Mitsubishi J2M3 "Jack" 1/144th Scale

While Dave was working on his Grumman Hellcat I was working on a Mitsubishi J2M3 "Jack". The model was old enough that I couldn't find a date on the box or in instructions (not that I can read Japanese mind you) but I was able to find it on a website of vintage models, claiming it was form the 1980's. Which makes sense, given the foggy and weak condition of the decals.

But none the les it was a pleasure to to build and paint. Unlikf dave's Hellcat,I painted my Jack to look like the box art, going for a fresh of the assembly line feel that I just love for aircraft.

The Jack is the plane at the Back Right

So this box was supposed to come with two planes, however I only had rules for one. It was no big deal, the box was only $5. However I opened it, I found that there were two other models for Japaense dive bombers in there as well... That certainly won;t supposed to be in my two model kit. Likely a package error, it worked in my favour as I had rules for one of the Dive bombers... but not the other. So the way I see it is that my 4 four model kit gave me the two models I paid for.

Since a jack is no match for a Hellcat we also snagged, a Corsair, and a Zero, which I am hoping to assemble soon, making for a more even and interesting fight.

I got this model from the bargain/repacked section at my local model shop... And I can't even tell you who made it. So if you know please comment!

Written by: Andrew Gregory

Zander the Halfling Thief

After Chris' first 2nd ed Player Character Butters was killed by the Malbridge Thief's Guild, he pondered what he was going to do next. He considered being a Fighter, but out of nine party members, they already had fuve warriors, so instead he chose to go for another thief, this time choosing a Halfling named Zander to get those racial sneak bonuses for being so small.

Zander's family were once nobility, but sadly the ruthless Count Opplethor swindled them out of their lands and titles, leaving them no better off than paupers. One night while praying for guidance Zander was given a vision by the gods to go to Chester and seek aid from the Wizard there. Once he arrived, the Wizard of Chester quickly imprisoned him; keeping him in his tower in Chester. It was a gilded cage, but a cage none the less.

After a month, Zander had almost given up hope of escape, and the return of his family lands and titles seemed hopeless. Then one evening a group of travellers claiming to be from the North, and headed East on a quest from the Gods, granted him an opportunity to escape.

Zander warned them that the Wizard would not let them leave, and when this was made abundantly clear, Thomas the Chronomancer simply Time Slipped himself, John the Ranger, and Zander out of the Material Prime and in to the Temporal Prime. There, they travelled back 5 hours to a time before they ever entered Chester.

They arrived back in the Material Prime close to the party, and explained the events. This wasn't the first time they'd had to put up with time travel shenanigans, so they agreed to go around the city. Zander claimed to know the way, and began leading the party for the next two days. He was successful though admittedly that was through shear luck rather than knowledge and guided the party around Chester. After his initial success with the party, Zander earned a reputation as some one to be trusted, a much different relationship than the party had with Butters.

Zander's mini is From Splintered Light miniatures, though I had to remove the club and replace it with a tiny scythe of green stuff to fit the character.

Chris' new character has seen two games so far, and fingers crossed he will see many more.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

The Death of Butters

Arachnophobia's Gnomish Beggar-Thief and Chris' Player Character Butters, was untrustworthy, disloyal, and an all around greedy and self serving individual. So it was no surprise to anyone (even Chris) that he came to a violent end trying to rip off the Thief's Guild in the troubled town of Malbridge.

The story goes that upon reaching the town of Malbridge -while travelling east towards John Quest to become a Greenwood Ranger- Butters encountered a fellow beggar and learned the location of the Thief’s Guild in town. He separated from the party, and entered the Guild Hall hidden underneath a small and unimposing house on the outskirts of town.

There he learned from a group of drunken thieves that they had stolen a fortune in gold -no less than 5000gp- and had hidden it outside of town. While two of the thieves drank themselves silly, one of them pulled Butters aside, and offered him a deal. The two of them could split the gold if Butters would dispose of his other two colleagues. He couldn't risk doing it himself or he would be removed from the guild and likely killed, so he needed Butters to do the deed.

Despite the obvious risks involved, Butters accepted, and slew the Thief's two comrades while they slept. He then met with the thief who cautiously lead Butters towards where the gold was kept. They both knew what coming.

Upon reaching the location, the Thief tried to kill Butters, but our Gnomish Beggar was too quick for him. Butters dodge the first blow, and return with a vicious swing from his Flail that broke the Thief's shin. He collapsed to the ground, and pleaded for Butters to spare him, but BUtters didn't listen, and finished him off with a flail to the face.

It seemed like he had done it! The gold was his, and it current owners were dead. The only problem now was that there was no way for a small gnome to move that much gold on his own. There was a cart near by, but still he would need the help of the party. He hummed and hawed, not wanting to share his spoils, but in the end returned to Malbridge, and told the rest of the party the tale of where he had been, and about the fortune he had "found".

After being forced to explain the details of this treasure a little more, Butters spilled the beans about where it came from, and how he had killed three men to get it. Despite this, Butters insisted that it didn't matter. The three were thieves after all, and at most they would only be stealing from bad men anyhow. This was argument wasn't all that convincing, and this split our predominantly good aligned party. OUt of the 8 other members, only two  -The Chronomancer Thomas, and the Chosen One Toby- elected to join him.

