I cant seem to find out how to put a mesh in an effect. Ive tried looking in the droidekashield fx file and ive searched around. How would i put a mesh in an effect with PE? Im curious about this because im trying to make a sheild fx with the tie bomber's mesh.

from the XSI FAQ: How to get custom fx geometry from XSI to ingame

When I open up the .model file or the .model.req file in PE the window is still empty, is this normal?

You're not supposed to load either into PE. The only file you can open in PE is an fx file. You're supposed to set the geometry of the fx to use the mesh.