Hmm, we did ours differently. Oh well, I'll post mine here too for reference
http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/2571061-forge-rendering-an-item-on-your-block/#entry30530596
I want a 3D model of an item to render above my TileEntity when the item is placed in the TileEntity.
The problem is the actual rendering, I was wondering if there was some method I could call to do this, or would I have to write my own code/make my own model?
For checking if a block below is powered use this example:
if(world.isBlockProvidingPowerTo(x, y - 1, z, direction))
{
this.doSomething();
}
y - 1 to check block below your block
direction would be up(above) for checking if it powers your block (I think up is 1 or 0)