3550 Piratenschiff, German versions and varitions
Loading...There are quite a few versions of playmobil’s first Pirate Ship, the 3550.
There are several German versions and also a lot of International versions.
Trying to concentrate in the German sets we can consider 2 basic versions:
V1, 1978-1983/84
– crew members have fixed hands colored as their torsos;
– the crane in the box’s front lifts a yellow trunk;
– playmobil official „produktarchiv“ names it 3550-A in 1978;
V2, 1984/85-1988/89
– crew members have skin colored (light pink and brown) rotating hands,
– the trunk being lifted becomes a brown one.
– playmobil official „produktarchiv“ names it 3550-B in 1984;
Of these 2 versions there are a lot of box variations containing a number of details that help to sort them all.
V1-a:
– „horizontal“ front with boat facing left;
– box made of styrofoam;
– no mention of the set number in the front;
– „playmobil“ logo with a round dot in the „i“ in the front;
– „b“ brandstatter logo and „system“ word added below „playmobil“ in the front;
– „5 klicky“ is mentioned in the top left side of the front;
– picture of the contents in the back;
– picture of a boy with the boat in the back;
– black and white intructions leaflet;
– collector 3 book names it v1 and gives it a 1978-1982/83 timeframe (p. 56)
V1-b
– „horizontal“ front with boat facing left;
– inside box made of cardboard with a narrow frame;
– no mention of the set number in the front;
– „playmobil“ logo with a round dot in the „i“;
– „b“ brandstatter logo and „system“ word added below „playmobil“ in the front;
– boat shows 16 crew members in the front and a seashore camp;
– small picture of the boat and small picture of its crew (5 figures) on the top left corner of the front;
– picture of the contents in the back;
– picture of a boy with his grandfather and 2 boats with stripe-painted sails the boat in the back;
– 4 close-up pictures of the boat with a handpainted crew, sails and hull;
– black and white intructions leaflet;
– collector 3 book includes this variation but it doesn’t give it a number or timeframe (p. 552)
V1-c
– „horizontal“ front with boat facing left;
– inside box made of cardboard with a narrow frame;
– no mention of the set number in the front;
– „playmobil“ logo with a trapezoid dot in the „i“;
– small picture of the crew (5 figures) on the top left corner of the front;
– picture of the contents in the back;
– picture of a boy with his grandfather and 2 boats with stripe-painted sails the boat in the back;
– 4 close-up pictures of the boat with a handpainted crew, sails and hull;
– black and white intructions leaflet;
– collector 3 book names this variation v2 and gives it a 1982/83-1984/89 timeframe (p. 84)
V1-d
– „vertical“ box with boat facing the right;
– no mention of the set number in the front;
– „playmobil“ logo with a trapezoid dot in the „i“;
– picture of the contents in the back;
– picture of a boy with his grandfather and 2 boats with stripe-painted sails the boat in the back;
– 4 close-up pictures of the boat with a handpainted crew, sails and hull;
– no mention of this variation on collector 3 book;
V2-a
– „horizontal“ front with boat facing right;
– inside box made of cardboard with a large frame;
– outline set number included in the lower left corner of the front;
– word „inhalt“ and 4 translations included in the lower left corner of the front;
– „playmobil“ logo with a trapezoid dot in the „i“;
– picture of the contents in the back;
– picture of a boy with his grandfather and 2 boats with stripe-painted sails the boat in the back;
– 4 close-up pictures of the boat with a handpainted crew, sails and hull;
– colored instructions leaflet;
– collector 3 book names this variation v3 and gives it a 1984/85-1988/89 timeframe (p. 98).
V2-b
– „horizontal“ front with boat facing right;
– inside box made of cardboard with a large frame;
– black set number included in the lower left corner of the front;
– „playmobil“ logo with a trapezoid dot in the „i“;
– collector 3 book names this variation v4 and gives it a 1988/89-1990/91 timeframe (p. 120).
V2-c
– the same as V2-a but with no set number;
– word „inhalt“ and 5 translations included in the lower left corner of the front;
V2-d
– the same as V2-a but with no set number and no „inhalt“ word and its translations included.
This set coincides with a period of great growth for Playmobil.
This success maybe explains why there are so many variations of the its 2 versions.
Even in other countries – Spain, Greece, U.S.A. – there are a lot of versions and variations.
This listing can be far from complete – some of these variations are attributed to exclusive regional markets (Netherlands) or srore chains.
Even if the number of versions is not likely to change, at any time a new variation can show up.
note: thank you playmorache (from Klickywelt) for so many informations and images
