ONE YEAR OLD

As I sit here trying to think of something unique and original for our this months issue, I cant help but think about the past year here at JoeCanuck.com. One year ago this month, a small group of guys that had grown up with G.I. Joe wanted to give something back to the hobby. They had some basic ideas, a little free time, and a passion for a toy line that continues to be sold in stores today. A year ago I said this in our first issue: What I can promise you, is that the articles will be well researched, well written, informative and fun. After 12 months, and many late nights compiling each issue, I honestly think weve accomplished that. Along the way weve gained Hasbros support, and theyve used this newsletter to announce some news or products exclusively. That wouldnt of happened without the people that put this thing together each month. You see, the small group of us often toss ideas back and forth leading up to the newest issue. Some ideas are scrapped, but for the most part, theyre born, evolved and then put to digital paper, if you will. A fact you may not know is that you have David Morgardee Mumby to blame (or applaud) for all of these issues, and all the ones to come. It was his original idea for us to compile something and give it out freely to all fans of G.I. Joe, and over the last 13 months weve tried to get the word out to everyone and anyone that may enjoy it. Im sure youve seen the same postings on many of the GI Joe sites out there like JoeCustoms, GeneralsJoes, YoJoe, JoeSightings, TheTerrorDrome, and many others. For the most part, each of those sites have been gracious enough to allow us to promote this newsletter on their site. We thank them for that. It shows that those sites care about the hobby, its members, and the chance to start new discussions on their boards and to inform the newer Joe fan that visits their site that theres more to G.I. Joe than just the latest wave or movie news. Thats part of why we do this we WANT people to read our articles and learn about the entire universe of G.I. Joe! So please, go visit your favorite G.I. Joe site right now and post a link to this newsletter. Share the information we share each and every month. We make no money from this newsletter and its completely free to read! We do it for you guys, the Joe Fans, so why not share it with your fellow Joe fans and friends! Now that Ive thanked the web sites that promote us, Id now like to thank you. The person sitting there reading this right now. Thank you for taking the time to read this issue and all of the past 12 issues weve put out. Without you reading it, wed just be wasting our time! Heres the section you knew was going to be here The latest Canadian GI Joe Convention news. Well, to be honest, I dont have much for you. Were working on securing 3 guests right now, but I am very happy to announce that Mark Belomo will once again be attending the Canadian G.I. Joe Convention along with Hasbro Canada! Known in GI Joe circles as the author of The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 19821994, Mark will once again be signing copies of his books, chatting with fellow fans, and for the first time ever at the Canadian GI Joe Convention, hell be giving a presentation in one of our presentation rooms! I hope to have some news on our other guests next issue. If you havent made any plans to attend the Canadian GI Joe Convention yet, then please visit this link for all the information youll need. Directions, location, hotel info, guests dealer info and more are all available here: http://www.canadianjoecon.com/conv.html - Michael Heddle

CONTEST!

The writers of the Joe Canuck newsletter are all fans of G.I.Joe and chances are if youre reading this, then you too are a fan. Our newsletter is made up of several different parts covering different subjects like news, reviews, how-to guides, comedy, and some or our own stories. We are pleased to say that we have been doing this free on-line newsletter for one year and weve gotten some great feedback from our readers. Well now we want to hear from you. This is your chance to submit your own story about G.I.Joe and weve got a cool prize for the winner. So what sort of story are we looking for? Thats easy. We want to hear about your best childhood G.I. Joe story. Submit a story about your favorite birthday party that involved Joe, or the maybe a story why G.I. Joe issue # 83 meant more to you then the average person because your mother bought it for you to cheer you up when you were getting better in the hospital. The sky is the limit as long as you keep the story true and it involves G.I.Joe. Just try to make the story interesting and keep it over a page long. Submit your story to contact@joecanuck.com by April 30th and the writers of the newsletter will pick the best story for print in the May issue. Now what good is a contest without a prize? The winner of this contest will receive an autographed Funskool Edition Tunnel Rat figure. The man whose likeness was used as the template for Tunnel Rat, Mr. Larry Hama himself, signed this figure at the 2008 Canadian G.I. Joe Convention. There is no cost to you at all; well even pay for the shipping. We all have a personal connection to G.I.Joe, thats why we are into this hobby. Now is your chance to tell your tale of what made you fall in love with G.I.Joe.

Whats it worth?

