37 image models on the Sparks: sci-fi spaceship combat
Same two scenes for every model (A: dreadnought broadside with "UNS VANGUARD" hull text; B: asteroid-field dogfight), each in the prompt style and recommended settings of its family, best of 2 seeds shown (click for the full-size original PNG).
Edit models all got the same Z-Image Turbo source images and the same two instructions.Judge: Claude Opus 5.5 (this session), 2x2 sheet view at 1024 px, rubric 4 x 250 (prompt fidelity, composition, render quality, coherence + text).
Reference: The Expanse S3 / Homeworld 3 studio key art. Sheet-only scores stay at or under ~700.22 KEEP, 15 DROP. DROP = a delete ask for you; nothing is deleted without your yes. Sorted by score.
Edit sources:
flux3_image_klein_sd_bf16 FLUX.3 Klein sd · box 00b3
700/1000 DROP DROP: Same picture as sd_int8 (695), 00b3 only, twice the size.
Best so far: studio key-art feel, perfect text, rust + damage detail, strong depth and motion.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux3_image_klein_sd_int8_convrot FLUX.3 Klein sd · box both
695/1000 KEEP KEEP: Best quality per second: about 700 at 8 s/img, both boxes.
Pixel-near-identical to sd_bf16 at about half size.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux3_image_klein_bf16 FLUX.3 Klein · box 00b3
690/1000 KEEP KEEP: Undistilled FLUX.3 Klein (50 steps): base for LoRA training and the sd variants.
Gritty film realism, turret broadside, perfect large text, dense asteroid dogfight with believable original fighter designs.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux3_image_klein_sd_nvfp4 FLUX.3 Klein sd · box both
690/1000 DROP DROP: Same picture as sd_int8, gap in the text, not faster (8.7 vs 8.0 s).
Same picture as sd_bf16/int8; A seed has a gap in the text.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
qwen_image_2.1_int8_convrot Qwen-Image 2.1 · box both
690/1000 KEEP KEEP: Top tier detail (690), runs on both boxes.
Sharpest detail of the set: turret broadside, weathered hull, perfect text both seeds, dense asteroid dogfight. Fighters are F-22 lookalikes. Ties the turbo variant at about 4x the steps.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
qwen_image_2.1_turbo_int8_convrot Qwen-Image 2.1 turbo · box 00b3
690/1000 KEEP KEEP: Same 690 at 13 s instead of 107 s.
Dark, moody film still; perfect text both seeds; grounded scale. Fighters F-22-like. Top tier.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
p-h3-image_int8_convrot H3-Image variant · box 2330
690/1000 KEEP KEEP: Native 4K-class output with the most cinematic lighting (690).
Largest output (3872x2176) and the most movie-like lighting; clean text on A_alt (A garbles it); original fighter designs with real pilots. Top tier.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
kroma-v0.3.1-turbo-opd-Q4_K_M Kroma GGUF · box 2330
680/1000 KEEP KEEP: Most photographic model in the set.
Most film-like of all: real-photo grain, rusted WW2-style hull, tight close dogfight with visible pilot. Text small but correct. Strong look, 8.8 GB Q4.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
darkBeastKrea2Aggressive_v10_q80 Krea 2 finetune GGUF · box both
670/1000 KEEP KEEP: Fixes base Krea 2's prompt miss; gritty war-film look.
Krea 2 finetune fixes the mech problem: real ship, clean text on A_alt, heavy action, gritty war-film look. A adds an Earth-like planet by mistake. Dense close dogfight on B.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
minimax_h3_image_pruned_int8_convrot MiniMax H3-Image · box 2330
665/1000 KEEP KEEP: Film look at 2.7K in about 15 s/img; part of the H3 stack.
Film-still look at 2720x1536 in about 15 s; original retro fighters with bubble canopies. Hull text small and partly garbled.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
z_image_bf16 Z-Image · box both
660/1000 DROP DROP: Same picture as z_image_int8_convrot (655) at twice the file size and 32% slower (47.9 vs 36.4 s).
Cinematic, rich planet, hull text readable both seeds, hex shield. Fighters are literal F-22s in space. Same picture as int8 at twice the size.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
ernie-image ERNIE-Image · box both
660/1000 KEEP KEEP: Clean text and original fighters (660).
