Since the beginning of March 2022, the Combined Military Services Museum embarked on its first ever journey into the digitisation of Special Forces and Special Operations Executive artefacts. With 3D scanning as the main forefront, a number of items are now up for viewing on our Sketchfab profile @ Combined Military Services Museum (@cmsm) – Sketchfab
During the first few weeks of scanning, a number of challenges presented themselves, such as issues with light disturbances which did not allow for smooth scans and post-production which was a complicated process of getting the scans worthy enough to be uploaded and considered ‘archive ready’. However, with a few troubleshooting methods such as cutting out all light sources during the scanning process, and working through various software to clean and repaint 3D files, the museum is now happy to say that the first step of getting our 3D scans accessible to the public is a success.
The museum hopes to expand the archive to include not just 3D scans, but to also make digitally available some of the rare documents which are in our archive. While the focus of our digital
collection at the moment consists only of British Special Forces and the Special Operations Executive, in the near future, the museum hopes to be awarded funding to allow the scanning of a wider variety of artefacts from our medieval and modern collection as well.
Matthew Vincent MA, BA Hons,
Digital Archivist