By David Mumby morgardee@joecanuck.com With all the new releases of classic G.I. Joe A Real American Hero figures and vehicles coming out, will the value drop in the original figures and vehicles? Ive heard questions like this asked a few times and its my opinion that the answer is no. G.I. Joe A Real American Hero ended in 1994. That is a reality. No matter how close the packaging is to the original or even if the exact same mold is used for characters or vehicles, the line ended in 1994 and we all know it. Lets look back to 1997. That line was called The Real American Hero Collection. The line was made using the original molds but most die hard collector can spot the difference between a true A Real American Hero figure and one of the guys from 1997 and 1998. For one thing the plastic quality was drastically different. It was much softer and the quality wasnt there. The vehicles were far better quality than the figures for the years of 1997 and 1998 but when Hasbro cut corners, things like the stickers that came with the Silver Mirage Motorcycle looked very poor and this cut into the over all quality of the toy itself. At the same right, some of the vehicles that came out in 1997 like the Rattler 4-WD and the G.I. Joe A-10 Thunderbolt have enjoyed a great price increase in the second hand market. Its my opinion that Hasbro will never attempt to reproduce the vehicles from 1997 and 1998 in the 25th anniversary format so I think the value in those toys is very safe. The next time the molds from A Real American Hero were used was in the year 2000 when Hasbro started to re-introduce us to G.I. Joe by once again bringing back The Real American Hero Collection. Once again Hasbro pulled the classic A Real American Hero molds and this time used a little more ingenuity and brought us some classic figures as well as new characters. The vehicles from this line were a little less inspired then the figures. I dont believe Hasbro would reproduce any of the new characters like Double Blast or Crossfire. The same can be said for the vehicles like the Wave Crusher in that I dont see any of the these vehicles getting 25th anniversary format so again, the current value on the G.I. Joe line from should be fine. This leads us into 2002 and the Joe vs. Cobra line. My collecting started to slow down as the Joe vs. Cobra line was winding down in 2006. I didnt jump on board with the 25th anniversary line right away as Im in Canada and I wanted to see if these would become readily available up here. Also during this time I had my first child, my son Dalton so I had to give up my Joe room for his nursery. It was during this short hiatus that I really started to look at my collecting habits and what I had room to display. It was during this period, when I was looking at what I amassed from that things really started to hit home with me. As far as the value in collecting G.I. Joe toys, for the most part the value was in the original toys. I have seen dozens of pictures of other collectors Joe rooms and we all have the same thing. Many of us got into the collecting game around the same time so we tend to buy at least two of every figure available, one to open and one to be kept mint on card (MOC) for display. Strictly speak of the financial value of collecting, if everyone has it, its value is much lower then if you have something that is more difficult to acquire. A good example of this is the G.I. Joe Rowdy Roddy Piper figure with a low production run of only 1000 figures and crosses over into not only G.I. Joe fans but wrestling fans as well. Another example is older classic toys with parts that are easily lost and broken, such as the Mauler Tank that quite often has a broken or missing toe rope cable and the driver Heavy Metal with the near impossible to find microphone that attaches to the figures helmet. If everyone else has it, then the value just isnt there. So this takes us back to the question, will the value drop? For some items they might loose a bit of value, others will not. I think a lot of this depends on how close the item in question is to the original. The new Vamp jeep is a great update to the original, but while at first it looks like the original vamp, the mold is new. I think a classic Vamp in mint condition will still carry some value to it. On the other hand, the new HISS tank looks a lot like the original one and I think its made with most of the original mold parts. A classic mint Hiss tank might lose a bit of its value for the short term. Another good measuring point is the 12 G.I. Joe figures. While the 25th anniversary figures use card art that pays tribute to the original artwork from the 80s and 90s, the toys inside are built very differently then the original A.R.A.H. figures. The same cannot be said for the 12 figures that have been reproduced in the past. This past year Walmart had reproduction figures of the original 4 G.I. Joe figures and reproduction packaging for the accessories. Both the box and the figures looked and felt a lot like the original product, far more than the 25th anniversary figures feel like a reproduction of the original A Real American Hero line. Still, even with these good quality reproductions that look and feel like the original line from the 70s that only cost $10.00 per figure, the classic figures still fetches a decent value on the second hand market. Thats because the core of the collecting community knows the difference between the original toy and reproduction toys. Thats not a knock at the Walmart reproduction figures at all. Ive got a full set of them sitting over my monitor right now as I write this article, and yes they are mixed with the few original 12 figures I own. I think for the short term the price of some of the vintage vehicles might see a slight dip but in the long run they will keep their value. I love the 25th anniversary figures. They look great and are fun to collect; yet I have to be realistic. Space is limited, no matter how big the Joe room you have, you will eventually fill it, so something has to come down. I have an attic full of Joe Vs. Cobra figures that prove my point. So if Hasbro decides on the A Real American Hero 40th anniversary to reproduce the figures and card art as closely as it has with the 12 figures, then I can see my Joe Vs Cobra figures getting more company in the attic. The only figures I dont see getting packed up are my original classic figures. I will always find a way to display those figures, even if its not every figure I have. So if they will always be on display, then in my opinion there will always be value in them.