Clean text both seeds, layered hex shield hit, weathered hull; B_alt has an original fighter design. Cleaner than ERNIE turbo.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
boogu_image_turbo_hotfix_int8_convrot Boogu turbo · box both
660/1000 KEEP KEEP: Solid all-rounder at 8 s/img.
Solid all-rounder: clean text both seeds, hex shields, believable turret fire, original fighter designs with motion blur. Slightly CG look.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
z_image_int8_convrot Z-Image · box both
655/1000 KEEP KEEP: Z-Image base: keep this copy of the twin pair.
Near-identical to bf16 at half the size; text clean on A_alt.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux2_dev_fp8mixed FLUX.2 dev · box both
650/1000 KEEP KEEP: Only FLUX.2 dev; original fighter designs, clean text. Slow (134 s).
Clean giant text both seeds, original fighter shapes (not F-22 copies). Glossy game-asset look, glassy debris, odd black scratch marks on B_alt.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
qwen_image_2512_fp8_e4m3fn Qwen-Image 2512 · box 2330
650/1000 DROP DROP: Superseded by Qwen-Image 2.1 (690 vs 650) and 14x slower than 2.1 turbo (183 s).
Painterly WW2-battleship-in-space; giant text on A, broken 'V NS ANGUARD' on A_alt; best explosions and missile action of the jets set.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
moodyRealMix_zitV7GlobalFP8 Z-Image Turbo finetune · box both
645/1000 KEEP KEEP: Fastest model (5.6 s), punchier than base turbo.
Z-Image Turbo finetune: punchier contrast, more scene density and action than base turbo; text readable both seeds.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux-2-klein-base-9b FLUX.2 Klein base · box both
640/1000 DROP DROP: Same picture as the fp8 base, slower and larger.
Fixed: real empty negative instead of a zeroed one (cfg 5). Now clean: perfect text both seeds, layered hex shields, natural colour. Softer, flatter CG look than the distilled Klein; F-18-like fighters.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux-2-klein-base-9b-fp8 FLUX.2 Klein base · box both
635/1000 KEEP KEEP: Keep one undistilled FLUX.2 Klein for LoRA training and cfg/negative-prompt control.
Same picture as the bf16 base at 34-43 s instead of 50-66 s.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
ernie-image-turbo ERNIE-Image Turbo · box both
635/1000 DROP DROP: Overcooked HDR, text slip; ERNIE base is cleaner and other turbo models beat it at the same speed.
Rich planet, readable text (A has a 'UNiS' slip), but overcooked HDR look and fiery cockpits on B. Fighters are F-22 copies.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux-2-klein-9b FLUX.2 Klein · box both
620/1000 DROP DROP: Same picture as the fp8 copy; beaten by FLUX.3 Klein sd at the same speed.
Bold poster look, giant clean text on A, 'UNNS' slip on A_alt; jets head-on with big blasts. Flatter than FLUX.3.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
hidream_o1_image_mxfp8 HiDream-O1 · box both
620/1000 KEEP KEEP: Perfect text, very dense action; newer HiDream.
Perfect giant text, very dense debris and sparks, but overcooked HDR and a tank turret bolted on a box hull. Busy rather than cinematic.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
flux2Klein9bFp8_fp8 FLUX.2 Klein · box both
610/1000 KEEP KEEP: Keep one FLUX.2 Klein for older SimpliGen presets; 6.6 s/img.
Same picture as flux-2-klein-9b; 'UNSS' slip on A_alt.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
boogu_image_edit_int8_convrot Boogu edit · box both
610/1000 KEEP KEEP: Only edit model that did the painted-cover restyle.
EDIT. Only edit model that did the 1980s painted-cover restyle (B_alt: real brush strokes, composition kept). A_alt added the exploding cruiser but no eclipse; A and B seeds are noisy/psychedelic. Seed-sensitive.
A · edit: night battle B · edit: 1980s painted cover
juggernautXL_ragnarok SDXL · box both
610/1000 KEEP KEEP: Best of the SDXL three; LoRA ecosystem.
