A Newsgroup Divided

Hasbro stopped production of the original 12" G.I. Joe around 1978. A few years later in 1982, G.I. Joe was re-engineered and re-imagined in a 3-3/4" size with an accompanying comic series and animated TV show, otherwise known as "A Real American Hero" (RAH). Helped by the huge popularity of Star Wars figures the new line was a great success.

As I mentioned before, the Sandbox newsgroup was originally proposed by 3-3/4" collectors. It was soon evident though that more and more discussions were focusing on the 12" Joes. As early as October of 1996 there was discussion of a split.

"Don't take this the wrong way - but I am primarily interested in the 12" GI Joes. Can we not have another newsgroup to separate the midget Joes from the "REAL" Joe (I'll get mail for that one)? 8-)
THOR"

"You're right, you WILL get mail for that remark! They're all Joes, no matter what size they are (or how stiff their joints... )
R. Sorrels"

"Being a collector of all types of JOE, I think thats a terrible idea. 'Why' being the first question? Maybe we should have separate groups for Vintage, Adventure team , Super Joe, 3&3/4, HOF,Sgt. Savage , Extreme,Classic,etc. ........I don`t think so .Or maybe YOU should have YOUR own group, Now theres an Idea!
All JOE should be welcome here............MERK"

"Thor, I immediately delete anything that says '3...' in the header. As long as people identify what the post is about I don't care if the two groups stay together. I do think though that the 12" topic has gotten alot more traffic since the resurgence of 12" joes. (I guess that means a split might be warrented). Isn't there some usenet procedure for figuring out if it's time to split?
ML Bissonnette"

"Look, as someone who had to deal with the split from Rec.Toys.Misc to Rec.Toys.Action-Figures, let me just say: it hasn't gone 100%, and I doubt it ever will.

Lots of people still INSIST on posting AF related c*** to the MISC group, even though they're not supposed to anymore........

Two GI JOE groups (with what...20 new messages a day?) would just mean newbies would crosspost, not use the correct group, whatever.

AND you've got to remember that this is an ALT group, which means that LOTS of major carriers and ISP's may never even CARRY it.....or it may take months....

In other words: Its a nice idea, but there's no way a SPLIT vote would float right now.....the RTM/RTAF split was a real long pain in the ***, but it was necessary..400+ messages a day, and people complaining about all the AF posts in a "misc" group.

Don't go this Split route...trust me.

IF there are those of you here who are so ridiculously prejudiced that Only YOUR Joes are worth reading/discussing, just skip the messages with 3" in the headers.

Brant
But...I gotta admit.....its pretty sad if that really is someones attitude. I mean, you can like or not like 3" joe....but this isolationist c*** is nuts.. :D"

Then there was this rather insightful and prophetic post:

"I agree with a few of the points raised by those against a split-

-the skipping of messages that aren't to your interests
-the long, arduous process of creating a new newsgroup
-the question of whether a new newsgroup is even warranted
-the lack of traffic in this newsgroup

HOWEVER,

I'm going to have to say kudos to Thor for bringing this issue up. While it's not a problem now, one year from now, we may have a different story.

1997 is bringing a huge assortment of the 12" figures, AND 1997 is bringing back the 3 3/4" figures. What happens if a whole new generation of collectors/kids see these new figures and get interested in them?

Then they'll come here.

As of right now, I'd say 90-95% of the posts are 12" related. No one questions the sheer #s of 12" posts, no problems. But what happens when the new 3 3/4" figs come out, and this group suddenly turns into 100-200+ posts a day? What if this newsgroup suddenly becomes half 12" posts, half 3 3/4" posts?

THEN it just might get a little too difficult to just skip posts.

Is a split necessary now? No. But it just might become necessary in the next year or so. And considering how much of a pain it is to create a new newsgroup, maybe we should start discussing its feasability now. Just a few questions that I can think of that need to be answered before we start down the road of "splitsville".

-Are there enough 3 3/4" fans out there to support a group? Clearly a 12"-only group would thrive - would a 3 3/4" one work? Does the volume of traffic in a 3 3/4" group even matter?

-Do the 12" fans want the 3 3/4" fans to go somewhere else?
-Do the 3 3/4" fans want the 3 3/4" fans to go somewhere else?
-What the heck will be the name of the new newsgroup? Will it be clear enough to differentiate for newbies who don't know what group to post in? Will the small guys move to a new group or will the big guys?
-Rec or Alt heirarchy?
-What about "miscellaneous" Joes? Super-Joe, Sgt Savage, Extreme? Do they gut lumped in with the big Joes or the small Joes? Do we create a special newsgroup just for them (alt.toys.gi-joe.hahahahahahahahahahahaha)?