True Heroes Air Force Helicopter: A Review
by Ameer Hussain snakeeyesonaplane@gmail.com
Tired of the Armadillos and HISS Tanks at the local Toys R Us? Looking for some different vehicles for your Joes and Cobras, but dont want to spend too much? Then listen up, troopers. If youve seen the Elite Operations and True Heroes line of military toys at your TRU, you probably just ignored them on your way to the Joe section. However, one of those bargain-priced toys actually caught my eye: the True Heroes Air Force Helicopter. I bought it on sale and havent looked back. Okay, I know some of you feel that mixing Joes and non-Joe products is blasphemy, but before you tie that noose to a tall tree, hear me out. The first things youll notice about the Air Force Helicopter are its size and its price. Its box is larger than that of a Leader Class Transformer figure, and it only costs $30. Considering that the shelf-warming Armadillos and HISS Tanks cost about $20 Canadian, the choppers a heck of a deal. Upon opening the box (and overcoming the Hasbro-like mess of packing tape and twist-ties), youll find that theres no shortage of accessories. You get the chopper, a crappy figure, oversized weapons and accessories, and ropes with hooks and a cargo net for the vehicle. Theres also a grey baseplate that the helicopter attaches to, which is great for display. The figure is pretty much useless with his bulky body and 5 points of articulation, but Im sure a kid would have a lot of fun with him. The weapons are huge, scaled for 12 figures. The off-road vehicle the box claims is included is nowhere to be found (unless if by off-road vehicle, they mean helicopter). But does any of that matter? No, because the chopper is awesome. The helicopter features a mainly realistic body design, apparently inspired by the CH-47 Chinook. Naturally, its not perfect. Its a toy, not a model, so it looks somewhat deformed, but nonetheless mainly realistic. Yes, its proportions are off, but then again, many of the 25th Anniversary figures suffer from odd proportions. If you can get over the moderately exaggerated look of the body, youll find that the Air Force Helicopter has a lot to offer. There is plenty of detail: bolts and rivets are everywhere. There are vents, access panels, and more. The colours arent terrible, either: the dark plastic and grey camo make the chopper suitable for daring night-time missions or urban operations. That being said, the huge military star is an eyesore. There are little yellow Caution/Warning stickers on one side of the body (similar in spirit to the Not A Step and Danger stickers on our Joe vehicles), but they are easily removable, as is the A. FORCE sticker on the door. The cockpit and nose of the chopper is moulded in the same shade of green as the rotors. Red can be found on the winch, the triangular stickers, the lights, and the cones near the rear rotors. Orange is also present on the winchs hook, the chaingun mount, the doors platform, and the handle on the top of the chopper. You could probably attach strings to the handle if you wanted to add this helicopter to your fishing-wire-from-the-ceiling air armada. In terms of action features, the Air Force Helicopter doesnt disappoint. Obviously, the rotors spin, but you already knew that. They are also collapsible for easy storage. The non-retractable landing gear consists of 3 sets of rolling wheels. The choppers weapon is a belt-fed machine gun which can rotate and pivot. There is a working winch near the side door. The winch features a hook for lifting objects and theres a handle for figures to hold onto. Pull the hook down and it will slowly and noisily wind its way back up. There are two ropes with hooks on them which attach to the platform near the sliding door. I guess you can use them to have your troopers rappel down, since the plastic ropes dont seem strong enough to be able to lift things. Previous versions of the chopper included a rope ladder instead of the hooked ropes (just look at the image on the package), and frankly, Id have preferred the ladder to these hook things.Other releases of this vehicle featured lights and sounds, but luckily, those were removed. They put in vents where the sound-activating buttons used to be and the lights are still in place, but there are no electronics. The lights add realism to the helicopter, though, since they are actual lights and not just painted details. Those action features add play value, but theres much more to the chopper than gimmicks. Remember I mentioned a green nose/cockpit piece? Well, you can slide it out to reveal the cockpits two seats. The vehicle was designed for figures that dont have knee articulation (like the character included in the box), so your 25th figures should fit in theory, as long as they dont have the diaper crotch. There arent any harnesses to keep them in place, so theyll move around a bit. There are no flight controls or instrument panel. I guess those were sacrificed so that thered be more room for the figures. A worthwhile trade-off. (CONTINUED)

