Hy, i don’t know if this will be useful for someone, but here are some links to 3d related programs which are free or free for non-commercial use or cheap 
3d-modeler:
modo production evaluation:
(same version as the commercial version, but commercial-use is not allowed)
info: http://www.luxology.com/modo/
download: http://www.luxology.com/modo/eval/
wings 3d:
(free)
info: http://www.wings3d.com/
hexaGreat 3d:
(free)
info: http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?t=228991
download: 六角大王
silo:
(109 $)
info: http://nevercenter.com/silo/
3d-modeler & animation:
fragMotion:
(15 $)
info: http://fragmosoft.com/
milkShape 3d:
(25 $)
info: http://www.milkshape3d.com/
gMax:
(???)
info: http://www4.discreet.com/gmax/
animation:
motionBuilder 6 ple:
(same version as the commercial version, but commercial-use is not allowed)
info: http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/motionbuilder
download: http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/motionbuilder/motionbuilder_ple/index.jhtml
characterFX:
(15 $)
info: http://www.insanesoftware.de/
uv revealing tool:
ultimate unwrap 3d:
(50 $)
info: http://www.unwrap3d.com/index.aspx
uvMapper professional:
(60 $)
info: UVMapper - UV Mapping Software
unfold 3d:
(free or 165 $)
info: http://www.polygonal-design.fr/e_unfold/index.htm
other:
gimp:
(free)
info: http://www.gimp.org/
look also: http://plasticbugs.com/index.php?p=241
look also: http://registry.gimp.org/plugin?id=3892
faceGen:
(???)
info: http://www.facegen.com/index.htm
maP | zone free
(free)
info: http://www.allegorithmic.com/v2/zone_desc.htm
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the following software. I just think it’s often overlooked and deserves a mention.
While we’re on the topic of 3D-related software, might as well add a bit of a plug for the often overlooked Houdini suite. It’s rather high-end, and takes a while to learn, but it’s got a very nice non-commercial version (Apprentice) that’s pretty much unencumbered, and has a tasteful watermark. I recommend it as a play ground for people interested in messing around with the 3D pipeline but don’t have the time or motivation to build a framework to test in. Specifically, you can script pretty much all aspects of the system ranging from particle systems to rendering and compositing. It seems pretty nifty for effects work, and is a source of endless fun for people who like to tweak and optimize code. (IE, you visually design a shader in a tool similar to Maya’s Hypershade, and mess with the C-like code that it generates. From there, you can mess around with the Assembly-like code that is generated, and watch it all appear in the renderer.)