At this point, I think the BEST course of action is to not split the group.

However, we 3 3/4" fans don't have to sit still. Corey Stinson has brought up the possibility of a 3 3/4" listserv. This might be the BEST way to guage whether or not a new newsgroup would be supported.

This topic of discussion should be brought up from time to time, just to see if the time ever arrives that a split is unavoidable.

NEW FIGS IN 97! YO JOE!

Eugene"

It was actually two years later that the split was officially proposed. In January of 1998, J. Thorpe posted the following:

"PROPOSAL: alt.toys.gi-joe.1980s

From: J. Thorpe, a.k.a. SNAP!!!MAN
Date: Sun, Jan 11 1998

For your newsgroup file:
alt.toys.gi-joe.1980s for the discussion of the G.I.Joe: A Real American
Hero toy line of the 1980's

Charter:
Newsgroup for news and discussion related to G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero (a popular toy line from the 1980's). Discussion includes the toys, cartoon series, comic book series, movie, and other things relating to A Real American Hero.

Justification:
The alt.toys.gi-joe newsgroup is used for discussion of both the 12" G.I.Joe toy line and the 3.75" toy line, but the majority of the posts deal with the 12" toy line. The 3.75" toy line was one of the biggest selling lines in the 1980's, resulting in a popular cartoon series, comic book, and movie. The toy line is still popular among collectors of vintage toys. In 1997, the toy line was revived by Hasbro, resulting in new figures being available for the first time since 1994.

Thank you, and I'd appreciate any comments"

Not even 2 weeks later, the new group was already making its way to news servers.

"alt.toys.gi-joe.1980s is up!

J. Thorpe, a.k.a. SNAP!!!MAN
Date: Fri, Jan 23 1998

The newsgroup dedicated to the G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero line is up and running, so if your interested in A Real American Hero come on and visit. If you're unable to receive it, ask your ISP to add it to their server."

Incredibly, in the Sandbox there were no flame wars, no arguments, not much of anything. On the contrary, the new group was welcomed by Sandboxers. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that many of the 12" collectors also collected the smaller Joes.

"Interesting...there has always been talk of developing another NG for RAH...but I didn't think it'll happen.
THOR"

"From: J. Escobedo
Date: Sun, Jan 25 1998

I agree with john that there is more 12" joe talk here and praise him for creating the 3 3/4 newsgroup. Now I do not have to scroll through to find letters from 3 3/4 collectors. "

There wasn't much more to add. From that time forward the 3-3/4" collectors simply had their own place to play and the "big" Joes had the Sandbox all to themselves.

If you want to know more about the RAH group and the 3-3/4" Joes here are some links:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.gi-joe.1980s

http://www.yojoe.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yojoe-thepit/

BIG DADDY K

LISTEN UP, MAGGOTS! SIT DOWN AND READ THIS WHOLE ARTICLE OR I'LL HAVE YA DROP ON YOUR FACE AND GIVE ME 25!!

The History Channel has the Gunny, R. Lee Ermey, but the Sandbox has its very own salty former Marine Corps DI. His name is Keith M., otherwise known as AAALocksmith, aka "Big Daddy K", or simply BDK. After selling off his 12" Star Wars figures "due to specialization in GI Joes and Ultimate Soldiers," he found his way into the Sandbox at the beginning of November of 1998. The Sandbox would never be the same!

BDK wrote his own mini-bio in the following post from November 14, 1998:

"First, you need to know a couple of things.

In the Corps, the military job one does is refered to as your M.O.S. (military occupational specialty) and each one is assigned a special number (grunt - 03, military police - 58, etc). The M.O.S. number that designates Drill Instructor is 8511.

Now, when a D.I. gets in trouble for being too hard on the great unwashed momma's boys, he either gets a chewing out, a fine or kicked-off the Drill Field. If you get the big one (kicked-off) it's call being VOIDED as opposed to being voided ON, I guess).