True Heroes Air Force Helicopter: A Review (CONTINUED) The side door slides open, revealing the cargo area inside. There is only one sliding door on the left of the chopper, so you cant have both sides of the copter open for your Joes or Cobras to rush out from. There are no seats, foot pegs, or hand rails for your figures inside of the helicopter. It wouldnt be hard to add those yourself if you really wanted to, though. Frankly, I dont miss the lack of seats/stands/rails because theyd just get in the way of the choppers best feature: the massive cargo hold. On the back of the copter, theres a tab. Turn it to open the rear door. The ramp will open, granting you access to the huge storage area. Theres a LOT of room back here. You can store a VAMP in there nicely! And even with a VAMP in there, you still have room for two figures on their stands. Thats a lot of cargo space! More than enough for your small vehicles such as the Armadillo, or two or three RAM Cycles, or Serpentors Chariot put in sideways, or a Cobra Stinger, or some Trubble Bubbles. You army builders out there should be salivating at the thought of loading this chopper up with a platoon of your favourite troopers. And if your vehicle cant fit, you can use the cargo net and hook on the bottom of the copter to carry it. Is this the chopper you grew up with? No. Was it featured in the cartoon and comics? No. Is it even a G.I. Joe product by Hasbro? No. But that doesnt mean you should simply overlook it. This helicopter offered me something Ive been looking for for a long time: an aerial vehicle capable of transporting my Joes hardware. Sure, we all know the Tomahawk is the iconic Joe transport chopper, but it moves infantry, not vehicles. My forces now have a way to get their vehicles where they need to be, quickly and easily. So what if its not a Hasbro toy? Sometimes, you can only find what you want when you think outside the brand. The helicopters body is held together by screws, so taking it apart to customize it shouldnt be too hard. Judging by images Ive seen on some Joe forums, the chopper looks great painted in military green and Cobra blue. The True Heroes line can be found at Toys R Us for great prices. The Air Force Helicopter costs $30, but the True Heroes toys are usually on sale, so you can get it for less. You might also like their other 1/18th-scale military toys, such as the Sentry Outposts, the Little Bird helicopter, the Navy SEAL boat, and the Black Hawk helicopter. Explore, experiment, and have fun. Isnt that what toy collectings all about?
The year that was, the year to come.
By Charles Cushman raptor@joecanuck.com Ok, Ive been on this customization beat for a year now, and I figured that it was time to take a look back at where weve been, and what is to come. In the first year, we started out with introductory stuff, like gear swapping and basic painting, and proceeded all the way through to a massively complex multi-part article on a custom team project. Along the way we covered custom weapons, Sigma scale customizing, filecards, and a lot of other parts of a very diverse hobby. I feel that weve journeyed far together, from the very basic to the overly complex, and I have gotten some feedback along the way, which I would like to address. Based on the responses that Ive received about the article, the most popular one was actually the one that covered the least ground an article on making weapon slings for custom weapons. It was a how to tutorial with a lot of pictures and pretty easy to get the materials for and do. The article that got the least positive attention (and some very negative attention) was the 2 part article on the Custom Team project. From that feedback, I have determined the following things about customization articles: 1. 2. 3. 4. People like direct articles that result in them learning a skill. People do not like long articles People do not like to read about my long internal debates on part use People do not like boring articles.

As a customizer, getting feedback is critical to improving your skills, and as an article writer it seems that the process is pretty much the same. I am going to take this feedback, and see what I can do to improve next year's articles. Each month of next year I am going to try to focus on a small, simple project that most anyone can do, and present them in a tutorial fashion. I also encourage you to continue giving feedback in the threads to all the article staff so that we can improve the newsletter. So without further ado, Here is the tutorial for Januarys newsletter. (Next page)
Making a see-through projection map.
Putting a few dio accessories in your display can turn a bunch of figures standing shoulder to shoulder into a real action oriented dio. It can be as simple as a few boxes or sandbags. These objects make a difference because they establish a location, and a context for what the soldiers are doing. We are going to make a clear map board from a picture, $1 plastic picture frame, and a sheet of overhead plastic. While you might have the equipment to do the printing for this yourself, I am going to assume that you dont have these things, and will tell you where to go to get them. Step One: Select a suitable picture. Choose a random map, comic image or picture that you want the board to display. Youll want to use one that is large enough to fill a 4X6 frame, and wont look awful if its cropped down a bit at the top or sides. Its important to have a photo that is wider than it is long, or the photo wont fit the 4X6 frame well. If you want aerial footage of a particular area, Google maps (www.maps.google.com) can often help you out. Save the image to a media card or a stick drive. Step Two: Buy a 4X6 stand alone clear frame Youll need a clear plastic 4X6 frame with minimal decoration. The ones that I use which I consider perfect for the job come from Dollarama, a very common dollar store chain across all of Canada. Pick up one or two of them. Step Three: Print your picture Print your picture as a 4X6 photo. This will cost you less than.40 at a Walmart printer. There are tools available to crop and zoom your photo while still maintaining the 4X6 dimensions of the picture, so make use of them to make sure that the photo will fill the full 4X6 frame. Step Four: Copy picture onto a transparent overhead sheet. Take your photo to a copy store like a Kwik Kopy, Kinkos or other photocopying shop. Ask to have the photograph printed on a clear overhead sheet without increasing or decresing the size. This will cost you around $2 depending on where you get it done. You will be given a single clear plastic page with the image on it. Step Five: Cut out the picture Cut out the picture from the plastic using sharp scissors or a guillotine type paper cutter. While it is not absolutely essential to get exactly square edges, it will look better if the cuts are straight and in line. This will leave you with a clear 4X6 picture suitable for putting in the clear frame. Step Six: Put the picture in the frame Sliding the picture into the frame is the last step. You have your transparent map. In addition you can look at methods of back lighting the map or otherwise making it stand out. As these are cheap to make, and the pictures can be created order, feel free to experiment with different images, customize your props, and have fun with them! I hope that you enjoyed this little how to. Again, if you want better articles, be sure to leave feedback on them on the JoeCanuck board. We can only improve when we get feedback and if you dont give feedback and dont like the article, you have no one to blame but yourself! See you in 30.

