Simon, I'm hearing you but unfortunately my strike rate of getting something remotely similar to the first is completely nil. Tradies of your calibre can probably do this on a Saturday arvo in the shed!

I use 3ds max, the same software that's used for games and special effects, it has an awesome feature that allows you to apply imagery to the model, UVW mapping. The basis of this function is to convert the 3d model itself into an absolute 2d model so you can apply materials and surface maps so that the model can be rendered to realistic appearance. its like producing a net of a three dimensional item.

This function can also be exported to produce line drawings that can be sent to a laser cutter.