Go to a small local jeweler. They can often make you something custom for much less than the price of a chain store. They’ll also be able to walk you through all the options and advantages of each. If you’re having trouble finding that little mom and pop spot, Google jewelry repair. 9 out of 10 of those businesses will be more than happy to take on your project.

That can definitely happen in the base game. Just have to position to fight fewer enemies at once.

The 30 - 40 years part is key. You need to support them for a generation. You need to let the remnants of the old power structure get old and die. The country has to be full of people that were raised with the benefits of the new government.

You can look at Japan for a great example of this type of success.

Dark Knight, Fury Road, and… Hellboy 2019.

I feel like Hellboy is a hot take. It bombed and even other Hellboy fans seem to hate it.

This is my favorite movie. I own it in almost every format. I have the NES game complete in box, and I don’t even own an NES.

I’m a little heartbroken, but I’m also curious if there is a way to get part of the tree.

I forgot to mention what’s next. I’ve got a weekend loop at Mt Rogers in VA planned for next month. I’m also trying to take down another MST section, but I might have to settle for biking or skating a road heavy section due to time constraints.

I really like the Yama tarp. I’m pretty sure I bought the last one they had because it switched to “out of stock” after I placed my order last year. I had been considering Borah Gear for a long time, but when push came to shove the lead time was too long.

I haven’t had any heavy rain with the Yama, but I did use it in some bad ass winds last fall. It required 12 stakes and tying the ridgeline to trees instead of my poles, but it held up. I’ve had similar winds flatten tents so I was worried about a tear. I’ve also used it as a sun shade on the beach and it stood up to strong winds there as well.

The sleeping pad is fine. It was very cheap and has no insulation. Not a good pick for cold weather. My body doesn’t handle foam pads as well as it used to so I wanted to try an inflatable. I’ll use this until it breaks or I plan a trip in the cold. I cut it short and sealed it with an iron to save weight. It is similar to the cheap uninsulated Klymit pads. I’ve got somewhere between 10 and 15 nights on it and I’m officially sold on inflatables over foam.

Last year I started section hiking the MST. I did section 9 and 10. Section 9 includes about 45 miles of road hiking, and I used a skateboard for as much of that as I could. Section 10 is all on trail so I ditched the board and used the larger pack so I could carry more food.

On that trip I used everything on the list except for the sunscreen. I could carry less pocket knife but I like the stubby little morakniv. I use their larger knives in my normal life and they can really take a beating. I also didn’t use most of the first aid kit, but there’s nothing in there I would leave at home.

Using the little 20 liter pack has me GASing for something ultralight and about 30L in size. That would give me all the space I need with enough room to swap to different rain gear and sleeping bags as weather requires.

hmmmm. I should probably get some decent tweezers and scissors. I also need to replace my benadryl. It got wet and I never refilled it.

Thank you for posting this list. I’m comforted to know that I was already doing most of what was listed here, but worried that I left out a few essentials.

I still owe you a lighterpack and I’ve been slow about getting around to it. I pulled out all my stuff in preparation for an upcoming trip and weighed it.

It’s not down to ultralight weights, but it’s not far off if you drop the luxury items and some extra clothes. I’m debating switching to a smaller pack. I’ve carried all this same kit in a Cotopaxi 20L climbing pack that weighs about 10 oz less. The gorilla is more comfortable though, especially if it’s dry and I have to carry more water.

Here’s the WIP on the current pack. https://lighterpack.com/r/7okvil

Edit: Here’s a version without the unnecessary extras. It comes in at just over 9lbs base weight. Depending on the weather I would need to switch back to a real rain jacket. This is what I carried on a 3 day skateboard trip last year. https://lighterpack.com/r/j7iwjy

I got my pocket in the first wave of releases, but I held off on the dock until earlier this year. My dock arrived a few days ago and I love it.

After using modded Gameboys and various emulators, the pocket is my favorite hand held. I still prefer the form factor ofa Gameboy micro, but the pocket’s screen can’t be beat.

The dock is a nice way to top access those same games on a big screen, but I don’t think the pocket is the best option if you only want to play on a tv.

If you like sarcastic Brits and the Craftsman, please check out Bill Making Stuff.

I did at one point. Let me see if I can track it down. Fair warning, part of my UL motivation is saving weight for luxuries like a kindle and deodorant.

We had a baby in March so I haven’t been on a trip since last fall. Hoping to do a few more sections of the MST this September.

Yes, I would say it generally costs more. But it doesn’t have to.

For example, ultralight tents are expensive, so I embraced tarp life. My tarp and bivy are lighter than most UL tents and cost hundreds of dollars less.

My individual pieces of clothing cost more, but adopting an ultralight approach means I don’t carry needless extras, so I don’t buy as many clothes in the first place.

UL stoves can cost a lot, but the BRS stove or an alcohol stove are cheap and weigh less. Eating cold food is even lighter.

You get the idea. It costs exactly what you spend on it. It can be done affordabley if you are strict about what you are carrying and strategic with purchases. Leaving unneeded items at home will have a bigger impact on your base weight than any $700 tent.

OK, I came up with a new plan, and I want to make sure I’ll be within the base size rules.

I’m working on a Celestial Lions conversion using the Sgt Castus model. It will be based on a 40mm base and will not be using his necron scenery. Sgt Castus is the same size as other Primaris marines, but he shipped with a 50mm base. I want to confirm I’ll be OK to enter him in the contest as long as he’s on that 40mm base instead.

I keep imagining the dedicated seal stamping machine that can plop out 400 lbs of sealing wax in one go.

That’s fair and I understand.

Perhaps for future competitions the defining factor for small models should be the “infantry” keyword? Between scale creep and GW’s arbitrary basing decisions it can be hard to define model size by the base.

How strict is the base size requirement? I just picked up a Leviathan Captain for a conversion, but he has a bigger base. It also rules out characters like Helbrecht.

You should get on discord! It’s like the instant messenger of our youth but with more features. You can find a discord for every hobby.

I think part of it is because lemmy has historically been welcoming to people with different ideas. If your views aren’t welcome elsewhere, you can just host your own instance and say whatever you want.

But I also think we’re witnessing coordinated propaganda. It reminds me so much of the pro-russian trolling and memes that took over 4chan in 00s and early 10s.

This is awesome! I might have to dive back in.