Peters, S. P Cvan der Kruit, P CAllen, R JFreeman, Kenneth2020-12-202020-12-200035-8711http://hdl.handle.net/1885/218524We present a new HI modelling tool called GALACTUS. The program has been designed to perform automated fits of disc-galaxy models to observations. It includes a treatment for the self-absorption of gas. The software has been released into the public domain.We describe the design philosophy and inner workings of the program. After this, we model the face-on galaxy NGC 2403 using both self-absorption and optically thin models, showing that self-absorption occurs even in face-on galaxies. These results are then used to model an edge-on galaxy. It is shown that the maximum surface brightness plateaus seen in Paper I of this series are indeed signs of self-absorption. The apparent HI mass of an edge-on galaxy can be drastically lower compared with that same galaxy seen face-on. The Tully-Fisher relation is found to be relatively free from self-absorption issuesapplication/pdfen-AU201710.1093/mnras/stw20992020-11-23