Keeping all the above in mind, let me tell you about the plate I have displayed on the front bumper of my locksmith van. On a beautful scarlet background are the numbers 8511 in gold. Diagonally, as if stamped by a military official, is the word
VOIDED. Yep, that's right. I got the Big V. My first tour as a "hat" in '84 went great! I was awarded my Big V on my second tour in '87. With the glorious V on my record, my prospects for promotion were pretty bleak...So I hung around for another two years in hopes that things might improve, but to no avail. Took my DD214
(discharge form) at the 12 year mark and did the old "seabag drag". Flopped around from one dead end job to another for a couple of years and then got an education so as to start my own business as a 'all mobile' locksmith.

Haven't looked back and I'm not bitter towards the Corps. I'm on a first name basis with the Commanding General and most of the D.I.'s at Parris Island now, and fondly remember my time in the Corps.

If you will please gently wake up the Sandboxer next to you that fell asleep during this most BORING diatribe, I will thank you and bid you farewell for now.

Semper Fi,
Big Daddy K"

If there's any doubt about BDK's devotion to the Corps, try this on for size!

"BTW - my daughter was born in '82 and the CMC (Commandant of the Marine Corps) was General Kelly. I have a photo of the two of us at that year's Marine Corps Birthday Ball. It was shot just as I informed him that I had named my newborn in his honor - Kelly M.! The look on his face is PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!

Semper Fi,
Big Daddy K"

Even for a hardcore "leatherhead" having a teenager daughter proved to be a tough assignment! A thread glowing with the joys of parenthood and playing GI Joes with kids prompted one Sandboxer to comment "Aint this what it's all about anyway??? I can't wait to have kids (Vman)". In reply, BDK posted this:

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO!!!!!!!!

Right now, for a limited time, I will trade my daughter for a C-9 MIMB '64 Action Marine. The sticker sheet MUST be intact and little to no shelf wear on the box. 8-)

Big Daddy K"

By this time you might think BDK is all blood and guts. The truth is there's a quite a bit of heart inside that tough exterior. Grab a hanky and read this touching account from Keith's childhood:

"Date: Sun, Nov 29 1998

My mom was the coolest. She passed away at the age of 48 and I still miss her very much.

Whenever we went to a store, she would always let me go look at toys and stuff by myself. She didn't have to worry about knowing where I was because she only had to listen for the "clankity-clank" that those leg braces made! Well, one day we were in this department store and as usual, she let me take off on my own. All the while, she listened for the sound of my "legs of steel" banging around on the foor tiles. On this particular day, after I had been gone for a long time, she tried to locate me using her hearing. Suddenly, she heard the sound "clank, clank - clank,clank" and thought that something was wrong with me. The sounds she heard sounded like my braces were coming apart! She heads in the direction of the double "clanks", turns the corner, and there I am (age 5) walking along hand in had with a cute little 6 year old blonde girl wearing the same leg gear as mine. When I saw her, I thought something was wrong with my mom! She was standing there, looking at us two little gimps with tears in her eyes. I didn't understand at the time, but when I was older she told me, "I was crying from joy! Most of the kids in our neighborhood wouldn't play with you because either they were scared of your leg braces or sometimes, their parents wouldn't let them near you for fear that you had polio or something and were afraid that their kids would get it too from being too close to you. I was overjoyed to see you and your new friend together because you looked like you were thrilled to have a friend that was just like you." How could I not love a broad like my mom?

Now that I'm through with the boo-hoo eyes story, on to the game she and I used to play.

No matter where in town we went, kids would always come up and ask my mother what the "things" on my legs were and what was "wrong" with me. Everytime this happened, she would get this look of puzzlement on her face and say, "What are you talking about? I don't see anything on his legs." This would usually make the kids repeat their question while thrusting their hands forword in a pointing gesture to make my mom "see" what they were talking about. She would look even more confused and say, "I don't see anything on his legs, are you going nuts or something?" By
this time, the kids were so exasperated that they would leave in a huff. When they were out of sight, my mom and me would laugh so hard it would bring tears to our eyes and make our guts hurt! My mother had it pretty bad back then. Not only was her Marine husband off fighting a war in Vietnam, she was holding down a full time job and raising two boys on her on and one of them was handicapped. Whenever life throws it's inevitable obstacles my way, I remember my mom and the way she never let anything get her down. I was a young Marine Sergeant in Dress Blues the day we buried her. It was on a cold and rainy morning on the 17th of December 1986.

I've got to put the keyboard away now because all this talking about her is making it hard for me to see the letters on the screen. As Lewis Grizard used to say, "Ya'll give your mamma a call tomorrow. I sure wish I could call mine."

