Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

so i just recently discovered shapeways and was wondering how the heck you find anything on it?
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?

i was just wondering why some things are priced so weirdly as well.

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...

amongst other things price will depend on amount of material used in the printing

so I wonder if that body is a fairly (or totally) solid lump?

I've had a look for stuff at times, but a lot of it isn't properly tagged. Eventually I was just searching for generic terms and hoping to get hits. The main problem though is yes, most of the stuff there which I've seen is overpriced presumably due to pricing being flat based on materials. I wonder just how many people are spending that amount of money, though its probably moot as its not the sellers who're printing the stuff, so its not like they need to pay for the moulds.

Also a lot of stuff that people want cannot be properly tagged because there is a ton of IP-infringing designs on there which are "code names" by the people who produce them to avoid GW, etc.

Here's a direct link to great stuff https://www.shapeways.com/shops/plokoone-s-bits?sort=newest

Shorten your search parameters. Instead of typing space marine shoulder pads blood angels just type one or two words and go from there.

Shapeways search engine need some work.

Well I placed my first ever Shapeways order over the weekend. P&p was very high, so I hope it was worth it.

Okay, I've also put in an order mostly as an experiment to see if I like what's being offered. What is the usual wait time from order to deliver?

 usernamesareannoying wrote:
so i just recently discovered shapeways and was wondering how the heck you find anything on it?

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=0

i 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.