Reddit mentions of HAWK PRECISION 1-2-3 BLOCKS - TM39123

Studio can become a second home for you, especially towards the tail end of each semester as everyone is rushing to wrap up final projects. Like others have said, there may be nights where you may be better off sleeping in studio or need to pull an all-nighter. Studio culture is definitely fun, though; folks tend to find some interesting ways to reduce stress.

For 2D software, use AutoCAD. You can get a free educational license for all Autodesk software and they are the industry standard. I used Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to set up final plot sheets and to pretty up 2D drawings / renderings.

For 3D software, SketchUp is free and stupidly simple. I used Kerkythea as my render engine (it's free but is a little outdated). Once you move on to more complex projects, I'd recommend Rhinoceros3D with V-Ray. Familiarizing yourself with Revit is also great for future employment.

Some model-making tips that I wish I'd known in my first year: 123 Blocks are a gift from the gods, spray accelerant for super glue is amazing, and hot glue is great if you can hide it from your professor / critics.

http://www.amazon.com/Set-Up-Blocks-Precision-Machinists/dp/B00134DPM2

Those are what I bought.

As for their uses, I found some YouTube videos about it while trying to figure out how to make a certain cut.