BDK"

ALRIGHT YOU MOMMAS BOYS! WIPE OFF THEM BOOHOO EYES AND KEEP READIN OR I'LL HAVE YOU DIGGING LATRINE HOLES WITH A SPOON!!

Well, now that you know all about BDK, you may be able to better appreciate this bit of Sandbox lore that I'm about to relate. It has come to be known as the "Plywood Enema Incident". You'll soon see why.

It happened soon after BDK appeared in the 'Box. I don't know if BDK was aware of the Price Police at the time, but he certainly knew about their charter. Especially the part about "aggressively pursue and eradicate scalpers." It was the misfortune of one first-time poster to have entered the Sandbox at this time with a rather provocatively worded "for sale" post:

"From: John E. (scalpel6)
Date: Wed, Nov 11 1998

FOR SALE *** TARGET EXCLUSIVE * * *

Remember that swell wooden footlocker that G.I. Joe had?!? Remember how you could never find all of the gear to make it complete? Well, Target (and me) have finished your search. I have two complete exclusive sets MIB (black soldier and white soldier). They include the wooden footlocker, ALL of the gear shown on the footlocker tray AND a duffle bag and rain poncho. Standing at attention beside the footlocker is the soldier in fatigues and tall black boots. Drop me a line if you are interested. Remember, first come, first served!

White Soldier Make an Offer
Black Soldier Make an Offer

P.S. The local store has three more sets of the white soldier (all have blonde hair)."

Remember now that the Price Police charter and the standard of the Sandbox was to "sell currently available GI-Joes at cost plus shipping." "Make an offer" sounded like the words of a scalper! In fact, several Sandboxers raised the warning flag and began to "pursue" this guy. It was BDK though that swung the hardest with this little post:

"Hey scalper - I got an offer for you. How about I cram those two footlockers so far up your a** that you'll be choaking on those "real rope handles"?

Jeez Lou - [freaking] - ese!!!!

With love,
Big Daddy K"

As it turned out though, John aka Scalpel6 actually had no intention to scalp his wares, but was simply unaware of the proper protocol for offering such things for sale. He e-mailed his apologies to a Sandboxer or two along with a comment about not coming back to the newsgroup. Everybody, including BDK, felt really bad about their rather hostile response to poor John's first-ever post. "Big Daddy" soon posted a followup in the 'Box:

"I just sent John an email that contained a heartfelt apology for my flamming response to his original post.
:-( "

Big (and sometimes stupid) Daddy K"

Fortunately, the apologies and subsequent warm welcomes from fellow Sandboxers convinced John to return to the newsgroup. As of this writing he is still around, now going by the handle "Land Adventurer", a well-respected and contributing member of the group.

As for BDK, a few years ago he divorced "the passenger side airbag" (his own words), sold off a lot of his collection on eBay, and now mostly lurks in the shadows, posting very infrequently. He is missed. Many of us hope he'll come back to play in the Sandbox.

The Price Police

If you look up the word "scalper" in a thesaurus, among the many synonyms you will find the words "scum", "bottomfeeder", "crook", and "weasel". OK, not really, but that pretty well sums up how most Sandboxers feel about scalpers. It is a term they use to describe those unscrupulous individuals who track down hard to find items then buy everything they find for the purpose of selling them at a markup to those who had no chance to find those items. They are not true collectors, they are speculators, the ones who lie in wait for that right moment to take advantage of the unsuspecting and the less fortunate in order to make a profit.

In the early days of the Sandbox, scalpers roamed the newsgroup. They tried to offer up what they believed to be rare newer 12" GI Joes for $10, $15 sometimes $20 over retail. Members of the group would pounce on the would-be scalpers alerting others to avoid their ridiculous prices, and often offering to trade or sell the same Joes at retail cost plus shipping.

Before it got any worse, one collector named Richard Knepper decided it was time to do something to defend against the scalper insurgency. In December of 1996, he posted the following:

"From: RIKnepper
Date: Mon, Dec 23 1996

I was thinking of putting together a list of people who'd buy currently available Joes for others at cost plus shipping. I'd post it periodically to the newsgroup. This should cut down on the "AA TRU Dress Marine - only $500" posts, and provide a service for those who are Targetless or "habe keine Schwartz" (TRU's are _everywhere_)

The list would give the email addresses of those willing to help, along with the Joes that are currently available. I figure that Joes that aren't on the shelf any longer are fair game.

Any opinions? Anybody interested?"

