Saw it lacked a suggestions thread too. Here we are P:
use it or dont.

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If you want to lower the load time without making it hell on the user, you might try pairing your mod with this one.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=953770080&searchtext=memory+bag

With it you can cut initial load time down entirely, organize everything nicely, and still be able to display the models with a click of a button. I use it for my Space Hulk mod, and it works flawlessly with large groups of items.

If you do use it, i would suggest setting them up in groups (orcs, large monsters, elves, dwarves, humans, etc) because you still have to load them all up, but itll be much smoother in chunks of 50-80 instead of all 1100 models.
A colosal task for sure, but the end result will be extremely nice for everyone. Itll also allow you to add new bags in so that people will know whats new and whats not, and make it a metric ton easier to track down whats broken in the future.