****** GI JOE 3 3/4" NEWSLETTER ****** Issue #4 July 1, 1996 http://www.ecnet.net/users/mucds/joehq.htm Greetings, everyone and welcome to issue #4! Again I must apologize for the long wait between issue #3 and #4 but four-week graduate courses demand full attention. This issue is dedicated largely to the other 3 3/4" action figure lines that are "playable with" GI Joe. If you are not the type of Joe collector that likes to add to his/her GI Joe universe with 3 3/4" figures from other toy lines then please bear with us this issue as we get a little "off-topic." :) Your comments (positive and negative) are welcomed concerning this discussion of action figure lines similiar to 3 3/4" GI Joe. If you are not an avid reader of USENET, you might want to become one. The USENET newsgroups 'rec.toys.misc' and 'rec.toys.action- figures' are a hotbed of toy collecting activity. I believe I saw three different GI Joe 3 3/4" auctions running just last week! A great way to fill holes in your collection is to keep an eye on these newsgroups. Check out our new section 'Q & A' and if you have any answers (there are no right or wrong answers btw) send them our way! I hope everyone has a safe and pleasant 4th of July! On with the show... List moderator: Corey Stinson (mucds@bgu.edu) Editor: Corey Stinson (mucds@bgu.edu) Contributing editor: Josh Zyber (jzyber@acs.bu.edu) Contributing editor: Benjamin Ian Thomas (BThomas828@aol.com) Webmaster: Corey Stinson (mucds@bgu.edu) Table of contents: ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. Lanard Toys and Their 3 3/4" Military Action Figures 2. The Bionic Six - GI Joe's Bionic Friends 3. "Shot In The Dark" - part II (original GI Joe fan fiction) 4. Q & A 5. New Material For Web Site 6. Toy Zone Fanzine blurb 7. 3 3/4" GI Joe Repair Kits 8. Subscription Information/Missed An Issue? ======================================================================== LANARD TOYS AND THEIR 3 3/4" MILITARY ACTION FIGURES If any one toy company has tried to grab a small share of the 3 3/4" military action figure market from GI Joe it has been Lanard Toys. Lanard Toys, a small independant toy company, specializes in marketing toy concepts based on and similar to more expensive toy lines from the larger toy companies such as Hasbro. Lanard has actually been making figures articulated exactly like and playable with 3 3/4" GI Joe for some number of years. They currently have three lines of figures that I am aware of. This article will describe each line in some detail and explain how you can get the figures for your own collection should you decide to expand your "GI Joe universe" a bit! ** THE CORPS ** "The Corps" was Lanard's first foray into 3 3/4" military action figures. They were introduced sometime in the mid to late '80s and could be found in many stores such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Osco Drug, FAO Schwartz, K's Merchandise (a.k.a. Service Merchandise?) and many others. They could be found in several packaging schemes. The most common was the three-pack. K's Merchandise had a ten-figure pack. FAO Schwartz and possibly others also carried a three-pack(?) which came with some cheap motorcycles. Following is a list/description of the thirty Corps figures: Avalanche (medic/snow trooper) Lightning Mobutu (an African tribal warrior theme) Croc (comparable to GI Joe's Recondo) Whispering Willie (comparable to a GI Joe Dreadnok) Sensei Kobutu (a martial arts/boxing trainer) Flashfire (carries welding torch, looks normal) Crowbar (again comparable to a GI Joe Dreadnok) Chopper (a motorcycle cop) Hammer (outfitted like a green beret or something?) Gunner O' Grady (pilot) Cybor Trooper (cyborg soldier theme) Tony Tanner (again, comparable to GI Joe's Recondo) Dragon Han (a kung-fu martial artist) John Eagle (an infiltration specialist) Hat Trick Lemonde (impossible to describe, one of the oddballs) Gasman (a chemical warfare trooper) Night Lazer (laser trooper) Shark (Navy S.E.A.L. in diving gear) Crusher McClosky (impossible to describe, one of the weirdos) Bengali (middle eastern theme, wears turban) Large Sarge (looks like a Cuban soldier) Toxic Waster (compared to GI Joe's Airtight) Hiro Yamata (ninja) Steve Wyoming (impossible to describe, dorky) Brickwall (yet other goofy one) ??? (looks sort of like a WW II German general) ??? (mortar trooper. Looks like a Park Ranger!) ...and there are three more which I was unable to find at the time this list was being made. "The Corps" figures are structurally designed and articulated exactly like swivel-arm battle grip Hasbro 3 3/4" Joes. The crotch, leg, and torso assembly is identical. Overall "The Corps" never matched the quality of Hasbro's 3 3/4" GI Joes though. To its credit, "The Corps" were always less expensive than Hasbro's Joe. "The Corps" is defintely a mixed bag where quality is concerned. The figures are not as well sculpted as GI Joe. While Hasbro's 3 3/4" Joe