The response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. It wasn't long before volunteers had signed up, as evidenced in this message posted only a few days later:

"From: RIKnepper
Date: Fri, Dec 27 1996

Here's the list of people who'll be willing to help others pick up Joes at cost plus shipping. GI Joe would be proud of all these folks who know the real value of a toy is not as an investment but the enjoyment one gets out of owning them. Though I havn't personally dealt with everyone on this list, they'll serve as good first contacts in your quest for those Joe's that don't make it to the stores in your area.

riknep...@aol.com (RIKnepper)
profess...@express-news.net (Robert)
R Sorrels (o...@worldnet.att.net)
Timothy.Pote...@moa.net (T Poterek)
ktchap...@ipass.net (KT Chapman)
awei...@foto.infi.net (D Weiske)
user429...@aol.com (User429908)
s...@ntr.net (SA Stovall)
anda...@unm.edu
ronj...@ipass.net (R Jack)
kmerk...@usit.net (K Merkley)

Some people have mentioned specific Joes that they'll sell, but in the interest of bandwidth, I'll just list what's been offered. Note that these folks are doing this to help out other _Collectors_ and resellers are not welcome.

Joes that can still be had at cost are:
KB MP (limited)
Target Generals (somewhat limited)
Target Admirals (limited)
CC Infantry (hair / skin colors may be limited)
CC SAS (hair / skin colors may be limited)
CC ODF (all types)
CC HALO (all types)

You can contact me with specific needs and I'll put out a call to the GI Joe Price Police. Thanks much."

The Price Police were now on patrol and doing their job. Here's an example of one potential scalper stopped in his tracks and turned to the force for good.

"From: Normandie
Date: Sat, Jan 11 1997

I first subscibed to this news group about 6 weeks ago and the first thing I did was try to scalp some new Joes I had picked up. I was new to the group and to collecting Joes. As you may suspect I was beat up pretty bad and responded in kind. My feelings were hurt and I did not understand all the hard feelings. Since then I have just sat back and quietly watched and read everyones postings. I slowly began to understand everyones fellings on this matter. Not only do I totally agree with you all now but I don't even buy the new stuff anymore. I have rediscovered my old Joes and have been going nuts getting as much vintage stuff as I can get my hands on.

I guess what I really wanted to say was, sorry to start off on the wrong foot. I am sorry for using bad language, and most of all sorry of depriving some great kid of getting a new Joe. Hope you all can forgive me.

Long live the spirit of Joe,

Dan"

One more thing was needed though. The Price Police needed a home, or as is the case with the internet, a homepage. Richard once again stepped up to the plate.

"From: RIKnepper
Date: Thurs, Jan 23 1997

The Price Police now has a web site, located at
http://members.aol.com/riknepper/gijoe/joe.htm

The Price Police are dedicated to eradicating scalpers of currently available Joes, and helping members of alt.toys.gi-joe better aware of current market values (as opposed to those listed in AFN&TR and White's)

You can join the Police (now nearly 20 strong!) using a webform on the site.

You can also rate your Joes using the on-line survey, and see the results in the 'Hall of Fame'

Check out the site and let me know what you think. Also, any suggestions for improvement would be appreciated. Thanks."

As of this writing, the hyperlink above is still live and the website online. There you will find the Price Police Charter:

* Sell currently available GI-Joes at cost plus shipping
* Help out other members of the Price Police
* Help out other readers of the alt.toys.gi-joe newsgroup
* Keep all usenet users informed of fair market values for GI-Joes
* Aggressively pursue and eradicate scalpers on alt.toys.gi-joe

It has been several years since the website was last updated. In the summer of 1998, Richard's daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor and he left the web to attend to the needs of his family. Today, there may be only a few Sandboxers who are aware the Price Police ever existed. Nevertheless, their legacy lives on. The Sandbox tradition continues to be to offer GI Joes and other 1/6 products for cost plus shipping. In some cases, Sandboxers have been known to offer some things for less than cost, or solely for the price of shipping, or altogether free. That is known as "Sandbox Karma", of which I'll write another time.

So the next time you wonder why Sandboxers are so fanatical about "cost plus shipping", remember it is in great part due to Richard Knepper and the Price Police.

Then There was a Contest!

