Easiest way is find something around the "theme" of what you want and select that "creator's" store.
Many people there seem to have a specific thing they like.
there is a ton of cool stuff but trying to search seems impossible.
i searched for warhammer 40k turret and got hit with about 260 pages of items that pulled up everything from shoulder pads to bottles of coke... wth?
Seemed like a good beginning to search:
https://www.shapeways.com/search?q=40k+tank+turret&type=
Then I picked a guy, then went into his categories:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/forpost?section=28mm+1%2F56+vehicles+and+parts&s=0i was just wondering why some things are priced so weirdly as well.
The price is completely based on the amount of material used and the type.
"White strong and flexible" or anything flexible is the "cut rate" material, polished has mixed results at smoothing out the surface but may lose detail, "frosted ultra detail" is exactly that: smooth and amazing detail.
This is how the example turret goes from a reasonable $17 suddenly to ~$38.
i found a super cool modification to turn an ig chimera into a ferdinand and the gun and upper armored compartment was 12 dollars while the chimera body was like 70.
i dont get it...
Yep, completely based on how much material used.
If it is say a cube or solid box, one person may print it solid which equals HUGE money.
Some people define the outer surfaces and then make a supporting "lattice" to support it.
Some people "cheat" and create no way for the powder to escape after being fused/melted together so it gives some durability and you only get billed for the fused powder.
I had hoped I had taken pictures of my frosted minis I got but no...
I found this and it may make a good comparison of two minis of the same model with different materials:
Good luck, I found them really good.
Any issues at all, contact them.
Their customer support was surprisingly good.