bodies were always well- porportioned, "The Corps" characters, whi not being outrageously strange, are occassionaly a bit funny-looking. Their heads and chests are slightly larger than those belonging to Hasbro's 3 3/4" Joes. It seems as though some of the weirder characters were just hastily thrown together without much thought to military realism or much thought to anything! :) This does not preclude them from being "playable with" Hasbro's Joes though. Several figures in the assortment are just outrageously wacky, most notably the "Steve Wyoming" figure which appears to be some kind of cross between a sports star and a superhero. Very odd indeed in a military action figure line. There are several others which are equally wacky (at least in my humble opinion). To add to their strange design they come with accessories that are impossible to describe even with the most active imagination. Despite some of the goofy characters in the batch there are some very good ones such as "Large Sarge" (based upon a Cuban soldier) and Hammer (based upon a green beret?). Some of the Corps figures have accessories "borrowed" from the Hasbro 3 3/4" Joe line but for the most part come with original accessories. Each Corps figure comes with a trading-card sized "file card" that you have to clip out of the figure's package. Their file cards are not as interesting or as technical as those that came with the earlier Hasbro Joes but nevertheless give enough information to give the figure a "personality". Interestingly, there are *no* female figures in the Corps line. There is a significant amount of color variation among the Corps figures I have seen although their accessories seem to remain constant. Some of the color variations are better, some are worse, and of course this is always subjective. "The Corps" is not as prominent in retail stores as it once was. I recently saw the three pack w/ motorcyles still on sale at the FAO Schwartz at the St. Louis, MO Galleria Mall. Osco Drug stores still have a peg full of these figures and would be the best place to look. Other retail outlets such as K-Mart and Wal-Mart no longer carry them (at least not in my area). There are several Osco Drug stores around me that still have Corps figures. I can help people who are interested to get some of of these figures at retail cost. Write me at for more information. ** LAZER FORCE ** "The Corps" spent a long time on store shelves before Lanard decided to do more 3 3/4" figures. 1995 was the magic year and early in the second quarter Lanard released "Lazer Force." Lazer Force was marketed as a futuristic extension to "The Corps" line. There are only six figures in the assortment compared to the large Corps assortment. The quality, however, is far superior! Lazer Force first appeared at Wal-Mart. A few months later it also made its appearance in K-Mart stores. The only other store chain known to carry Lazer Force was a California chain called Fedco. At Wal-Mart the Lazer Force figures retailed at a very reasonable $3.44ea. K-Mart has them for $3.89ea. Each Lazer Force figure is packaged individually and in a style similar to the GI Joe Talking Battle Commanders/DEF Force/Street ighter. The Lazer Force figures are painted with an attractive metallized-chrome look (not unlike the POTF2 C-3PO Star Wars figure). They are robotic-looking with no visibile human features. They are supposed to be men in "exo-skeleton suits" so they are human porportioned (2 arms, 2 legs, etc). Just as with The Corps figures, they are articulated and assembled exactly like swivel-arm battle grip Hasbro Joes. It has been stated this these figures are what Hasbro's Star Brigade should have been. Each Lazer Force figure comes with a backpack that holds two small coin-cell batteries. The backpack has a button which lights up the accessories which are attached. Each figure comes with two accessories. The accessories attached to the backpack are either: 1) a light-up laser blaster, 2) a light-up thermo-dish, 3) a light-up shield, or 4) a light- up "zero gravity" hover disc (the figure stands on it). Each figure comes with two of the four listed accessories and each one comes with a different combination. Each figure comes with a clip-out trading card sized filecard. There are six figures available: 1. Hot-Wire (reddish brown chrome) 2. Resistor (silver/purple tinge chrome) 3. Mega-Watt (silver/blue tinge chrome) 4. Power Surge (green chrome) 5. Circuit Breaker (silver chrome) 6. Incinerator (gold chrome) I said it above and I'll say it again. These are nice figures! They look sharp and are nicely packaged, well worth the their retail price. These figures play great with Star Brigade GI Joe. Retail availability of these figures is now limited to K-Mart only (as far as I know). Wal-Mart clearanced what few Lazer Force they had left after Christmas '95 and never restocked more. K-Mart still has quite a few of these guys left and may still be re-stocking them but that is unknown. The current price at K-Mart is $3.89 ea. I can help people get complete sets of these figures at retail cost. