so, following an idea i've had in my mind for a while, i went over to the lego website to see how much it would cost to get large sets of composite parts for 3d-design sketching fast in a real environment. while there, i noticed that they actually have this nifty 3d program where you can build virtual lego models and then get a price and package sent for them.
if it's in anyone's interest, the link's here:
http://shop.lego.com/Product/Factory/De ... spx?cn=423
i was amazed by how much functionality they actually put into this, and it's quite enjoyable to use.