CompuServe Messages

Hi, I'm experimenting with texture mapping by trying to create a checkered capital letter "I". The idea is to get the "I" (using BARREL.FNT) to appear nicely wrapped in a seamless checkerboard using a material with ACHECKS.TIF as its texture map (this image is included with 3DSr3). Unfortunately my efforts so far are not very good. I've tried Face Mapping, the mapping icons in the 3D editor, and the mapping settings in the 3D Lofter. I thought that the 3D Lofter's mapping would be faultless, but somehow I really messed up the flat front side of the "I" using it. The sides weren't too bad, but there is some banding where the map is repeated peripherally. I varied the settings but I got the best results at Length Repeat: 1, Normalize: On, Perimeter Repeat :6. Can someone give me some pointers here? Is what I'm trying to do not possible? Is there something that I missed trying here? -Andy