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THEM! Email me at for more information. ** BIO-WING BATTLE SQUADRON ** Bio-Wing Battle Squadron is the newest and least known line of 3 3/4" action figur from Lanard. As far as anyone knows distribution of these figures has thus far been limited to a California retail chain known as Fedco. Thomas Wheeler (a.k.a. GI Trekker) is the only person I know who has some of these figures so the description for them that follows is his. I would like to thank him for making their existence known to me! "Overall the Bio-Wing Battle Squadron figures are less impressive than Lazer Force, but still moreso than the average 'Corps'. They ARE fairly human in appearance. They're supposedly future environmental fighters, and each comes with a huge animal-like backpack glider (they don't really fly). The figures and the backpacks are molded with the same marbleized plastic effect that the G.I.Joe Mega-Marines had. They are 3 3/4" in height, and properly articulated. They areomewhat slimmer than Joes or Lazer Force, though." The six in the series are: Slammer Head, Kash Kobra, Max Manta, Sky Terror, Vlad Vandal, and Swamp Savage. I made several attempts to have net-folks pick up a set of these for me at Fedco but they are no longer carrying the figures. Since retail availability of these figure seems to be about 'nil' I have been bugging Lanard about them. They finally did write me back to let me know that you can order Bio-Wing Battle Squadron directly from them. The prices they quoted me were $6.75 ea. plus an additional $3.50 ea. I can only classify this as "exhorbitant" and probably too pricey for anyone but the hardcore 3 3/4" figure collector. I'm guessing (based on this letter) that you can probably order all of Lanard's 3 3/4" figures directly from them but I expect they would all be more expensive than what you would expect at retail. Currently, there are other options for The Corps and Lazer Force. If you would like more information on ordering Bio-Wing Battle Squadron directly from Lanard write me at . If anyone has additional information about the availability of Lanard's 3 3/4" figure lines that was not presented in this article please notify me and I'll post it in the next Newsletter. ======================================================================== THE BIONIC SIX - GIJOE'S BIONIC FRIENDS In my search for poseable 3 3/4" action figures to play with my GIJoes, I came across a toy-line based on a short-lived cartoon that I had watched as a child but forgotten all about. They are the BIONIC 6, and make an excellent expansion to the GIJoe universe. I make no claims to be the world's foremost expert on the Bionic 6, but from what I remember the cartoon ran for a season or two of weekend mornings. The story was as follows: Jack Bennet, a Six Million Dollar Man-style bionic government agent and his completely oblivious wife and family of multi-ethnic adopted children were hiking in the Himalayas when they were trapped by an avalanche. They were all crippled or paralyzed and on the brink of death, except for Jack, who managed to call his team of top-secret government scientists just in time to save them all by outfitting each with the same bionic body parts as their father. They became, in effect, the Thirty-Six Million Dollar Family, and to justify all those taxpayer dollars spent on their behalf they had to work for the government as a team called (you got it) the Bionic 6, who would run around in shocking yellow and red jumpsuits fighting a team of six equally powerful super-villains. These were Dr. Scarab (a pudgy, bald-headed little freak with a robotic eye) and his "Evil Minions of Destruction." The characters: As you would expect, each member of the family developed their own bionic super-powers based on their personalities. By day they would seem like a normal family, but when danger called all they had to do was insert the ring each wore on their right hand into a groove on the botto of a bracelet each wore on their left wrist and scream "Bionics On!", and suddenly their regular clothes would disappear and be replaced by the afformentioned flaming jumpsuits and their super- powers would be activated. JACK was some kind of all-around great bionic guy. His wife HELEN had a power I can't recall at all. ERIC (the white kid) was a sports nut, so he got a bionic pitching arm and a power-bat with which he would hit plasma balls or something; I think the bat could also send out an energy beam. MEG (the blonde bimbo daughter) was a teeny-bopper rock-chick and she got a walkman that could send out destructive soundwaves. J.D. (the black kid) was a computer nerd and had some kind of power related to that. And then there was BUNJI (the asian kid), who turned into a