View Wiki History: 3550 Piratenschiff, German versions and varitions

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