h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can't help posting about the overlap here into traditionally male avenues of expression through play.

Any cursory exploration of the world of model railways will show that afficionados spend a lot of time filling out the space around the tracks with landscaping, civil engineering features such as bridges, and realistic buildings.

In fact, to do it properly the buildings and fixtures and fittings have to be as accurate and realistic as possible: internal detailing is (as often as not) restricted to what can be seen through the windows, but a whole industry exists to provide the buildings and both the internal and external fixtures to add a touch of reality. Shelves of books have been written about this aspect of the hobby and enthusiasts, as often as not, will craft parts from scratch where no "off the shelf" compnent can be bought.

Similarly, miltary modellers and wargamers will craft scenes and settings to present their models in, or to provide objectives to fight over. Building in a reasonable degree of damage - and doing it realistically - to represent a part-destroyed building is an art form in itself! (Railway modellers, on the whole, prefer their structures to be intact. Although one American maverick built an inner-city New York Subway line complete with slums, demolition and graffiti both to trains and buildings...)