I use lightwave to model then i export to OBJ , then import in 3dsmax then export to .b3d
Nooooooo - use Lee's LW-2-B3D Converter! It can read LWO's directly and even handles boned / skinned models. And it has a viewer and support for applying lightmaps / reflections inside the LW.
http://www.terabit.nildram.co.uk/lwconvert.zip
Be sure to read the docs, and especially triple the quads before converting (I often forget that).