene1, is quite a simple model as shown in the wireframe view, but with proper application of textures you have to be careful not to bump your nose on the way in to buy some candy! Very nice Omind! [ Omind is from the US ]

Holiday Gift was created by gsmith using 3DVIA Shape and besides helping us get into the holiday spirit, is a good example of using Shape for more complicated items like ribbon bows. Even when we zoom right into the base of the bow, it always looks great! [ gsmith is from the US ]

Michael Petersen (smike, as most of us know him) has an imagination that never quits. The currrent squirrel wars have moved into the skies with his Squirrel Bee Fighter Plane model. Talk about a nasty stinger! We’re all in trouble now. smike uses Google SketchUp to bring his wild thoughts to life. [ smike is from Denmark ]

odile has used 3DVIA Shape to create a virtual art gallery for several of her original pieces. It works particularly well with Tryptique, where the three individual segments can be experienced in 3D space as though one were really in the gallery. Her website ( www.odart.com ) also has a vrml virtual gallery with more of her work. Excellent application of the medium odile! [ odile is from France ]

Garden zen by gaox can provide each of us with a bit of virtual tranquility during our busy web travels. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly…

Due to the continuous challenge of narrowing the number of great models uploaded each week down to just 10, I’ve added a new section to include Honorable Mentions to spotlight another 5 modelers!

Honorable Mentions:

This little red and yellow house by Zeleo using 3DVIA Shape  just plain makes me smile and want to go visit with a plate of cookies.

Cat by Sketchosaurus is a fun model made in Google SketchUp. If you use the Fresnel mapping environment shader it gets wicked glossy – especially the eyes and ears!

casa de seba y andrea 2008 was modeled by andwilgra using 3DVIA Shape and I like the details and the paintings on the wall!

smike does a whole lot more than squirrels. This is his Dornier DO-24 Flying Boat that he made using SketchUp. It’s worth visiting and exploring the model and reading the unique history that smike included – always a plus when modeling something unusual like this.

Intermoda PZV09 was modeled in Shape by xrulox. It’s an interesting 3D representation of what looks like a retail space.

Here’s the stuff that I moved down from the top of the post that gives you idea of what process my odd brain goes through to help me select the “Top 10″ and “Honorable Mentions”:

Variety will be one of the most important factors. I’ll try to show models created using lots of different software products and I’ll include my brief comments on why I chose each model. Creativity, unusual subject matter and humor will also be big factors. We should all have fun and feel free to model our passions!

To be considered, models must be uploaded by the original modeler. Many times I find models that I think will add to the community and will upload them with credit given to the modeler. These and other models that I can’t be reasonably sure who modeled them (for example – commercial models) are a welcome addition to the 3DVIA community, but the goal of the “Top 10″ is to encourage modelers and reward their special creativity.

There will be no reward given beyond 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.

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.

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