Hobby: collecting seashells I n Tristram Shandy, the term "hobby-horse" was used to refer to whimsical obsessions, which led to the current use of the word "hobby"

Making and tinkering[edit]

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Making and tinkering includes working on self-motivated projects for fulfillment. These projects may be progressive, irregular tasks performed over a long period of time.^[1] Making and Tinkering hobbies include higher-end projects, such as building or restoring a car or building a computer from individual parts, like CPUs and SSDs. For computer savvy do-it-yourself hobbyists, CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining may also popular. A CNC machine can be assembled and programmed to make different parts from wood or metal.
Tinkering is 'dabbling' with the making process, often applied to the hobby of tinkering with car repairs, and various kinds of restoration: of furniture, antique cars, etc. It also applies to household tinkering: repairing a wall, laying a pathway, etc. Examples of Making and Tinkering hobbies include Scale modeling, model engineering, 3D printing, dressmaking, and cooking.
Scale modeling is making a replica of a real-life object in a smaller scale and dates back to prehistoric times with small clay "dolls" and other children's toys that have been found near known populated areas. Some of the earliest scale models of residences were found in Cucuteni–Trypillia culture in Eastern Europe. These artifacts were dated to be around 3000-6000 BC.^[16] Similar models dating back to the same period were found in ancient Egypt, India, China and Mesopotamia archaeological sites.^[17]
At the turn of the Industrial Age and through the 1920s, some families could afford things such as electric trains, wind-up toys (typically boats or cars) and the increasingly valuable tin toy soldiers. Scale modeling as we know it today became popular shortly after World War II. Before 1946, children as well as adults were content in carving and shaping wooden replicas from block wood kits, often depicting enemy aircraft to help with identification in case of an invasion.^{[citation needed]}
With the advent of modern plastics, the amount of skill required to get the basic shape accurately shown for any given subject was lessened, making it easier for people of all ages to begin assembling replicas in varying scales. Superheroes, aero planes, boats, cars, tanks, artillery, and even figures of soldiers became quite popular subjects to build, paint and display. Although almost any subject can be found in almost any scale, there are common scales for such miniatures which remain constant today.