Scanning 101st airborne division trooper (part 1)


The potential advantages of using a 3D scan facility were clear - one could reduce the necessary time when making 3D models, given you had access to full equipment and uniforms you needed. While obtaining all these uniforms and equipment would be impossible for us, there are many very serious military reenactment groups in existence. Luckily for us, one of our friends is a big fan of the American 101st airborne division, the Screaming Eagles. His group has been reenacting 101st Airborne for years now, and they have every bit of their kit you can imagine. In their full kit they have visited Normandy and all other battlefields where 101st fought, and have been constantly present at yearly celebrations of these great battles.


We then asked our friend Robi if he could spare a few hours in his full 101st Airborne officer and combat medic kits, and be the mannequin for us. Being the good guy that he is, he agreed. The given Saturday came quickly, so Ozren prepared the car, picked up Robi together with a full trunk of equipment, and off they went to pick up another friend who decided to join us - Admir from Croteam. Admir has been a huge help to us from day one, and without his initial pointers we probably would not be where we are today. After a couple of hours of driving, unpacking and preparing, we started scanning. In the end, a full whole day was spent capturing numerous poses and scanning parts of the equipment separately.
Now it was time to wait for the dedicated software to create 3D models from what is basically a huge amount of photos taken by almost two hundred cameras spread around the cage. We ended the day with the lingering question: would the results be satisfactory and suitable to use for Model Creator?
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