Hey dude, sounds like fun, keep at it
Java is great for server side development but not so good for desktop apps (only ever seen Oracle use them...). If you need to add some 3D you will need to use open GL.

If you go the VC/C++ route you can use directX for your 3D modelling and it will be easier to talk to device drivers if you intend plugging it to a port eventually; performance is better too

If you really can't face COM/memory pointers and managing your own memory heap you can try cą, it's very similar to Java but as it's memory managed you get object wrappers for the directX COM classes and you can still access unmanaged API's through Interop.

hope this helps a bit.