Help out a man in need?

[Deaths Jester]

Hey boyos, I just recently was able to get my hands on a version of 3dMax and am utterly confused.  See, the only previous work I've done with meshes is NifSkoping and Hexing and so the ability to create complete meshes is a bit beyond me.  So I'm wondering if any of ye guys could point me in the direction of some tutorials for meshing FF-based characters (including how to make belts/accessories that use seperate skin files ie. the cape on the male_cape character) and animated them.  Also, are there any specific plug-ins I'd need to create Nif and KF files?  Thanks a whole bunch, mon amis, for whatever help ye can provide....it's much appreciated!

-DJ