shapeway question??

[oldr-n-drt]

how do yall search them for anything made in 1/24 or 1/25 scale??nothing in general,just everything made in that scale...thanks oldr-n-drt

[landman]

Just enter 1:24 1:25 category in their search thing. also they may have it as a category.

[drummerdad]

I have tried searching for larger scale stuff. I start with a very specific search like; " 1/12 scale model car parts", but you still get other stuff completely unrelated to any of the words in that description. So, I start there, and when I find something that is actually related to my search, I go to the sellers store. Typically they have more items. I then bookmark the sellers page if I find something of interest. You will still have to browse hundreds of pages, no matter how specific you try and search. It rather annoying searching with the shapeways search function. I typically get about 3000+ pages, no matter how much I try and narrow the search. I shouldnt have to browse hundreds of pages of n-scale railroad buildings, when I search for scale model car parts. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

A general understanding of the operation and limitations of search functions can go a long way towards eliminating frustration.

Understanding how to use strings of search terms is essential to finding things online, and if the first search fails, try different terms.

Computers are really pretty stupid, most of them have no linguistic or semantic understanding, and you have to ask them SIMPLE questions...for now. (NOTE: That is why IBM's "Watson", the Jeopardy winner, was such a big deal a few years back. For it to do what it did, however, some of the best programmers in the world had it running on a roomful of Crays. That level of semantic understanding just isn't going to be present on a little dorky "search" function running on a web server.)

Unless a product or part is specifically tagged (for instance) with the words "1/12, scale, car, model and part", a non-intelligent search function HAS NO WAY TO KNOW IF SOMETHING FALLS WITHIN YOUR SEARCH OR NOT. All you accomplish is to confuse the poor machine with too much information that it's not smart enough to organize.

The algorithms employed by most search engines (including Google) are NOT YET INTELLIGENT ENOUGH to know that a transmission, for instance, is a car part, and should therefore be included in your search results...unless it's specifically identified as a "CAR PART" where the search program can see it.

Rather than use Shapeways' search function, which is actually pretty stupid indeed, try a Google search for the term "Shapeways 1/12" and you may get more valid results.

Between the stupid search function, and the often stupid TAGGING of products by the folks who put them up, you often need to do a lot of thinking on your own.

Save the addresses of the sellers of parts you find that fit your criteria, and search within them in the future, as you've already mentioned.

OR...IF YOU SEARCH VEHICLES 1/12 in the Shapeways search box, you get very relevant results displayed FIRST.

https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace?type=product&q=vehicles+1%2F12&s=0#more-products

REMEMBER>  Keep your search terms to the minimum required to convey your meaning.

 

Edited December 7, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[Spex84]

One way is to just google what you want, and check out the "Image" results, instead of using Shapeways' search function. It can be faster to navigate too--I find Shapeways to be kind of slow to load. 

*edit* whoops, Ace already mentioned that approach. Well, I'll back it up then, haha.

 

 

Edited December 7, 2017 by Spex84

[djflyer]

I can verify the search "vehicles 1/24" (or scale of choice) seems to bring the best results.  Also, you can find alot of related items by using the tags shown below any item you find that meets your criteria.

I have purchased items from 3D Model Specialties, TDR Innovations, Indycals, and Kingtoys all with great success.  Quality products to suit a variety of interests.

[peteski]

On 12/7/2017 at 1:42 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

A general understanding of the operation and limitations of search functions can go a long way towards eliminating frustration.

Understanding how to use strings of search terms is essential to finding things online, and if the first search fails, try different terms.

Eh, why not just ask Alexa?  She knows *EVERYTHING*!

[blunc]

23 minutes ago, peteski said:

Eh, why not just ask Alexa?  She knows *EVERYTHING*!

Does she know Siri's phone number?