ACTION STARS CEREAL

by Drew Haggerty (forward any comments to contact@joecanuck.com) In the 80s not only could you watch your favorite toy lines cartoons Saturday mornings on T.V, read their comic books, and carry lunch boxes with their logos, but you could also eat their cereal. G.I. Joe was no exception, debuting their cereal Action Stars produced by Ralston in 1985. The cereal was quite lacking in flavor (a basic sweetened whole grain star shaped cereal) but the special offers definitely made up for it. The first cereal box featured Starduster, a new G.I. Joe character on the front of the box who was only available through mail order for $2.50 and one proof of purchase. His primary military specialty was air reconnaissance and tactical air support, as he came equipped with a JUMP jetpack. On the back of the box there was an introduction to the character, a mail order form, and a top secret mission for Starduster to go on called Capture the Crystal which was a scenario kids could act out once they received the Starduster figure. On the side panel of the box was an offer for a free Starduster mini-comic that was included in the box. There were three different comic books to collect featuring Starduster that were randomly inserted into the cereal boxes. There were also three different boxes that were also released by Ralston that did not feature the Starduster offer, but instead had an offer for a personalized G.I. Joe T-shirt. The T-shirt was offered for $3.95 plus 2 proof of purchase seals, and was only available through the cereal offer. These three boxes featured previously released characters on the front and cut-outs of different gizmos and gadgets for the G.I. Joe and Cobras teams to use during top secret missions printed on the back. Filecards for the characters featured on the box were printed on the back of the box. First up is the box that features Duke on the front. The top secret mission on the back of the box was titled Silence Zartan, which had a mission to locate and destroy Zartans secret radio relay station. Printed on the back of the box was a build your own Cobra Rapid Relay Station that could be cut out and used with his mission. Second is the box that features Gung Ho on the front. The top secret mission on the back of the box was titled Rescue Lab Rat which had a mission to rescue a government scientist from the Dreadnoks. Printed on the back of the box was a build your own Molecular Transformer that could be cut out and used with his mission. The last box featured Shipwreck on the front. The top secret mission was titled Disarm Destro which had a mission to halt production at Destros laser armory. Printed on the back of the box was a build your own Vision Navigation Aid that could be cut out and used with his mission. A few different coupons were also released in the 80s for the Action Star cereal. One was a white coupon with blue print that was 0.15 cents off the cereal. The second booklet is a full color promotional brochure with a 0.25 cent coupon and list of exclusive items available only through specially marked boxes of Action Stars cereal. G.I. Joe also had at least one other special offer in the 80s on a Cookie Crisp box that featured a coupon for the 1986 Dreadnok Thunder machine on the back of the box, with pictures of the vehicle (not pictured in this article). Again in 1991 G.I. Joe had an offer that was exclusive through Rice Krispies cereal, this time offering a free Lifeline Rescue Trooper or My little Pony figure with 2 proofs of purchase, or 2 free toys with 3 proofs of purchase. This Lifeline figure was a variation of the previously released Lifeline from 1986. Instead of the original legs used on the 1986 version, this Lifeline had repainted Frostbite legs, with no pouch or gun on his leg. This was done on purpose as Rice Krispies did not want a gun released in any form. Because of that, the Lifeline figure released through the mail order only came with a backpack and his medical case. Included in the bubble mailer when you received your free Lifeline figure was a catalog also exclusive to this offer, showcasing the newest G.I. Joe toys that were available in stores. Also of note, inside the Rice Krispies box were different coupons for Hasbro toys, one including a $2.00 off coupon for the Battle Wagon vehicle. Although the G.I. Joe cereal boxes themselves arent in demand with most collectors, they and the special offers, Starduster figure, and mini-comics are all very difficult to find and can fetch quite a bit of money each on the secondary market.