super karate master. Each one also had a bionic code-name along the lines of Dad-1, Mom-1, Sport-1, and Rock-1. The names for J.D. and Bunji escape me. But let's not forget the family's robotic pet ape, F.L.U.F.F.I., who served as comic relief (much like T-Bop the scooter on M.A.S.K.). I don't remember the power's of all of Dr. Scarab's team, but the members were: MECHANIC, a big dumb burly guy in overalls; GLOVE, a purple-skinned psycho who wore a special glove that shot missiles and energy beams; CHOPPER, an evil biker who swung a special chain that was electrified; MADAME-O, a pink mutant fish-girl; and KLUNK, a big ugly mutant freak who looked like he'd been dipped in toxic-waste. The toys: As I mentioned, there was a line of 3 3/4" action figures based on the Bionic 6. They have an articulation similar to the GIJoe figures, but with two exceptions. The figures lack swiveling arms (especially odd given that the characters were supposed to touch one hand to the other wrist), and instead of waists held together with rubber bands they have a metal rod connecting the chest to the legs (this allows their waists to swivel 360 degrees). The figures had (for the most part) plastic faces but die-cast metal bodies. There were thirteen figures total (6 Bionic family members, the pet F.L.U.F.F.I., and 6 villains) and six vehicles that transformed into attack units similar to the M.A.S.K. line of toys. They were the Bionic Quad-Runner, Bionic Dirtbike, M.U.L.E.S. van (the family camper of all things; I'm not sure what MULES stands for), Laser Aero-Chair, Flying Laser Throne, and Secret Headquarters Playset. Except for the shocking color-schemes, the Bionic 6 figures are very good looking and extremely well sculpted. They play very well with GIJoes (especially with some of the more outrageous assortments like Star Brigade or the Ninja Force), but what really sets them apart from the Joes is that each figure has a distinctive build. Unlike the Joes, who are all the exact same height and body-shape, the Bionic 6 figures are all different from one another. Some are taller than others, some are more muscular, and some are just plain fat. This makes them extremely posable, and when you get them standing up in just the right pose, it can blow most GIJoes away. I don't think the Bionic 6 line was too popular. The cartoon wasn't on for very long so they may be a little hard to find, but tend to run pretty cheap. If you happen to come across any and are interested in adding to your GIJoe collection, I highly recommend them. -Article contributed by Joshua Zyber ======================================================================== G.I. JOE SHOT IN THE DARK part 2 Ben Thomas, BThomas828@aol.com Revised 6/14//96 ------------------------------------------------- Here's part two, revised some from the original draft. A different version of this story appeared in Ammo Box (the Steel Brigade Club Newsletter) in volume 5-C. Again, Armada is my character, and all other characters are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. ------------------------------------------------- "Alert, everyone! We're the hunted now," Stalker warned his fellow soldiers. The element of surprise, the only factor in the team's favor, had been lost, and every second meant the search parties were nearing. Time turned out to be a necessity not afforded. Snake Eyes, faster than the human eye could blink, somersaulted forward and tackled the commander as a rifle shot whizzed by his former position. In a heartbeat, numerous shadowy figures clogged the tiny forest prison, and the buzzing of the insects was quickly stifled by the submachine gun fire. "Range Vipers!" cried Low-Light! *** The hulking sight of the nearly-completed Black Phoenix failed to escape any observer's notice, being the first such craft to grace the sight of the island residents. Countless Techno-Vipers toiled earnestly to give life to the monumental craft. At this moment, their efforts fell under the scrutiny of Commander Armada and Captain D'Alleva. "Behold! A virtual crystal ball! Cobra shall soon be revered for such an innovation in aerodynamics! Of course, I am certain that a few demonstrations will cinch its superiority should there be provinicial minds unwilling to accept the truth initially. Yes, the technology of tomorrow is upon us today!" Armada rarely passed up an opportunity to sing his own praises, even if he tried to veil it behind the glory of Cobra. "Yes, it looks impressive." [But what can it do?] thought Cesspool. [He must be totally insane to believe such a craft can back up his claims without bankrupting all of Cobra. No amount of corporate takeovers could replenish our coffers!] In a blur, the commander's head snapped tface the Chief Environmental Officer. "Cobra is not a corporation like you those to which you are accustomed. Respect will take you far in our organization. I assure you, Cobra Commander will not