I don't know blaster??
To change model textures(colors) I think most of us use gimp(
www.gimp.org) to edit the .tga files. ( it's a painting program )
The download is 17MB, but probably you can get it from someone else with a better connection.
And there is really no need to handle with .3ds files to do this!
hint for gimp:
When saving as tga you must uncheck the "compressed" box when saving.
Glest only supports uncompressed tgas.
( To be shure use "save as" not "save" to save a .tga file )