[Josh Z]

Many years ago, I got frustrated trying to keep track of what I owned and didn't own in my G.I. Joe collection. Although YoJoe existed at the time, it didn't have a great method of tracking a personal collection. I would say it still doesn't, and we all know the current derelict state of that site today.

For my own inventory purposes, I created a massive Excel spreadsheet that listed every single G.I. Joe figure, pertinent information about them, and breakout lists of all their accessories with checklist columns to identify what I owned and what I still needed to collect.

I shared this with other collectors around 2004 and got feedback that a number of people also found it helpful.

The original goal was to track all G.I. Joe figures even as they continued to be produced, but that got out of hand with the huge volume of figures Hasbro pumped out in the early to mid 2000s. I couldn't keep up, and eventually fell out of G.I. Joe collecting entirely for many years until coming back to it recently. As a result, I scaled down the list to include only the original vintage line from 1982 to 1994.

The list was ambitious, but also had some errors and omissions, and was burdened by my own idiosyncrasies for how I liked to organize my collection at the time (which probably didn't make a lot of sense to other people).

In recent months, I've been overhauling the spreadsheet to clean it up, re-organize it, and fill in the blanks. The current version of the list includes the following data points:

1) Code Name
2) Alternate Names
3) Figure Version
4) Figure Variation
5) Year of Release
6) Military Specialty
7) Affiliation
8) Sub-Group
9) Trivia
10) YoJoe.com Link
11) 3DJoes.com Link
12) DeSimone Guide #
13) Itemized List of Accessories

Plus more. Attached is a sample screenshot.

I've done my best to track notable variations individually. The list currently has 570 entries for domestic G.I. Joe figures. I've also added a tab for foreign releases, though it isn't nearly as comprehensive and only has a little over 100 entries at this point. (I'm mostly focused on foreign figures I either own or personally still want to obtain.)

I created this for my own use, because this sort of data entry is how my brain best processes the amount of information required to track an action figure collection. If nobody else finds this interesting, it's still of use to me.

I'm posting this here just to see if any other collectors would still find this useful, or if there's a better tool on the web somewhere that already does something like this for G.I. Joe?

Ideally, some day I'd like to put this into a database and build a collectors' web site around it, but I don't think I have the web developer skills to do that all myself.

[CodeNameRebel]

I wouldn't mind seeing a copy of this. I keep something similar for my action figures.

[Josh Z]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CodeNameRebel

I wouldn't mind seeing a copy of this. I keep something similar for my action figures.

Sure thing. PM sent.

[Josh Z]

If anyone wants a copy, just ask and I'll PM a link.

[CodeNameRebel]

That is an impressive spreadsheet. Should be quite useful!

[Cryoguns]

This is a really cool list, thank you for sharing! I had a much more basic one that I had been using to track my collection previously and am thinking about switching over to this one.

While it would be a bit of work, I think it would be neat for the Joes to have a column for which military branch they are from and their grade. It would seem to complement listing the code name as well as the file name.

I do love the links to YoJoe and 3D Joes as well, these are really handy rather than having to open up the site and browse to the correct page every time you want to find something.

All in all, nicely done!

[MacDowin]

This is a great spread sheet. A lot of wonderful information. I have wanted to build a G.I. Joe Access database for awhile now, but always found difficulty figuring out the accessory section. I like how you have the accessories listed.

I know Sgt. Savage, Extreme, Hall Of Fame, and Classified really well. It would be pretty easy to create one for each of those lines.

[Wilox]

Josh just sent me the spreadsheet and it is quite impressive. It will come in handy and thanks to him for putting in the work!!

[Josh Z]

To those people who've already received the spreadsheet, be aware that I've made a minor edit to the Foreign & Prototypes tab. I had the Indian figure Super Cop down with a date of 1994 because that's what the copyright on the card says, but YoJoe claims that's an error and he was actually released in 2001.

In general, I defer to the date on the packaging and don't always agree with the YoJoe foreign listings, but in this case I think Super Cop did come out later.

[Lt Falcon Prime]

Yo. I'm interested in your spreadsheet