be rather pleased with you upon my report should your attitude fail to improve." Armada always seemed to startle a person with his incisive statements coming out of thin air, as if he could read minds. His faceless, virtually featureless helmet only contributed further to his chilling aura. The commander turned and proceeded away from Cesspool. "Believe me, you do not want to draw my wrath," he calmly warned, never turning to face the recipient. *** The Cobra security team 3 observed four Range-Vipers emerge from the jungle area with a prisoner. "Halt! Identify yourselves!" shouted Viper 38 as Slice and Dice arrived in their Scorpion jeep to greet the new arrivals. "Amazing," commented Slice. "These Vipers appear to have taken the Joe Stalker captive. Perhaps I don't give these men enough credit." Dice barely nodded in response. "All hail the mighty Cobra! The serpent has risen!" called out the lead Range-Viper. "The Joe contingent has been eliminated except for this one." "You have done an outstanding job. Allow me to congratulate you for a job well done," replied Slice, leaping off the jeep. The first Range- Viper stood majestically, awaiting his reward. Instead, he was greeted by two quick punches. "Fool!" Another Range-Viper quickly sprang in response, with machete drawn, to attack the Cobra Ninja Swordsman. Stalker, inspired by the confusion, also tried to lunge at the Cobra ninja, but a bo staff smash to the left side of his head cut the heroic attempt painfully short. The two nearby Paralyzers quickly joined the fray, forcing the remaining Range-Vipers to seek the cover of the foliage from which they had just emerged. "Here we go again!" yelled Backblast. *** Cesspool's mind was filled with many pressing concerns, but none important enough to cause him to miss a golden opportunity, especially when that opportunity materialized as an open door to Commander Armada's quarters. Through the open space he heard Armada talking and decided to listen in on the likely interesting conversation. With an effort comparable to a ninja master, he opened the door just enough to witness the interesting part. The commander was seated at his communications terminal, speaking with another helmeted person. [Not only is he the president, he's also a client!], Cesspool thought with a chuckle. "Proceed with the extraction," Armada started. "I expect nothing of value to our operation to be left in the building." "We haven't run into any problems yet," the other man responded. "Washington is still trying to cover up the disappearance." Both men laughed, apparently finding humor at the expense of the U.S. government. "Excellent. You will have everything transported to the predetermined location in two days. I will speak to you again at that time. Farewell for now!" With that, the transmission ended. [I think I'll check on the security systems now . . .] *** Admiral Keel-Haul could only wonder about the fares of the rescue teams. They were forbidden to communicate until within range of the extraction site. The apocalyptic thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Dial-Tone. "Sir, I've intercepted a transmission from the base on Trager's Island! I think you need to hear this!" The admiral failed to find much meaning in the transmission, but he knew the people that could. "Dial-Tone, put me through to General Hawk ..." *** "Ah, Lieutenant D'Alleva," called Armada. "For what purpose do I receive the pleasure of your appearance?" [So much for my business sense!] "Oh, sir, the Joes have come out of the jungle. Our command security team is engaging them as we speak. And sir, my rank is Captain." "They certainly have taken enough time to show themselves. Have you heard anything else interesting lately, say, in the last thirty seconds?" "No, sir." [How unprofitable of me!] "You lie poorly, Lieutnant." "SIR, my rank is Captain!" [If I have to call this small-time trustbuster sir one more time . . .] "Was Captain, Lieutenant. Do not worry, the message was meant for all to hear, in time. Run along, now. You know that I have to attend to several pressing matters." The commander began to attach a large cannon to his armor. [I will get you back for this . . .] END PART TWO ======================================================================== Q & A We're introducing a new section this issue called 'Q & A'. It will host questions posed by you, the subscriber, and can be answered by anyone. It will be the "Dear Ann Landers" of 3 3/4" GI Joe. :) We are interested in drumming up some correspondence between subscribers. In addition, we welcome you to submit your answers for posted questions to the list moderator so that we might post them in a future issue for everyone to read. If you have a question that you would like answered, any type of question relating to 3 3/4" Joe, things you've read about in the Newsletter, etc. please submit it to be printed in the next issue! Future issues