I was wondering if someone would like to be my "mentor" and teach me how to make small props and things. What program should I get? I am a very experienced modder and mapper but I have always had to depend on others for models and I'd like to become a modeler.

I'm not the 'teacher' type, but the program us SWBF modelers use (to be quite honest, I'm not good at model, so I rarely do it) is XSI Modtools. Or if you're rich, buying a license for XSI 5.11.

Those are the only tools in which has a Pandemic plugin tool so that you can export the correct model format. However, some modelers have been known to make models in 3DS Max and send it over to XSI and then export it that way. It all boils down to what you're comfortable with in terms of modeling tools, however if you want to export correctly, you'd want to use XSI.

Icemember is more smart in this regard, so you might wanna talk to him.

There are a lot of good resources for modelling over at Gametoast.com if you're not really sure where to start.

I personally use blender to model in, but many people prefer XSI. If you're just wanting small props and stuff though, I'd recommend blender as its a fair bit simpler to learn starting out.