SDXL: darkest, most cinematic of the SDXL three; massive hulls, fire on water; no text. B_alt busy squadron with original designs.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
z_image_turbo_bf16 Z-Image Turbo · box both
600/1000 KEEP KEEP: 8.6 s/img, clean text; edit-source model and the named-tracks still model.
Clean but toy-like 3D look; cruiser cartoonish; text big and clean. Jets good. Fast; edit-source model.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
RealVisXL_V5.0_fp16 SDXL · box both
600/1000 DROP DROP: SDXL, no text; Juggernaut does the same look better and faster.
SDXL: no hull text possible, put the fight over an ocean. Dramatic lighting, chunky Homeworld-like hulls; B is a strong original twin-fighter shot.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
z_image_turbo_nvfp4 Z-Image Turbo · box 2330
595/1000 DROP DROP: Same picture as turbo bf16, text slip, only 1.3 s faster, 2330 only.
Same picture as turbo bf16; 'UUNS' text slip on A.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
hidream_i1_full_fp8 HiDream-I1 Full · box both
590/1000 DROP DROP: Read the dreadnought as a sea battleship, 187 s/img, beaten by HiDream-O1 and Qwen 2.1.
Read 'dreadnought' as a sea battleship: A sails on an ocean, A_alt flies over cloud tops. Clean text, film grade. B solid dogfight, F-22-like fighters. Slow.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
hassakuXLIllustrious_v34 SDXL Illustrious · box both
580/1000 KEEP KEEP: Only anime/illustration model in the set.
Anime illustration style, as built: dynamic speed lines, big explosions, mecha-anime fighters. No text, loose anatomy of ships. Only anime model in the set.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
museByStableYogi Muse (Stable Yogi) · box both
570/1000 DROP DROP: v3.5 makes nearly the same pictures as Krea 2 turbo, which is kept; darkBeast does the Krea look better. Revisit if v4 lands.
v3.5 (v4 blocked). Near-copy of Krea 2 turbo's pictures: mech instead of a ship, strong cockpit shot. Text OK on A_alt.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
qwen_image_edit_2511_bf16 Qwen-Image-Edit 2511 · box 00b3
560/1000 DROP DROP: Same edit result as fp8mixed; 00b3 only.
EDIT. A followed the instruction well (eclipse, second cruiser exploding, hull lights) and kept the text. B: no painted-paperback restyle; it pasted gibberish cover titles instead. Half pass.
A · edit: night battle B · edit: 1980s painted cover
krea2_turbo_fp8_scaled Krea 2 Turbo · box both
560/1000 KEEP KEEP: Missed the dreadnought (drew a mech) but made the most cinematic cockpit shot; base for darkBeast-style finetunes.
Drew a walking mech instead of a dreadnought and a WW2 battleship as the enemy (prompt miss both seeds). B is the most cinematic cockpit shot of all: real pilot face, film lighting.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
qwen_image_edit_2511_fp8mixed Qwen-Image-Edit 2511 · box both
555/1000 KEEP KEEP: Keep one Qwen-Edit 2511: best instruction edit (night battle), both boxes.
EDIT. Same as bf16/int8: night-battle edit good, paperback restyle failed with gibberish titles.
A · edit: night battle B · edit: 1980s painted cover
qwen_image_edit_2511_int8_convrot Qwen-Image-Edit 2511 · box 2330
555/1000 DROP DROP: Same edit result as fp8mixed; 2330 only.
EDIT. Same result as bf16: night-battle edit good (eclipse, exploding cruiser), paperback restyle failed (gibberish titles, no brush strokes).
A · edit: night battle B · edit: 1980s painted cover
krea2_turbo_int8_convrot Krea 2 Turbo · box both
555/1000 DROP DROP: Same picture as the fp8 copy.
Same picture as fp8 (mech instead of ship). Same strong cockpit B.
A · capital-ship broadside B · fighter dogfight
boogu_image_edit_turbo_hotfix_1k_20260708_int8_convrot Boogu edit turbo hotfix (new 11-12) · box 2330
520/1000 DROP DROP: Returned the source unchanged on the restyle; settings were assumed, so this verdict is soft. New today.
EDIT. A: eclipse + exploding second cruiser added, text kept. B: returned the source almost unchanged, no paperback restyle. Settings (4 steps cfg 1) are assumed, not official.
A · edit: night battle B · edit: 1980s painted cover