Insisting they would only be an hour or two, Toby, Thomas and Butters went out into the forest in the middle of the night. It had been an entire day since Butter's had last been to where the gold was hidden, and the three arrived to find that the cart was gone, and 8 Thieves from the Guild were there waiting for them with their weapons drawn.

Thomas seeing they were outnumbered fled; running into the woods leaving Toby and Butters to fend for themselves. Toby was surrounded and tried to fight them off, but in the end he was offered a chance to surrender and took it. They weren't after Toby, so he was bound, gagged, and left there in the clearing.

Meanwhile, Butters tried to fight his attackers, but overwhelmed, he turned and fled as well. Sadly a Gnome does not run very fast, and one of the thieves easily caught up with him, plunging a spear into his back.

The thieves left Butters' body to rot there, and he wasn't found by the rest of the party until early the next morning when they decided to go looking for their missing party members. No tears were shed for Butters loss, and even though he was a Player Character, even Thomas refused to attempt a Temporal Resurrection through Time Travel.

And that is the tale of how Chris and his player Butters, found 5000gp, and lost it all and his life within 24hours.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Spiders, and Dungeons and Dragons! Oh My!

Since August of 2016 we have been playing a 2nd ED AD&D Campaign that we call Arachnophobia, and it has been a while since I had a chance to do an update on where we are at in the game, and some of the challenges and pit falls that the characters have over come.

1. We are Still on the Same Quest

When we started this game, the party's goal was to bring Toby the stable boy, from their small hamlet of Barley to Lord Kilgour in Darfield: a city more than 300 miles away. The party, with Toby, had discovered an ancient temple, predicting the coming of the giant spiders. Toby, in his excitement during his first adventure, ran into the temple only to be caught in a flash of green light, rendering him unconscious for a moment. When he awoke he had a strange green gem embedded in his left hand. On the temple walls there was a mural that depicted a figure standing under a giant spider, holding their left hand above their head, and a shooting a beam of green light out towards the arachnid. It would seem that Toby had gotten himself wrapped up in a prophecy. Not knowing what else to do the town leader and priest of Barleydale Sarah Harper, sent a group of seven to see their lord in the distant city of Darfield.

That was 13 Sessions, and 29 in game days ago. Due to distractions and the like, they are still at least nine days from Darfield. This is largely due to the fact the the player's insist on roleplaying through every full day in game. So, with an average speed of only two in game days  a session, it takes a while to get anywhere.

2. The Group is Currently Distracted by a Side Quest

One of the reasons we have taken so long to reach our goal is that for the past 10 days in game, the group has been on a side quest for their Greenwood Ranger John. The way this Character Kit works is that after he attains Level 4, he is givena quest from the gods that he must complete within 30 days. If successful he becomes a true Greenwood Ranger.

Last game I am pleased to say, that John with the help of the party did complete that quest. In our Next game he will need to preform the 24 hour ritual in which he will become a... A man sized Treant essentially. That final step will complete the side quest, and the party can get back on track towards Darfield.

Our Player Character’s John (Left), Zander (Centre), Thomas (Right), Asra (Back)

3. There Have Been Some Significant Changes to the Party

During this adventure we have lost 2 Player characters, and 5 NPCs. The Player Character Butters was killed for crossing the Thief's Guild in Malbridge, and the player character Enoch was erased from time in a disagreement with our resident Chronomancer Thomas that turned violent.

Of the Non-Player Characters, 4 have been lost to various encounters including: Owlbears, Zombies, and Murder. The final NPC chose to stay in Barleydale.

There is frankly too much to go through in any detail here, but I will do a break down of NPCs and player characters, as they have appeared through the game in another post soon.

4. Things are Moving Well

All in all, and as the DM of Arachnophobia, I am pleased to say that the campaign is moving along well. Elijah's character John really earned his Greenwood Ranger Status, and the group's adventures have been memorable, creating a wonderful story, and really doing justice to my world... Which is great feeling as a DM.

Look forward to more Arachnophobia tales, and thoughts on 2nd ED AD&D to come!

Written by: Andrew Gregory

Plague Marine Chaos Lord

Finding a suitable Chaos Lord for a Warhammer 40k Chaos Space Marine Death Guard army can be a challenge. There just simply isn't that much out there to choose from. And since I am not much of a sculptor, I am forced to find myself a pre-made model to suit my purpose. Luckily I discovered this guy from Spellcrow.

Wearing slightly different armour than your standard Terminator, Spellcrow's figure suits the part of a unique leader, and has the imposing size to boot.

This guy stands slightly taller then Typhus, and is about as wide, making him quite the terror to behold. While his weapon kit is slightly different then what a terminator is usually armed with (ie a plasma pistol in this case), but since I don't play any tournament games this isn't a problem for me!

I am looking forward to fielding this guy, as a player I have never actually used a Chaos Lord in a death guard army, so it will be an interesting change! Looking forward to getting this guy out on the table! You can find Spellcrow's stuff on Ebay, and generally on any Warhammer Mini "Bits" sites.


Written by: Andrew Gregory