Look! WOW!
I used open source, freeware Blender, and tools found here:
http://niftools.sourceforge.net/ also open source and free.
Believe it baby!
Also used Paint shop Pro 9 (not free, and sucks) , and DDS converter 2.1 (shareware)
this model is not avaialabel yet, it is to be used in the Civ IV sci-fi mod Pentagenesis
This was only a test, and it is 2590 triangles, with a 256x256 dds texture.
I tried 512x512 .dds, and Civ IV did not like it.
In this screenshot, what you are seeing is "lighthouse.nif" with "FuelRefinery-256.dds" texture.