I’ve always fancied being a model. It’s one of a dying breed of professions, along with cabin crew and cosmetic consultant where glamour is still not only desirable but mandatory. Putting aside those with what we could possibly describe as having ‘idiosyncratic’ looks or those who just appear chronically underfed, models are invariably the most beautiful in society both facially and in the way that they effortlessly glide down the catwalk sowing aspiration into all who see them. And if that wasn’t enough to sow the seeds of envy, let’s not forget their fabulous wealth! A beautiful woman is a sight to behold, and the modelling industry definitely seems to have more than its fair share.
And I recently had the opportunity to become a model and jumped at the chance!
Now I’m sure that some of you are already starting to smell the proverbial rat, not least as there’s no accompanying photo of me strutting my stuff on the catwalk. And I have to admit that whilst it is true that I have become a model, it’s almost certainly not what you’re thinking. Time to come clean, I think.
Before I continue, I’ll state that this post will, as far as I am aware, sail into uncharted territory as far as Kandi’s Land is concerned. It’s not an account of a wonderful outing or a deep dive into some aspect or other of crossdressing. Just something that bridges my two distinct lives which I thought may make a nice change from my normal ramblings.
From time to time, I have made mention of my other interests in life in my posts – notably music and modelmaking. The latter in particular brings me a lot of pleasure but also a lot of frustration because I need people to populate my little worlds. There are plenty available but most of them are from Germany where, apparently, there is a demand for tiny figures wearing lederhosen. British figures are available, but they tend to be either expensive or dated in style. I own a 3D printer and have always thought that it’d be good to be able to download a collection of 3D model files and print them at home. Even better, I thought, would be the possibility of being to recreate family members or even myself in miniature but to do that requires a rather expensive scanner way beyond my budget. Or at least I thought it did, but a video recently popped up on my YouTube feed showing how, thanks to AI, I could become an inhabitant of my own little world using only a single photo as a start point. I had to try it out.
The dilemma, of course, was which version of me? The slightly scruffy bespectacled one or the blonde bombshell in the high heels? Not really a difficult choice other than the risk of someone saying, ‘that’s a nice model, where did you get it from?’ but I decided that that particular bridge could be crossed when I came to it. And so what follows is a broad outline of how I managed it.
The first thing was to choose a photo. I remembered the ones I took on my weekend away and thought one in particular would be a good one to try – I was sitting down, the outfit lent itself to reproduction in miniature (particularly the heels which were thick enough to reproduce in a tiny scale) and it’s a photo that I particularly like.
Having chosen the photo, the first thing to do was to remove everything from the background including the bed and for that, ChatGPT came to the rescue. The photo was uploaded and a simple prompt to remove all of the background submitted and, in a few seconds, it returned what I’d asked for.
What I had now was a photo of just me and it was time for the real magic to happen. By definition, a 3D printer needs 3D models to print, not photos, and so I turned to another website – studio.tripo3d.ai – for this. Websites like this are normally subscription based with limited functionality for the free trial versions. Tripo permitted both the processing and download of the resultant model free of charge so it was ideal for this trial.
As humans, when we look at a photo, our brains can instinctively envisage the third dimension through our lived experience. But for a computer program, this is no mean feat. To turn 2D me into a printable 3D model, it had to reconstruct the third dimension in a way that was true to the original 2D photo. And that’s not only the totality of the photo but also each individual element – my legs had to look crossed from all angles, my heels had to maintain their size and relative position from all angles and so on. It’s not only creating a 3D space but working out where each element of the image should be positioned in that space and then filling in the gaps. Time for me to use one of my favourite expressions – mind blowing!
Anyway the photo was uploaded and less than one minute later, I appeared on screen as a rotatable 3D model viewable from any angle. Not quite perfect but definitely good enough for what I wanted.
I downloaded the model in a 3D printable format and after a bit of tweaking and adding supports to protect the model and ensure that all parts printed correctly, sent it to the printer. A couple of hours later, I had a model of Amanda scaled down to a fraction of her real size.
It was then just a case of removing the supports, cleaning up the model and then into hair, makeup and costume – or painting to be more exact. And here is Mini-Mandy in all her glory ready to inhabit whatever world I create for her together with a coin to give an idea of scale (perhaps I should call her Penny?).
