John, I'm disappointed. What about blender?
Butter, if you have never used GMax, it may be best to stay away from it and try Blender instead. For some one just starting out in 3d creation, it seems that most find blender to be "superior". Check out the fantastic tutorials by Paul Hobbs at:
http://www.44090digitalmodels.co.uk/
While on Paul's web site, check out his excellent tutorials on skinning and if you choose to try GMax, Paul has some of the best Trainz related GMax tutorials around.
Have fun,
Bricey.