will contain the answers submitted to posted questions as well as new questions. Here are our first three questions: Q: I picked up a CNP Countdown, and can't figure out how his accessories are supposed to work. I understand how to use the winch to make Countdown go from one end to the other, but what do you do with everything when he's not using it? * Josh Zyber (jzyber@acs.bu.edu) Q: Since the Joes stopped coming with individualized accessories after 1991, I've been taking away all the spring-loaded, water-squirting, or noise-making junk that they came with and re-accessorizing them from scratch with weapons that I think fit their personalities. Does anyone have suggestions for how I could outfit either Mirage (the Mega-Marine) or Law (the 1994 Battle Corps version)? The accessories don't necessarily have to be from GIJoe, but could also come from any other 3 3/4" line, just so long as they look good with these two figures. * Josh Zyber (jzyber@acs.bu.edu) Q: I've always been curious about whether people display their 3 3/4" Joes with or without their accessories. The accessories have always been a big part of 3 3/4" GI Joe for me. Do you display your Joes with their accessories? Why or why not? * Corey Stinson (mucds@bgu.edu) ======================================================================== NEW MATERIAL FOR WEB SITE I have some ideas for a few things I would like to add to our web page in the coming weeks. The first is a "Customized 3 3/4" Joe" area. This will consist of scanned photos of custom figures that you have made. I was hoping to start this area off with a bang by posting pictures of the more than 20 custom Joes I've done. However, I have yet to find/borrow a nice enough camera to take some good pictures of them. I'd like to know how many of you are into 3 3/4" Joe customization and if you would be interested in contributing photo(s) of your creation to a customized section for our web page. If you already have 3 3/4" customized Joe pictures on your own web page let us know so we can link to it! The second section I intent to implement is a database of scanned pictures for the 3 3/4" Joe/Cobra filecards, vehicle blueprints, promotional flyers, and other such literature. Some of these scanned images (such as blueprints) are going to be ratherarge and it may be unfeasible to see them on a web browser with a dial-up modem connection. I will implement this section as time and access to a color scanner permits. If you have any thoughts/ideas/comments on implementing this type of web page area I'd like to hear them. ======================================================================== TOY ZONE FANZINE BLURB We mentioned last issue the debut of Thomas Wheeler's excellent new fanzine "Toy one." Thomas has recetly shipped issue #1 (second issue). This is his last freebie introduction to the fanzine. There is a great article GI Joe Lunartix aliens which should be read by all 3 3/4" Joe collectors. Thomas also has an order form in this issue for some nifty-looking duffle bags, just the right size for 3 3/4" figures to carry their accessories in. Contact Thomas Wheeler (GITrekker@aol.com) for more information. ======================================================================== 3 3/4" GI JOE REPAIR KITS I recently corresponded with a collector who is making available 3 3/4" Joe repair kits. A common problem among 3 3/4" Joes is breakage of the rubber band that holds the figure's leg/crotch assembly to his/her torso. I have yet to find an adequate replacement for the bands that originally came with the Joes, but Andres Cabrera has a solution you might be interested in. The following are the questions I asked Andres about his repair kit and his answers: Q: "What are the contents of your repair kit?" A: "Basically, the replacement band and instructions on how to do it yourself. It's very easy." Q: "Are your bands as thick as the ones that originally came with the 3 3/4" Joes? I've found that those "pony-tail" tiny rubber bands work well but they are rather thin. I assume that's not what this is, right? :)" A: "Definitly not! Those won't survive the hard play my Son gives these. These bands are original thickness and are stronger than the original." Q: "What is the cost of the kit?" A: "Total cost 1.00 per kit plus 32 cents shipping." Q: "Any plans to sell these kits in bulk?" A: "Not at the present." That's all folks. You can contact Andres at for further information. ======================================================================== SUBSCRIPTION INFO Currently all subscriptions, unsubscriptions, and e-mail address changes are being handled manually. If you require one of the above simply send a message to the list moderator requesting such. Did you miss an issue or did your issue get trashed? Just let the list moderator know and we'll correct the situation immediately! Don't forget - all back issues are archived on the Newsletter web page.