Hobby Thread - July 11, 2026 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. For this week, the Wheel of Hobbies (TM) is feeling micro. It spun and spun and landed on a small scale theme for this Hobby Thread.

A what? You heard me.

Top photo:

The Erzgebirge mountain range in eastern Germany near the Czech border is known for woodcraft. The silver and tin miners used to whittle lindenwood (basswood) as a hobby but when the mines ran dry, the whittling turned into a way to make a living. The nutcracker was born there. A wide range of wood toys, ornaments and decorations are still made and the skills and traditions passed down through the generations.

This matchbox scene shows a woodshop in a box only 2 inches long and 1.5 inches high. Lots of other scenes and characters are available in matchbox form.

There is something about scale that piques our imaginations. There are roadside attractions dedicated to large-scale furniture, food and animals. The only novelty is the size (and the random location of an unusually large random item).

On the other end of the spectrum, small scale is interesting for different reasons. In nature, we're fascinated by small worlds that we barely see. We're impressed by details and the dexterity it takes to produce. We also like being able to wrap our hands around a small scale version of something too large to hold. Scale models allow us to collect cars, airplanes and boats. Doll houses and battlefields are arguably different flavors of the same instinct.

Have you heard the phrase "God is in the details?" What about the converse that says "The devil is in the details?" Both can be true.

Miniatures and small-scale is an unspoken part of hobbying and crafting. Anything small is often more accessible than full scale or large scale. For today's theme, let's focus on the details.

Does the world of miniatures speak to you? What hobbies or crafts or interests revel in the small scale or details? What worlds do you build or observe under a microscope? Do you have any hobbies that require a magnifying glass (other than the painful march of time that often makes it more difficult for those over 29 to see anything clearly)? Do you take extreme pride in details that you know are there, but few others will ever know or see?

Let's get small. It is a small world after all.

What are you hobbying?

The thread is not limited to to the theme. Anything (legal) you are hobbying is welcome. Even if the theme does not speak to you, you might learn something. If not, find something else or offer something else relating to hobbying. If all of that fails, just check in and say hello.

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere (unless your hobby is building or restoring churches). Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

Making a miniature artist studio:

Making a dollhouse library (the tiny rolltop desk is amazing):

Making miniature plants:

Making miniature tiny furniture:

Miniature book making - with an actual bookbinding method:

Warning: this video is long. But if you start watching, prepare to watch the whole thing (maybe later).

Skip - this one is for you. Making tiny toy soldiers in 1965 England:

Clever re-purposing of a plastic model kit:

I don't think I need one, but it makes my heart happy to know that you can buy a micro scale Caterpillar D8T bulldozer as a keychain.

Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg is high on my list of things to see in Germany someday:

Before this week's Hobby Thread research, I had never heard of the Japan Hand Plane Championship. After watching, I still don't fully understand what I'm seeing but looks like the goal is to create the thinnest wood shaving.

The number of niches across the spectrum of interests and hobbies is breathtaking. How events or people exist just below the radar screen of awareness?

A silver lining of social media and YouTube is the ability to allow people with niche interests to find each other and for us to stumble onto people and interests we did not know exist.

On a related note, between the Hobby Thread and ONT research, the YouTube algorithm for me is quite something to behold... You should see the weirdness in my recommendations...

Horde hobbying from lurker LF:

This came from my great-grandfather's attic. He and his across the street neighbor helped build each other's houses. Both were coopers in the Chicago stockyards. My g-gf died in 1917 right after his roof was finished so last used then.

What was he doing with a Sabatier knife? I have his larger one also. Likely making German sausage for home use and the first floor store.

That and two rental apartments sustained his widow and the rest of the family until it sold in 1965. Oh, and the cracked handle repair is a nod to kintsugi!

Before photo with a dirty blade.

After:

I simply used various grades of steel wool, no powdered abrasives or sandpaper. I clamped and epoxied the handle, but didn't get a photo. The tang prevented the complete closure of the split. Next I will sent the initials on the handle. I remembered MH, my great grandfather's, but clearly MM, his neighbor and co-carpenter of their respective homes.

Genealogy hobbying humor:

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a flreworks theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

Notable comments from last week:

Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

Reminder: if you put links in the comments, use a URL shortener and describe what you're linking to. Failing to do either or both makes you barrel-eligible. Don't make people click to find out what you're linking.

Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Or just email to say hello. Do mighty things.

posted by Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

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