You need one of those two software:

Daz3D:
http://www.daz3d.com/
(free, but without models).

Or Poser
http://www.e-frontier.com/
(don(t know the price)

• a lot of patience, study and work.

thanks for the tip. any other suggestions re which files or packs would b appreciated

Poser costs up wards of $200 and the Daz(what I use) is free but you need to buy the content for it. Start out with the Daz starter kit.