Another useful tip:
configure Blender to draw the face normals when editing the file.
That way you can see them in blender and in this case you would probably have to load/import the x3d file and check the results as well.
Go to Editing mode and open up the mesh editing buttons panel.
In the Mesh Tools More section there's a button labeled "Draw normals". Make sure it's selected/active.
The normals should point out from the "solid material area".
I use it all the time to make sure that the model won't spaz out when/if I add the SubSurf modifier.
(If you see a face normal where there should just be a face edge you have a face that is not visible to the eye but it effects the subsurf division quite clearly.. a common problem when a noob like me tries to extrude a face/edge and forgets to move it away from its original location)
The "Draw Vnormals" button does the same for the vertice normals, which may or may not be useful...
Last edited: Sep 24, 2009