My hobby is building cosplay weapons/props or just building shit in general. I get to look at the thing I made and go “holy shit, I made that with my crafting skills and my own 2 hands!”. I made Guts’s sword from Berserk before and I get to swing it around.

It challenges my creativity because I also do prop design for drawing/vis dev. So when I design my own weapon(s) and I can make it into 3D art for display. My whole room will be filled with cardboard swords and guns one day.

I finally know why I am the weirdo at parties.

I wouldn’t call model railroading my main hobby, as I only touch it once in a while. But that’s also what I do love about it. You leave it packed away in a closet for YEARS, then one rainy day you stumble across those boxes & decide to unpack them. And they still work like you remember as a kid. It’s like reconnecting with an old friend.

Making something nice out of junk and repairing things is immensely satisfying. Lately I’ve turned a fallen tree into wood shingles to clad an outbuilding and installed a reclaimed ornate window.

Getting into cooking, which is most rewarding when done with family and friends. Today’s recipe is spinach and ricotta pasta.

I love programming and there are endless things to build in that world. Currently making a log burning stove control system using an Arduino, sensors and servos.

The rest of my recreational time is spent gaming on a pc, World War Z right now, love a co-op.

Cooking: I love having friends or family come over for lunch or dinner and serving them something that they rave about.

Hiking: The quiet, still moments when there’s no-one else (other than my wife who I usually hike with) around and we can absorb the sights and sounds of nature.

Role-playing games: When the story we’re all creating together comes together perfectly.

I basically unlock new superpowers as I work on self-servicing infrastructure

The people.

Boardgame fans are often very smart and aware.

I can make up my own songs with lyrics that I want to sing.

Lately I’ve been working on one called “these people are nuts”.

It’s so ruinously expensive that I can’t afford any vices.

I’ve been golfing (yea, I am aware that the majority of Lemmy hates golf) a lot more recently. I enjoy that it’s something that can be done with people of varying skill levels while still being fun. Ultimately, the competition is just with yourself to keep improving.

Plants don’t have opinions and flowers are pretty.

How cool some origami figures look once finished, specially those that can be folded in less than one hour.

I find amazing how all those shapes can be achieved just by folding.

Sailing, because it’s dozens of hobbies in one: It’s a competitive sport either with a team or solo, or it can be a relaxing diversion, or it can be a terrifying personal challenge. It can encompass skills such as sewing, woodworking, machining, plumbing, physics, mathematics, design, navigation, radio communication, astronomy, meteorology, geography, geology, environmental sciences, electronics/electrical engineering, history, linguistics, culinary skills, and more. You can basically always be thinking about it!

Researching arcane historical facts, to help make plot twists more plausible.

It saves me thousands of dollars that are immediately spent on tools!