Submit to Joe Canuck

by Ryan. Costello, Jr. scramble@joecanuck.com After a year of monthly releases, the Joe Canuck Newsletter has gained widespread attention across the GI Joe online community. Although the majority of the articles have been written by the staff, on a few occasions - Alexander Khans 25th Anniversary Spotlight: BAZOOKA from Augusts issue #08; Peter Sarganis International Figure Review: B.A.T. from Octobers issue 10; John "Pluv" Golembiewski by 2008 Year in Review in Decembers issue 12; and more planned in the coming issues we have had guest writers. With a growing interest from our readership to contribute articles of their own, we are providing some submission guidelines to answer the frequently asked questions. Ideas The first thing a prospective writer needs is an idea. Simply offering your services as an interested writer is not enough. Typically the idea should reflect your standing in the online GI Joe community or your area of expertise as a collector. Alexander Khan Bandelero on the message boards- has repeatedly stated his affinity for Bazooka, thereby qualifying him to write a spotlight on that character. Peter Sarganis Pete the Greek on the message boards- is one of the most prolific international collectors, qualifying him to write an international figure review. Had Mr Sarganis proposed an article on the GI Joe Panini sticker book, we would have asked him to justify what made him the best person to write that. Once you have your idea, you need to pitch it to the staff. Although there are many ways to contact the newsletter staff, such as through the message board private messaging system, the most formal method is to e-mail the staff directly. Every issue includes our Joecanuck.com e-mail addresses. Generally the best person to contact is editor-in-chief Mike THE Mike tm Heddle, however if you feel you have a social connection with any of the other staff, it is perfectly acceptable to submit your article idea to anyone on the list. Life being the way it is, if you do not receive a confirmation reply within two days, assume there may be some computer or free time break down and submit to another staff member. After you have been notified that your submission has been received, the staff discuss the idea. An article idea can be rejected if it is too similar to an article that has already seen print or is already being written for the next issue or if it is about neither GI Joe nor Canadian toy collecting. An article idea may be postponed for a later issue due to space or if the issue already contains an article of that type (for example an article on customization). Generally speaking, the staff have regular articles: Andrew Smith reviews 25th anniversary figures; Edward Dam reviews international figures; Charles Cushman provides tips on customization; David Mumby spotlights the corners of GI Joe history; and Ryan Costello, Jr focuses on colleting interests. Although some of the guest writers have written articles that cover the same ground as staff columns, this has been on occasions where the staff writer was either unable to write an article that month or they agreed to write outside their focus. As a rule, staff writers always have the first option to write their column. The best ideas to submit are those that fall outside the topics the staff cover. Once your idea has been approved by the staff, get writing. Format Articles should be between 750 and 1000 words, although a certain amount of flexibility is accepted. Submit all articles in Microsoft Word (.doc) format. If you do not have Word, use a third party application that saves in that format. The advantage of Word is that it has built in spelling and grammar check. Editing We admit that occasional spelling errors make it past our copy editing, but that does not reflect our desire for professionalism. It is more a reflection of our free time. We all have commitments outside the newsletter that dictate how much time we have to write and edit our own articles. As a result, we do not have time to edit additional articles. If your article contains repeated spelling or grammatical errors, it will be sent back for revision or rejected outright. The most common mistake the editors see, even in our own articles, is tense issues. The confusion arises because story telling usually uses present tense and articles usually use past tense. Adding to the confusion, the subject of most articles are from the 1980s. It is common to see in a single sentence an inappropriate tense switch like Shipwreck was a sailor that sounds like Jack Nicholson. When reviewing what you wrote before submitting, ask yourself if this article works better in present tense or past tense and then be very aware of the tense you use. This is not to say that an article can not employ both present and past tense, just that the passive voice should not switch inappropriately. Please refrain from emphasizing words through formatting. This includes the use of italics, bold, underline, and capitalization. If you fear readers will emphasize the wrong word, choose a stronger word or rewrite the sentence.

