For the modelers,
http://www.anim8or.com/main/index.html
I've dug up this incredibly complete software for 3d modeling and animation that I would like you to learn to use. It has an active user-base, many tutorials and--most importantly--I can write export scripts for it. This will allow me to write a script to take anything in there and export it to the .MDJ format, or another format which I create specifically for this project.
I hope this isn't too much trouble. I'm trying to put together an arsenel of free software with which we can attack this game content. There's bound to be more out there!
Karl