I liked the blog post about Combining 2-D and 3-D techniques very much, but the others are interesting as well for game makers: http://blog.rough-sea.com/
That's exactly the technique I've been using. I build a simple version in WED and paint over it. You don't have to worry about perspective issues this way.
My User Contributions master list - my initial post links are down but scroll down page to find list to active links
I also used this method a while ago on some 2D pictures of structures. (FULL, Destroyed, Buildup)
First making 3D Models, render them in a fixed lighning and angle, then repaining details on them. Its the best method to create nice and coherent 2D Art without having to be a great 2D artist.