The Hobby Thread

[Railwaymodeler]

OK, new forum, old members (Mostly). This place needs a hobby picture thread!

Here's a couple of N Scale scenes:

EDIT: For some reason I wrote about my O scale trains, but posted pics of my N scale. Text edited to reflect pictures.

[Yucie]

A picture of the few plushies I have in my current apartment! Older ones have almost all been given away to my nephew, but these ones are mine alone. x)

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

One picture wouldn't be enough to describe my hobby.
Actually, I could call it an occupation, IF Anastasia Beaverhausen didn't belong to the russian royalty
(and royalty and work are words that don't belong together)

I'm about to change the default language to english but meanwhile, here is the link to my picture gallery:

http://www.bebeinhos.com/apps/photos/

[Mirkomick]

To answer all possible upcoming questions,

YES that is my head hanging on her wall there....

[Dr. Jones]

Guess the hobby ...

[Mirkomick]

I bet on games, looks like board games mainly, probably rpgs

But on the side this looks like Tikal, the letters look like the german tikal game, but the box appears to be bigger, and I guess the game is different, as Tikal is just one of theese typical german-board games, though I'm not sure if its a german one, anyway my kids have it as well (actually it was mine, but I haven't played in 10 years) :-)

[Dr. Jones]

Not a single RPG actually, even if i concede that there are a few dungeon crawlers
Just board games

And Tikal is probably the same, i'd say... it's the only game which is not mine (i'm not a big fan, i borrowed it from a friend)

[Railwaymodeler]

Two more from my N Scale railroad in by bedroom (A small 4 foot by 8 foot layout - in these small scales a lot can be done in a small space!)

[Dr. Jones]

Here's a couple of N Scale scenes:

EDIT: For some reason I wrote about my O scale trains, but posted pics of my N scale. Text edited to reflect pictures.

Can you remember for a mere mortal like me what's the meaning/difference between N and O ? ^^;;

[Railwaymodeler]

O Scale is 1:48, or 1/4" = 1'. A standard forty foot boxcar is ten inches long.

In the United States, O scale is the oldest scale in continuous use. It was originally called 0 scale (as in Zero), before World War I.

Perhaps to make it sound more patriotic, it gradually became the letter O around that time.

In europe, there also is 1 and 2 scale. 2 is no longer used and was HUGE stuff. 1 is smaller than 2 and 0 is smaller still. But with these, we are talking about the early 1900s.

O scale is popular due to Lionel Corporation's popularity in the 1950s. Most boys back then wanted a train set, and Lionel made all sorts of goodies for their sets - operating accessories such as a milk refrigerator with a man inside that put milk cans on  a platform, coal loaders that load open top cars, and tons of others.

Back in the pre-WWII days, there were two forks of O scale. One was known as 'tinplate' where the focus was on action, rather than realism. Trains were fairly crude in details, but you could have a mechanized world with lots of action.

The other fork, was focused on exacting detail. Since O is fairly big, it is easy to put all kind of details on cars and engines. But with this, there was not too much animation on railroad layouts.

I tend to meld the two: I take O scale detailed cars from the prewar and early postwar era, and fit them to work on tinplate layouts. Tinplate wheels, for decades, had larger flanges to help grip the sheet tin rails that had a round top, rather than a realistic flat top. As they are, an exact scale car will constantly derail from tinplate track, as it can't properly grip the rails.

Couplers are different too. Lionel style are much larger, easier for kids to work with.

Now, for N scale, it is much smaller, at 1:160 scale (This varies around the globe a bit too). N scale came into being in the late 1960s. The small scale (A boxcar will fit in the palm of your hand), means a lot of stuff can be packed in a small space.

Most of my trains, though, are HO scale (Short for Half O scale). HO is 1:87 here in the USA. Back in the late 1930s, when HO first came out, the British found they could not fit a motor in their train models at that scale, as British trains tend to be smaller than their US counterparts. So, they kept the HO track size (5/8") and scale (1:87), but made the trains to 1:76 scale, known as OO scale.

To further muddy the waters, OO was popular in the USA to an extent, before WWII. But, in contrast to British OO, American OO is 1:76 trains AND track, so a British OO train will work on American HO track, but NOT American OO track.

For more on American vs. British OO, look here:
http://americanoo.blogspot.com/

Most of my antique trains are HO scale, though I am slowly restoring a set of OO coaches. Scale-Craft was a huge name in OO before WWII and O Scale rolling stock. I have lots of Scale-Craft reefers and boxcars, and even a couple die cast metal hoppers and gondolas. Plus a rare caboose and flatcar.

[Dr. Jones]

Have to say, i didn't expect that much o_o;
This is a very impressive (and undoubtfully accurate) description, very interesting, thanks !

[Maz]

A few piccies related to my favourite hobbies..

[Yucie]

Second hobby, cosplay. x) My best friend and I right after Christmas last year. ^^ Picture taken by DarkLord~

[Dr. Jones]

@Maz : Very pretty pics
What are you smoking on the last one ? Sounds suspicious and illegal
Would it be ok eventually to attach them instead of linking ? It's overall faster for browsing and avoid broken links later

@Yucie : You forgot to mention you are the one on the right (or maybe it wasn't a forget, whatever )

[Maz]

@Maz : Very pretty pics
What are you smoking on the last one ? Sounds suspicious and illegal
Would it be ok eventually to attach them instead of linking ? It's overall faster for browsing and avoid broken links later

@Yucie : You forgot to mention you are the one on the right (or maybe it wasn't a forget, whatever )

It would've been better to attach them - one never knows how long the images will stay in such a "free img uplads" site. But I did not spot the attach button... :rolleyes:

mmm...

I know I am kind of a spammer, but...

Total Time Spent Online:
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Quite fast typer, right?

DL...
*points at his signature*

[Dr. Jones]

"Additional options" when you post (not in quick reply, still)

Aye, like i've said, i've to move the svn back

* DarkLord feels like Maz is going to post anarchically in all topics regardless the topic

That bring back memories...

[Maz]

* Maz feels DarkLord feels correctly

Which memories?

[FFreak3]

hehe . . . a few of you know what an avid hobbyist I am

Records, Sci-fi, board games, programming and RPGs to name the main ones. And Hats. And tea Sets.

I have >1000 records now, a few bookshelves of sci-fi magazines, programming as a side-job (for two physicists), and I have my own tabletop gaming club
My hat and tea set collection haven't grown much in the past couple of years, but I would have nowhere to put new additions anyways.

I can recognize every game that DL has there ;p Ah man, i haven't been allowed to play Smallworld since I conquered half the board with sea-faring skeletons and forest-dwelling mermaids . . . end result, i had 140 points in a 4 player game ;p


Nice cosplay, Yucie.

[Dr. Jones]

Well in board games, i prefer when the game is more balanced, even if it means playing more poorly than one can do. I don't think it's hyper interesting to totally crush the opponents, just good for them to not want to play anymore with you ...

[FFreak3]

Well, I prefer when the players are all even to begin with. Even games are definitely more fun. I don't see any point in playing below my skill, and when my opponents are silly enough not to take the obvious opportunities in front of them, well . . why not crush them.

On the other hand, if fate deals me a more than fair hand, and from there springs my advantage, then I usually do something to even the score. Winning by luck isn't fun unless the game was already breakneck even.