3D Game help (VB.net/java)

Hey guys,

As part of my A-Level coursework i'm producing a 3D Tic Tac Toe game. As such my first idea was to have three 3x3 grids and make the user visualise the 3x3x3 grid for themselves, i have produced a prototype of this which works nicely.

My second idea was to produce a 3D grid such as in http://www.logicgame.com.ua/game.php?id=tic_tac_toe_3d which would do the visualising for the user. at this point i have no idea where to start in terms of producing a 3D model for the game and would be appreciative of any help. 

i am competent in both VB.net and java, although for school resource reasons VB.net is preferable 

Many thanks,