to make ships - i started with milkshape ( there is a post in the developers forum for the link and all other useful programs ) - milkshape is easy and intuitive - but limited. atm i am getting used to another 3d program.
about "the nice pictures" - if you mean the signatures, .. personally i use adobe photoshop cs/adobe imaging. but i guess ms paint will do the job, too. i use photobucket to upload the pics.