Submit to Joe Canuck (CONTINUED) Pictures Pictures are the responsibility of the author and are mandatory. Without visual elements, an article is just words on a page. We suggest at least four pictures be provided along with the article, allowing the editors flexibility when laying it out. Not all pictures will be used. Should ownership of the pictures come into question, the author must be able to prove their right to reproduce them. The online GI Joe community is a tight group, and picture theft will not go unnoticed. Should a contributor be proven guilty of this form of plagiarism, he will not be allowed to submit future articles. Deadlines Articles and pictures must arrive in the inbox of a staff member by the tenth of the month to qualify for that months issue. This is to ensure we have enough time to plan pages and contact the contributor about any problems. Formalities aside, we are ever grateful for our readers and fans, and are humbled when we see our newsletter excite others. This newsletter is by fans for fans, and that does not end at the fans on the staff. More contributors means more points of view explored and more ideas brought to the table. When it comes to a newsletter that has been published every month for a year with no end in sight, more points of view and more ideas means we have more to offer our readers.
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Completing your Joes

By Edward Dam stealth@joecanuck.com In mid 1995, I re-discovered my appreciation of those 3 plastic people that we call G.I. Joes. Jumping on the internet, I soon found YoJoe.com and discovered that after I got out of Joes in 1988, there were 5 more years of Joes released. My first thought? Ive GOT to get ALL of them that I missed! I poured every spare minute and dollar into finding every figure that I needed. Truth be told, Im STILL not done that task, but thats not the point of this article. I found message boards, the then new ebay and yahoo auctions, and various used toy websites around the world. It was great, I was getting the figures I needed at a feverish pace. Looking back therein lays the problem I have now. I was getting the FIGURES at a feverish pace. I was so focused on getting one of each figure, that I didnt give a second thought to accessories. I didnt care if the figure was complete, or if it was completely devoid of all its accessories. If I needed it, and the price was right, I got it. That made me happy until recently. You see, my collection of 1982 to 1994 figures is very close to being complete. I only need a handful of variants and Im done with the figures. Theres that word again. Figures. Yes, I have almost all the figures from the original A Real American Hero run of G.I. Joes. Accessories, on the other hand not even close. Now that I have the figures, my focus has shifted to completing those figures. Wow. That is no easy task. First, with 3 to 10 or more individual accessories released with each figure, there are literally upwards of 6000 accessories that were released in the 1982 to 1994 run. Thats not including the various accessory packs that were released in the mid 80s, which featured popular accessories in alternate colours. Secondly, some of these accessories were only ever released once, with a particular version of a particular character. Finally, some of these accessories were so tiny that unless the child who was given the toy had OCD, there is a high likelihood that they lost it many times within minutes of opening the package. Lets focus on the first issue for a moment: the sheer volume of accessories released for this line. Unless youve lived and breathed these toys for years, its unlikely that youll be able to identify most of those accessories upon just looking at them. Sure, most of us can pick out the iconic accessories such as 1985 Snake Eyes sword, or 1984 Storm Shadows bow, but how many of us can say hey, that assault rifle came from the 92 release of Shockwave!. Undoubtedly there are some reading this that can, but I think I am safe in saying that most of us cant. This in and of itself poses quite the problem. If youre out at a toy show or flea market and come across a big tub of various accessories, how can you possibly identify what you need? Well, there are 2 options, both of which take a lot of time. Matching accessories with figures is time consuming, no matter what way you tackle it. Before you even start looking for accessories, you must find out what you do and dont have, thusly creating an accessories needed list. Once you have that, you can go on the hunt. There are really 2 must have resources to even attempt this. The first is Mark Bellomos fantastic book The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994. This book while not completely infallible, lists almost every figure with its variants and all accessories with great pictures and details. To make this book even more valuable that it already is, a 2nd edition will be out very soon that fixes the errors and adds some variants/details that were omitted in the previous edition. Regardless, this book is worth its weight in gold for a Joe collector. In the situation I mentioned before, where youre at a show and come across a tub of accessories and you want to pick and choose the ones you need, having The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe under your arm will go a long way in helping you with that. The problem you would face in that situation would then be time. Trying to identify the accessories one at a time and putting the ones you need aside would take hours. Likewise, looking up the ones you need and trying to dig through the bin to find that one pistol would also be extremely time consuming (not to mention frustrating). So, faced with that situation, what do you do? Personally, I just try to negotiate a decent price for the entire bin, then take it home and slowly sort through it as my time allows. Granted, this ends up more costly, and often times can be very unrewarding (recently I bought a small tub of accessories for $10, and ended up finding exactly 3 that I needed). Its just a matter of balancing the time with the cost; at least it is for me. Sometimes you lose, but sometimes you win (like at the bottom of a bin I got for $5 I found a W.O.R.M.S helmet antenna, in addition to a few more common accessories I needed). The easiest and most obvious way to get some of your needed items is to post a wanted list on the various G.I.Joe internet message boards, and work out trades/purchases with other community members for the items you need. That works very well, and you can get a lot of what you need through that avenue if you are patient, so certainly use that as your first avenue for getting the parts you need. I mentioned that there were 2 good resources for identifying your accessories. The other one that I use fairly extensively is the WHOBIT (Whose Helmet Or Backpack Is This? feature at YoJoe.com. It allows you to identify by type and colour. Its a great resource, but like the aforementioned book, its not without mistakes and omissions. Often times its quicker for me to look it up on WHOBIT than page through the book. Between the 2, there should be very few accessories from the Joe line that you wont be able to look up. The Second and Final issues regarding completing your Joes as I outlined above, are the REAL frustrating aspect of the job due to the fact that they are often found together. Yes, there are a lot of accessories out there that are not only exclusive to one release of a given character, but are also very small. (CONTINUED)

