Just purchased the Aladdin Models 1/32 Avro Anson. A lot has been said on Facebook and LSP about the accuracy. I won't dwell on that too much, since this topic deals with the technical side of getting a proper and buildable print.

Clear parts

My biggest fear are the clear parts. I've never been able to print proper clear parts. I've tried Anycubic transparent resin with sad results. Now I tried Elegoo transparent resin. I thought it made sense since I print in an Elegoo printer now as well. First I checked all the settings. Mostly Anti Aliasing. I set this to the max (8). That makes the print time a bit longer. 2 hours and 20 minutes.

For slicing I use Chitubox. By far the best in my opinion, after trying several programs. Aladdin Models slices the parts for you. This means you are not able to change the angle of the parts yourself. That is a big downfall, but I understand their reasons.

My first results is not very encouraging. Yellowed clear resin. Cloudy, milky. Judge for yourself. I might use these to Vacform my own parts. We'll see!

Throwing the dice with one photo and see what goes out of the other end of the AI software is one thing. It's hit and miss.

Sometimes, if you have any 3D skills, you can alter the model to your liking, but sometimes it's just way off. Let me show you an example. At the moment I'm working on a 3d printed Avro Anson and I would like to add some figures. The one I'm making will be from the 321 RAF squadron that was flown by dutch crew. I found this pretty large photo, which is also in the excellent Wingleader book, with 4 clear examples of crew members walking past an Avro Anson.

I then started with the guy on the left and cut him out:

I then took this snippet and uploaded it in ChatGPT Atlas and prompted: Place this ww2 RAF pilot on a white background and add some detail.

This is what you get:

If you upload this image in turn into Tripo 3D, you will get a nice figure, but with almost NO detail on the back and what detail is there... is wrong.

See for yourself:

What I then did was upload the ChatGPT Atlas image again in... ChatGPT Atlas and prompt it to 'Turn the pilot around and show his back'.

The AI software actually does a pretty good job. Although the gear is not exactly ww2 RAF gear, but resembles more USAF gear, it does look rather good and something I can work with:

As you can see the bag and flying cap in his hands look good. The face looks good and not generic at all and there's even profile under the boots. Even though it's the wrong profile.

When done with all four figures, I'll offer them for download, in the download section.

Good luck! And if you have any questions: feel free to ask!

This is something that seems easy, but to create a good, proportionated figure with correct uniform is quite a challenge. Let me create a 'How To' here with my learnings so far. I'll keep adding to this topic as I keep learning and new software develops in rapid speed.

Step 1.
Finding that great photo
This means that you find a photo that shows at least 75% of the person you want in 3D. The lighting should be good, contrast and detail. Preferably a photo of at leat 1500x1500 pixels in size. The face should be clear and the unique details in the clothes. Belt, pockets, etc... The Ai software needs to understand what it is looking at.

Here's a photo that I found of a ground crew member, cleaning the gun barrel on a P-40:

Step 2:
Enhancing the photo
As said: this photo needs to be improved. The Ai software won't be able to make out what is what. So you need to isolate the figure against a plain background. You can do this in Photoshop, or you can feel lucky and use Ai software. Like ChatGPT for instance. Just type: 'Make this image larger, give it more detail and place the man against a white background.'
Then you'll end up with this:

Sometimes ChatGPT interprets creases, details all wrong. In this case you'll need to help the Ai software a little. Delete a crease in photoshop, add more contrast to some details, so they'll be visible to the Ai 3d software and so on.

Step 3:
Using the Ai 3d software
This is where things get tricky. There are multiple online platforms that allow you to create 3d models. It's even incorporated in Photoshop and the 3D print software 'Chitubox'. If you want full control, I myself prefer Tripo Ai. This software deals with details best, creates the most convincing human characters and lets you create 3d models that consist of sections. So: separate arms, legs and other parts. Great if you want to alter a stance for instance. AND this software can also create geometric models. In other words: simple shapes with less polygons. Perfect for when you want to replicate an airplane seat for instance.

The Tripo software is not free and not cheap. But then again: neither are other similar tools.

There are two ways to upload images:
1. Just upload one image and hope it turns out right from all angles
2. Upload four images. One from the front, left, right and back. This way the software is helped massively and the error are kept to a minimum.

Usually you only have one good image (like I had above) and you have to give it one or two tries for a proper result.

Here you see the proper settings:

Step 4:
The result
The 3D software has done its job. Now you want to check it from every angle for faults. Look for strange defects. Double buttons, weird collars and strange accessories that don't look right. Then look at the proportions of the legs, feet, hands and arms. Sometimes these are way of. Also: check the amount of fingers. If you have chosen the 'separate parts' model, it's easier to shrink or grow a limb in size. You do need 3d software for this though and quite some 3d knowledge and experience.

The STL you'll download from Tripo (if you have a paid account) can directly be uploaded to a 3d slicer program, like Chitubox. Scale it down to about 54mm if you want to print a 1/32 figure.

More soon!