All:
So it should be clearly evident to everyone that 1) some sort of accessible list or matrix of "kits w/interiors" may be desirable and of some possible use for some or many of us, and 2) that there are all sorts of complications, pitfalls and problems with the extant, fragmentary available site data (ex. eBay, Scalemates, etc.) that make it sometimes difficult to actually find stuff you search for, but 3) creating any such data-base / list / matrix is inherently complicated and a big challenge.
And I'll suppose some think that I am a nay-sayer and "wet blankie" on the whole thing. I plead mostly innocent to those charges, gents!
But I DO feel remiss in not offering some relief! I have a few suggestions which may help simplify such a dreamy task and may perhaps encourage someone to take up this gauntlet...
One would be to remember that it is the DATA-BASE CREATER / BUILDER who is in control of how data is entered, defined, and accessed. NOT some group or "committee" effort. Someone has to take executive responsibility for what is created - and no group or committee can do that, in reality.
So... Some ideas: I would suggest that the BUILDER "divorce" the data-base naming from ALL USER, kit-maker, AND "historical" variation and confusion in naming things! For example, as seen in this thread, that WWII German tank type known to many as the "panzer IV", but officially and kit-maker-wise by many names (Pz.Kpfw IV, etc.) could become simply the "panzer IV" for the data-base -ALL Pz IV kits would be listed under that one searchable label, regardless of what the box says. Likewise for many other types with nomenclature difficulties. Shermans, Tiger I, Tiger II, Panther, "German halftracks", "Russian WWII trucks", modern (post-1965?) US armored vehicles, "SPAAG", etc. The DATA MANAGER / BUILDER would assign these type labels. Keeping the number of such grouping labels to a minimum is very helpful for searchers... and greatly simplify building the data-base!
We are talking about kits "w/interior" - and we note that this term covers a lot of sin... Again, this can be usefully simplified by the BUILDER - who could create a few categories (perhaps "detailed w/engine", "detailed, no engine", "minimal interior"). These would be his or her JUDGMENT and NOT some formal classification - but all listed interior kits would fit into one or another of these, so... NOT get left out. The USERS should not actually care one rat's A WHAT the BUILDER's actual decision and classification are - it's just his "executive opinion". ALL the kits get in SOMEWHERE.
Maybe stay away from opinionation things like "accuracy"... EVERYONE has one, and some several, opinions about this, and in terms of searching a data-base for kits which have some interior that a USER will later look up in detail, this OPINION matters NOT.
Scale is objective, as are Nationality, war (I, II, Iraq?), year-range vehicle produced, year kit produced and kit manufacturer, and these are objective and searchable. So these are easy to use as possible filters.
And I would strongly suggest that the BUILDER create a "definitions catalogue" or, as gov DM call it, a "Data Dictionary" for his/her data base. This DD defines what all the various labels mean or cover, so the USER can consult the "panzer IV" label definition and find out that this label includes all Pz.Kpfw IV, pzkpfw IV, panzerkampfwagen IV, Pz. IV, etc. kits. Data definitions keep both BUILDER and USERS "honest".
And of course, all of ONE PERSON should be the MANAGER who enters the data, elects WHERE those data go, etc. All others would be Read Only. An update rule could include; ANYONE could forward potential data to the manager for inclusion at his/her discretion. The MANAGER decides what gets into the data-base, where.
These things, and a few others, could go far in simplifying this potentially ENORMOUS task. I do hope that someone DOES consider actually taking this up, and I will gladly volunteer to help wherever I can that someone as they shovel along in what could be a very cool, if VERY CHALLENGING, project.
Cheers! Bob
