Smart home and hobby gear, tested at home.
Reviews of smart home, 3D printing, LEGO and tabletop gear I actually own and use. I used it for a while and wrote down what went wrong.
Latest reviews
- Home Assistant 2026.11: why everyone is excited about the Marketplace, and what’s nextHome Assistant 2026.11 turns HACS into a built-in Marketplace, gives ZHA groups their own devices and adds Zigbee Green Power. Here’s what’s in it, why the growth behind it matters, and what’s announced vs hoped for on partnerships.
- Building Trench Crusade-Style Terrain: Craters, Wire, Trenches and Barricades
Trench Crusade is set in 1914, so the terrain is craters, wire, trenches and barricades. Here are the common ways hobbyists build each one, with a source for every method. - LEGO UCS Millennium Falcon (75192) review: the weight, the minifigs and a modular build
I built the LEGO Ultimate Collector Series Millennium Falcon and loved it. The weight, the minifigs and the modular build are why, and if you buy it, display it. - Trench Crusade: Carcass Front, First Look and Why I Preordered It
A first look at the Trench Crusade: Carcass Front starter box: what’s in it, what it costs, and why I preordered it. This is not a hands-on review. - Arcana Unleashed Review: Magic for Martials, With Caveats
I bought Arcana Unleashed with my own money and really enjoyed it, especially the magical flavor it gives martial characters. It adds useful flair, but martials still lack competitive edges, just not as badly as people complain. - LEGO Minas Tirith (11377) review: 8,278 pieces, build-only secrets
I built the LEGO Icons Minas Tirith. Seven tiers of stupefying detail, great interactions, and secrets the designers hid where only builders will find them.
What I’ll cover
Smart home, local first. Zigbee, Thread and Matter, ESPHome, and voice, tested on Home Assistant, with attention to what still works without the cloud.
LEGO and compatible bricks. Sets and compatible brands: how they build, how they fit, and whether the lights and motors behave.
Maker gear. FDM and resin 3D printing, resin casting, and the tools and materials around them.
Tabletop and TTRPG. Painting and terrain for wargames like Trench Crusade, Age of Sigmar and 40k, plus the RPG books and tools I use at the table.
How I review
Every product I review gets used long enough to learn something real. Smart home gear runs on my live Home Assistant setup. Sets get built. Printers print. Buying guides say plainly when an item is one I haven’t used. Every post starts from my own notes and hands-on experience. AI helps me draft and edit, and I review and edit every post before it goes live. Stock photos are labeled as stock until my own replace them. Any free unit or affiliate link is disclosed in the post itself. Read the review policy.
Get in touch
Questions, or you make something that fits? Use the contact page.