you may want to check out Wings 3D.
it is an opensource modeler originally based on nendo. but now it is entirely it\'s own program.
it is intuitive and fast. there are not hundreds of menus to search through to find cryptic commands, there are fantastic edge tools, and polygon tools that would put max or maya to shame(not so much 3dsm5 coz they have some new poly tools) and of course, it costs nothing!
something to note however, this is strictly an app for modeling at the moment. BUT it does export to all the major formats. SO! if there is something like animation, or some sort of scripting that you wish to do, then you can always use another program ;)
i always reccomend this program, not just to beginners, to long time experts as well, because the potential increase in your speed is incredible. a simple interface and powerfull tools go a long way :)
wings is always under development, and the creator is always on the boards, taking suggestions and keeping people up on what is happening.
for a while, i was using wings for all my planeshift models, and then using maya to do the UV mapping.
recently, wings made some changes to their UV tools (which are still a very early version, they will be much more powerfull in 1.0) and now i do all my planeshift work within wings. well... not textures ;) i use photoshop for that ;)
if you wish to see some of the work i have done in wings, here it is :)
http://www.vftf.com/wings/troll1.jpghttp://www.vftf.com/wings/chani/girl7.jpghttp://www.vftf.com/wings/fairy/fairy2.jpgthese are just a couple examples, there are more here.
http://www.vftf.com/wings/i also have all the models for anyone to download here.
http://www.vftf.com/wings/models/almost forgot a link to the site!
http://www.wings3d.com