I have to say that I absolutely love Mini-Mandy! The technology that made her possible – both 3D printing and AI – is fantastic and the stuff of science fiction just a few years ago. And the idea that she can inhabit my model world and I can see her patiently waiting on a station platform (not sure what she’s waiting for because she never gets on a train when it arrives) for me to see at any time is a nice reminder of this side of me when circumstances otherwise conspire against me. Of course, she’ll be ‘just a model I liked the look of and downloaded from the internet’ to anyone who asks but in many respects, that’s no different to me venturing out as Amanda with my real identity hidden.
And just a technical point for anyone interested. Mini-Mandy is approximately British O scale – 7mm to the foot or 1:43.5. She can easily be scaled up or down to suit although I won’t be 3D printing larger models of her just in case her facial resemblance to mine becomes a little too obvious!
10 Responses
Amanda,
I’m intrigued to what scene your model will be placed in , are you a railway modeller ?
Many years ago we had a family holiday in Devon , I was into railway modelling so I took the opportunity to persuade the family to visit the Peco factory . I have to admit I was blown away by the N scale layouts ( 2mm: ft ) all that countryside in minature , trains that looked like they were going somewhere . Modelling in that scale is not for the feint hearted , I was building white metal loco kits and air brushing them , lining out was almost impossible but I persevered . I never got round to making a working layout so eventually it was all sold off , I do regret that somedays .
I hope you update this post with a finshed model picture with Mini-Mandy sitting proudly in the scene .
You may have seen my comment about coming out to my art group where I painted myself into a station scene sitting patiently waiting for the next train to arrive . It did go into an exhibition but my ex never discovered the truth about the lady in the picture .
Yes, trains. That said, as I put in the post, I’m a little nervous about putting her on show in case she’s spotted and the wrong questions are asked!
Sadly, Pecorama where you took your family is now closed. I went in August last year but just before the end of the year, they announced that it would not reopen in 2026 because it was only profitable for four months a year and loss making for the rest of the year and overall. It’s a real shame as it was a lovely family day out.
Amanda,
If I find myself on the south coast I would like to visit the Hornby factory and museum and possibly make a visit to Eddie Izzard’s display .
I would also love to revisit that part of the Devon coast around Seaton and Beer , shame about Peco .
The Hornby Wonderworks is worth a visit for nostalgia’s sake more than anything. It’s very well done and they have a good sized shop there too.
The other big attraction in Seaton is the tramway which is a nice round trip, particularly if the weather’s good and you can sit upstairs in an open topper.
Amanda,
Mini-Amanda is pretty good. It’s the paint that makes it/her “come alive”. Well done.
Having spent 12 hours on trains during the last four days is enough for me for the next decade: north of Toronto to Ottawa and back.
Love,
Jocelyn
Jocelyn, thanks!
If it’s any consolation, British trains are often pretty bad – even those that leave on time seem to have an uncanny knack of getting delayed.
This is classic Amanda. Why am I thinking it’s just a matter of time before you will be able to graduate from making a “Mini-Mandy” to a “Full-size Mandy”? Robot Mandy? The sky’s the limit with AI and robotics coming on so fast in leaps and bounds.
Where do I send my down payment as an “early adopter”? And also put me down for the “slightly scruffy bespectacled model” as that ones my favorite 😉
A Robo-Mini-Mandy is an interesting thought, Grace, but not without its risks. Suppose she went out of control (definitely not without the realms of possibility as many have feared that her human twin is not in control of her faculties)? It’s only a few days ago that the dangers were laid bare for us to see:
www . youtube . com/watch?v=ZyohmMJA5Ao
(you’ll need to remove the spaces after pasting the link)
As for the slightly scruffy bespectcled one, my recommendation is to avoid like the plague. Helen of Troy had a face that could launch a thousand ships; he has a face that could break a thousand cameras!
Miss Mandy,
Produce more mini-Mandys with different coloring. Then add other minis to you city, including other miniMandys doing other things, don’t leave her sitting at the train station. Think of creating a mini Kandy or even a mini Cali (I’m vain as well). Put her mM in a car.
Think of it as prototypes for a retirement income stream.
Cali, you may be onto something there. That said, I do fear that the probability of Mrs A asking awkward questions about the proliferation of slightly tarty females in my miniature world increases exponentially with every additional model added. A mini Kandi’s Land is an attractive thought, though!