Hobby Thread - May 9, 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) decided on a Montana travel theme for this Hobby Thread.

Why Montana? We may never know. The ways of the Wheel are strange and mysterious.

[Top Photo: Cathedral of St. Helena, Helena, Montana]

What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. We have a theme, but no need to stick with the theme. Even if the theme does not speak to you, find something else or offer something else relating to hobbying. Leave politics and religion to threads elsewhere. 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.

Captain Vasili Borodin had dreams of Montana. "I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a 'recreational vehicle.' And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?"

Are you wise in the ways of Montana?

Have you visited? Do you have favorite spots or scenic drives or seasons?

National parks? Ski slopes? Ghost towns? Mining history? Dinosaurs?

This is a travel themed thread. Let's go to Montana!

Glacier National Park may be the closest the US has to European Alps. Pictures do not do it justice:

The Going-to-the-Sun Road is not accessible year round. It gets snowy. Very snowy.

Butte is known for its mining history. They called it "The Richest Hill on Earth." Good overview and good old photos in this documentary.

The Bekeley Pit in Butte is one of the most well known mining sites in Montana. Most of the Youtube videos are heavy with indignant environmental lectures, so learn more by reading this explanation at Pitwatch, the official website set up with information about the pit.

Remember our beekeeping and honey theme from a few weeks ago?

Montana consistently ranks among the top 5 honey-producing states in the U.S.

Montana typically produces 9-15 million pounds of honey annually from around 100,000-270,000 colonies.

Has anyone visited the Ringing Rocks?

Our Lady of the Rockies is built atop the Continental Divide outside Butte

Beartooth Highway - one of the most scenic drives in the US? Absolutely.

Yellowstone is large. This overview covers a lot of ground and will give you a good sense of the park. Of course, nothing compares to being on the ground, but a good armchair tour is the next best thing.

This is very nice. No voice over or music - just great scenery and natural sounds.

I know what you're thinking. "There has to be some interesting ghost towns in Montana that are off the beaten path. Maybe old mining towns?" Yes, yes there is. Allow me to introduce Comet.

Top tip: if you go beyond the town, look for a sign that says "Road not maintained. Proceed at your own risk." When you see the sign, turn around. Trust me.

While Montana is generally known for "big sky country," it also has a place called "Big Sky" that is a skiing favorite.

The Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman is one of the world's best dinosaur museums. Extraordinary specimens. T-Rex history!! Apparently Wyoming is first on the dino bone discovery list and Montana is second.

Mandatory stop. For obvious reasons.

I know what you're thinking. "I have an extra $30m in my checking account and I am interested in a 2006+ acre ranch in Montana. I'd really like something that comes with a resident Elk herd. Do you have any options for me?"

Yes.

Non-Montana content...

Audi honoring its racing history.

This car makes a statement: the Auto Union Lucca is emblematic of the technical innovation of the four rings in the 1930s. Audi Tradition has recreated the spectacular record-breaking car and will unveil it for the first time in early May in - aptly - the Italian city of Lucca. On February 15, 1935, the car set a widely acclaimed flying-start mile record on a straight section of the autostrada near Lucca, achieving a calculated average speed of 320.267 km/h and a measured top speed of 326.975 km/h. The Rennlimousine, a period term meaning "racing sedan," was completed in the spring of 2026 and will join the legendary Silver Arrows in AUDI AG's historic vehicle collection.

Audi had the Auto Union Lucca recreated by Crosthwaite & Gardiner based on historical photos and various other documents from the archives. After spending just over three years on its construction, the British restoration specialists completed the project in early 2026. All components are handcrafted especially for this model; in addition to the technical implementation, the production of the streamlined bodywork - such as the cockpit canopy and the tapered tail - was particularly labor-intensive. The hard work paid off: at the end of April, a drag coefficient of 0.43 was measured for the record-breaking car in the Audi wind tunnel.

Random hobbying - a NASA Mars Rover replica made from matchsticks:

On display at the San Deigo Air & Space Museum.

Building the Mars rover Perseverance began in April 2020 and used 880,000 matchsticks and 28 gallons of wood glue by the time it was competed in the spring 2021.

The massive matchstick model measures over 10 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 7 feet at its tallest point. In addition to having a remote control video camera mounted atop the mast, the rover can be remotely operated to move forwards and backwards.

More photos here at Matchstick Marvels.

Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an car repair 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).

If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.