Completing your Joes (CONTINUED) One of the earliest, most notorious accessories that fit those characteristics would be 1984 Fireflys green walkie-talkie or phone. Its very, very small, and has only ever been released with that character, at that time. As a popular character, he sold well but like me, most kids who had him in the 80s lost his phone quickly. How likely are you to come across one of these phones loose somewhere? Not very. Due to this tiny little piece of green plastic, the cost of buying a loose complete Firefly is much higher than that of most of the other popular characters released that year. To make matters worse, it would almost seem that Hasbro WANTED to make life difficult for those of us trying to complete these toys. Why would I say that? Well, it seems that Hasbro had a thing for releasing very tiny accessories with the drivers for some of the larger vehicles. Some notable (and painful to find) examples are: 1985 Heavy Metals microphone, 1986 Lift Tickets microphone, 1987 W.O.R.M.S antenna, and of course, the bane of many collectors existences: 1987 Hardtops pistol and microphone. These 2 very tiny accessories were released with a figure that was only available with one of the biggest playsets in the line the G.I.Joe DEFIANT. So not only were there many less sold (comparing to a carded figure like Firefly) but when you have something as massive as the Defiant, there are so many nooks and crannies that a pistol or microphone could fall into, it would have been almost impossible NOT to lose one or the other (or more likely both) for a child. Here we are 22 years later and of the ones that were not lost how many do you think still exist now? Yeah, not a pleasant thought, I know. So whats the solution? Honestly, there isnt one. Its going to take some money, some detective work and lots and lots of time. There are some figures that can be found complete (or even carded) for $10 or under (especially 92-94 figures) and for me, I just drop the $10 and then thats one more I can cross off the list. Sure, I may have been able to get the individual accessories I need for less than that, but how much is the time and effort involved in tracking them down worth? To me, its certainly worth $10. For example, take a look at 1993 Banzai. If you include his stand, he came with 8 accessories exclusive to that release. As of this writing, you can buy a mint and complete Banzai on ebay for an $8.00 Buy it now. Its like paying $1 for each accessory, and getting the mint figure for free. Makes sense to me. For those of you out there who are in the same situation Im in, or have been there, or can see yourself being there soon you have my sincere sympathy. Its the thrill of the hunt, however. When I found that W.O.R.M.S antenna in that tub of accessories, it was like winning the lottery. Moments like that are what make the hobby worth it.

HIDDEN G.I. JEM

By Michael Heddle (Quoted from JoeIntel.com) The Cobra Saboteur Tool Kit pictured here features the art of Firefly the Cobra Saboteur. This kit and the Paramedic Kit (both made by Nasta) are two of the most sought after vintage G.I. Joe collectibles. Included in the Saboteur Tool Kit are a tool case, six play tools, and a backpack with adjustable shoulder strap. This kit was manufactured in 1984 by Nasta Industries, Inc.
Images from the collection of: dmooretoys & JoeIntel.com
All images are from www.joeintel.com and is a site you should definitely check out! Its a new reference site for all things G.I. Joe. Superbly laid out, and very easy to navigate. You can tell a lot of work has gone into archiving the history of many G.I. Joe items into one nice package. YoJoe and TheJoeIndex do amazing jobs as well, dont get me wrong. But the JoeIntel site just seems to give you much more of a G.I. Joe feel. From the instant the site loads up, and two Crimson Guards are standing outside the doors of the site, you know youre going to enjoy what you find inside. Theres a few links that give you a dead end currently, but thats to be expected with any new large scale site like this one. You owe it to yourself as a fan of G.I. Joe to give JoeIntel a good look and relive some childhood memories while educating yourself on them. But I should warn you Youll no doubt stumble across an item that you just have to have, and as with most low run items, it may cost you pretty penny.