My Dae Model Doesn't Have a Skin?

[ToddL]

Following Kit Ballard's model importing tutorial I'm instructed to to right click and work with the "skin" under the modify tab in 3dsMax.  You can see the tutorial here:

BrawlBox v0.65 Tut - Quick and Dirty Importing

  The part I'm talking about is around 2:30.
The problem is that my model doesn't have one of these "skins"... (I know next to nothing about 3d modeling, if it's not obvious.)  My model is a model that I made from scratch in Google Sketchup Pro 8 and then exported as a .3ds file.  I then imported it into 3dsMax 2010.  Why doesn't it have a skin? :/

[Exorcist]

You have to add a Skin Modifier.
On the right side, pull down the Modifier list and scroll down to Skin.

[ToddL]

Alright, I made the skin and then moved on in the tutorial.  I'm now having a problem when trying to use the Detach by ID script.  When I drag the script in and run it I get an error that says "--Unable to convert: ReferenceTarget:ReferenceTarget to type: Material".

Does this mean I did something wrong?  I feel like there hasn't been much to mess up on, so far...Unless it's something I did when making the model.

[Exorcist]

Detaching the objects should be the first thing you do.

[ToddL]

Detaching the objects should be the first thing you do.

You're saying I should detach the objects and then create the skin afterwards?

[Exorcist]

Yep.
I think messing with the materials before detaching screws it up too, so don't do that.