diff --git a/static/css/components/model-modal/showcase.css b/static/css/components/model-modal/showcase.css
index edad7347..289f0fcb 100644
--- a/static/css/components/model-modal/showcase.css
+++ b/static/css/components/model-modal/showcase.css
@@ -77,7 +77,12 @@
   max-height: 70vh;
   object-fit: contain;
   border-radius: var(--border-radius-sm);
-  transition: filter 0.2s ease;
+  transition: filter 0.2s ease, opacity 0.3s ease;
+  opacity: 0;
+}
+
+.showcase__media.loaded {
+  opacity: 1;
 }
 
 .showcase__media.blurred {
@@ -384,6 +389,51 @@
   font-size: 2rem;
 }
 
+/* Skeleton loading state */
+.showcase__skeleton {
+  width: 100%;
+  height: 100%;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  background: var(--lora-surface);
+}
+
+.skeleton-animation {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  gap: var(--space-3);
+  color: var(--text-color);
+  opacity: 0.6;
+}
+
+.skeleton-spinner {
+  font-size: 2.5rem;
+  color: var(--lora-accent);
+}
+
+/* Error state */
+.showcase__error {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  height: 100%;
+  color: var(--lora-error);
+  gap: var(--space-2);
+}
+
+.showcase__error i {
+  font-size: 2rem;
+}
+
+.showcase__error p {
+  margin: 0;
+  font-size: 0.9em;
+}
+
 /* Empty state */
 .showcase__empty {
   display: flex;
diff --git a/static/css/components/model-modal/thumbnail-rail.css b/static/css/components/model-modal/thumbnail-rail.css
index 374b335e..e3fe28ae 100644
--- a/static/css/components/model-modal/thumbnail-rail.css
+++ b/static/css/components/model-modal/thumbnail-rail.css
@@ -36,7 +36,19 @@
   position: relative;
   border: 2px solid transparent;
   transition: border-color 0.2s ease, transform 0.2s ease;
-  background: var(--bg-color);
+  background: var(--lora-surface);
+}
+
+.thumbnail-rail__item img {
+  width: 100%;
+  height: 100%;
+  object-fit: cover;
+  opacity: 0;
+  transition: opacity 0.3s ease;
+}
+
+.thumbnail-rail__item img.loaded {
+  opacity: 1;
 }
 
 .thumbnail-rail__item:hover {
@@ -49,12 +61,6 @@
   box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px oklch(var(--lora-accent-l) var(--lora-accent-c) var(--lora-accent-h) / 0.3);
 }
 
-.thumbnail-rail__item img {
-  width: 100%;
-  height: 100%;
-  object-fit: cover;
-}
-
 /* NSFW blur for thumbnails - BEM naming to avoid conflicts with global .nsfw-blur */
 .thumbnail-rail__item--nsfw-blurred img {
   filter: blur(8px);
diff --git a/static/js/components/model-modal/Showcase.js b/static/js/components/model-modal/Showcase.js
index f31f9290..b5148691 100644
--- a/static/js/components/model-modal/Showcase.js
+++ b/static/js/components/model-modal/Showcase.js
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ export class Showcase {
     this.isUploading = false;
     this.localFiles = [];
     this.globalBlurEnabled = true; // Will be initialized based on user settings
+    this.isLoading = false; // Track loading state
   }
 
   /**
@@ -155,6 +156,45 @@ export class Showcase {
     return 'Mature Content';
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Preload media (image or video)
+   * @param {string} url - Media URL
+   * @param {boolean} isVideo - Whether media is video
+   * @returns {Promise} Resolves when media is loaded
+   */
+  preloadMedia(url, isVideo = false) {
+    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      if (isVideo) {
+        const video = document.createElement('video');
+        video.preload = 'metadata';
+        video.src = url;
+        video.addEventListener('loadeddata', () => resolve(url));
+        video.addEventListener('error', reject);
+      } else {
+        const img = new Image();
+        img.crossOrigin = 'anonymous';
+        img.referrerPolicy = 'no-referrer';
+        img.onload = () => resolve(url);
+        img.onerror = reject;
+        img.src = url;
+      }
+    });
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Render loading skeleton
+   * @returns {string} Skeleton HTML
+   */
+  renderLoadingSkeleton() {
+    return `
+      <div class="showcase__skeleton">
+        <div class="skeleton-animation">
+          <i class="fas fa-circle-notch fa-spin skeleton-spinner"></i>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Get the HTML template
    */
@@ -239,6 +279,7 @@ export class Showcase {
       const needsBlur = nsfwLevel > NSFW_LEVELS.PG13;
       const shouldBlur = this.globalBlurEnabled && needsBlur;
       const isVideo = this.isVideo(img, localFile);
+      const blurClass = shouldBlur ? 'blurred' : '';
       
       return `
         <div class="thumbnail-rail__item ${index === 0 ? 'active' : ''} ${shouldBlur ? 'thumbnail-rail__item--nsfw-blurred' : ''}" 
@@ -250,7 +291,7 @@ export class Showcase {
               <i class="fas fa-play-circle"></i>
             </div>
           ` : ''}
-          <img src="${url}" loading="lazy" alt="" ${shouldBlur ? 'class="blurred"' : ''}>
+          <img src="${url}" loading="lazy" alt="" class="${blurClass}" onload="this.classList.add('loaded')">
           ${shouldBlur ? '<span class="thumbnail-rail__nsfw-badge">NSFW</span>' : ''}
         </div>
       `;
@@ -539,7 +580,7 @@ export class Showcase {
   /**
    * Load and display an image by index
    */
-  loadImage(index) {
+  async loadImage(index) {
     if (index < 0 || index >= this.images.length) return;
     
     this.currentIndex = index;
@@ -556,7 +597,32 @@ export class Showcase {
     // Update main media container
     const mediaContainer = this.element.querySelector('.showcase__media-container');
     if (mediaContainer) {
-      mediaContainer.innerHTML = this.renderMediaElement(url, isVideo, shouldBlur, nsfwText, nsfwLevel);
+      // Show skeleton while loading
+      mediaContainer.innerHTML = this.renderLoadingSkeleton();
+      
+      try {
+        // Preload media
+        await this.preloadMedia(url, isVideo);
+        
+        // Render media with fade-in effect
+        mediaContainer.innerHTML = this.renderMediaElement(url, isVideo, shouldBlur, nsfwText, nsfwLevel);
+        
+        // Trigger fade-in animation
+        const media = mediaContainer.querySelector('.showcase__media');
+        if (media) {
+          requestAnimationFrame(() => {
+            media.classList.add('loaded');
+          });
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('Failed to load media:', error);
+        mediaContainer.innerHTML = `
+          <div class="showcase__error">
+            <i class="fas fa-exclamation-triangle"></i>
+            <p>${translate('modals.model.examples.loadError', {}, 'Failed to load media')}</p>
+          </div>
+        `;
+      }
     }
     
     // Update global blur toggle button visibility