It was December of 1996 in the GI Joe newsgroup. More and more people were posting photos of their action figure collections on personal webpages. There were all sorts of amazing things to show off, custom-made vehicles, hand-made uniforms, and any other combination of artistic talent expressed in 1/6 scale. One collector was particularly impressed with what he saw on the web and came up with a fun way to showcase and acknowledge this great talent. On the 29th of December he posted the following:

"From: Byung Yoon Lim
Date: Sun, Dec 29 1996

As I had a lot of free time last week, I enjoyed a lot visiting personal collector pages, photo galleries, this NG, so on. I have seen stunning and some ROTFL (because so funny and good humoured)pics these days. Incredible customized joes, highly detailed scrachtbuilt vehicles (Congratulations Emil!) and so on

So I have been thinking and just wonder why don´t we organize a Joe Contest!. Pics of customized Joes, vehicles, dioramas or any other thing.

Although my credit cards don´t even want to talk to me, I will be glad to donate one of the spanish Ms Natalie Poole sister as prize for the winner. (of course she will be a "NRFB" girl) and pay the shipment to the winner to any part of this planet wherever the winner lives.

But I don´t know how to organize it. Yeah, pics could be posted to the NG but how we do to get a winner?. How do we organize a clear way to get votes for contestants? Any idea?

Use your brains and post ideas to the NG"

Yoon's suggestion was enthusiastically accepted! The ideas quickly started coming in. People started suggesting rules and guidelines for the contest, webspace for posting entries was offered, others volunteered to donate prizes. Members of the group e-mailed each other to work out the details and the logistics of the contest.

In the meantime during the first part of January 1997, more and more often, members of the group started referring to the NG as "the Sandbox". Especially when welcoming new members to the group, they would be welcomed to the Sandbox.

Then on the 17th of the month, the following lines appeared at the beginning of a post with the subject line, "PROPOSED FIGURE/DIORAMA PIX CONTEST RULES!!!":

"From: GIJoeVote
Date: Fri, Jan 17 1997

Proposed Rules:
alt.toys.gi-joe Newsgroup (The Sandbox) Figure/Diorama Contest

Ok folks, one month and a lot of e-mails later we have hammered out what we think are fair rules for the Photo contest. We have done our best to incorporate as many of the suggestions made in the newsgroup. Please read
them and if you have any suggestions or corrections e-mail MHWa...@echo.i-link.net and/or TRi...@aol.com prior to January 21.

On January 22 the final rules will be posted.

Thank you

B. Yoon Lim, M.H.Walsh, T.Pleasant, S.Chan"

The rest of the message contained a long explanation of the rules of competition. But, I believe it was here in the beginning of this post that the newsgroup's "official" nickname was cemented into place. Other follow-up posts referred to it more specifically in their subject lines:

On the 19th, "Prizes for the Sandbox Contest - was" by Bpdsec

On the 20th, "Prizes for the Sandbox Contest" by K. Clapp

On the 24th, "Final: SANDBOX CONTEST RULES" by TRiP63

On the 31st, "Sandbox Contest: Rules Repost" by MHWalsh

By the end of February the contest was over with several entries and lots of voting. Unfortunately, the hosting website is no longer online but here is a list of the categories and entries in each one:

Category I: Custom U.S. or Foreign Military Figure or Diorama
101: Search in Mogadishu
102: Snowtroop on Patrol
103: Hanging
104: Cavalry Joe
105: Exodus Nazi Germany
106: Village Secured, Moving-Out
107: Two Tense Moments
108: WWII G.I.'s Nightmare

Category II: Custom Adventurer Figure or Diorama
201: Deep Sea Diver
202: Bond, James Bond
203: Slip-Slidin' Away
204: Narcotics Agents Score a Hit!
205: 1972 Lunar Secret Mission
206: Apollo Astronaut

Category III: Imaginative Custom Figure or Diorama
301: Raid at Bong Son
302: Space Commandos
303: Lazy
304: On Patrol
305: An Amazingly Boring Coincidence
306: G.I. Joe Meets Tickle Me Elmo
307: Lost and Found
308: Joe as The Road Warrior
309: Militia Joe Meets the New World Order

Category IV: Custom Vehicle
401: G.I. Joe Train
402: The Hippo
403: Customized 5 Star Jeep

Other great contests would follow, but this is the one that gave the newsgroup its identity, thanks to a suggestion from B. Yoon Lim. From then on, there was no question that "alt.toys.gi-joe" was indeed "The Sandbox".


On a rather sad sidenote, after several years of contributing much to the hobby and to the Sandbox, B. Yoon Lim passed away on June 5th, 2003. His webpages though can still be viewed at these links:

http://personal.redestb.es/yoon/comain.htm

http://personal2.iddeo.es/yoon/index.htm

http://www.geocities.com/yoonatwork/