BOX SETS

My collection of Boxed Editions covers the period from approximately 1970 to 1980. This is mainly due to the fact that I was concentrating on the sets that contained the Classic Heavyweight figure as standard. The gallery below provides descriptions and photographs of these sets and at what period they were available for purchase from retailers.

GALLERY

Early 1970's Editions

The range of Continental sets from the 1960s carried over to the 1970s, but with a slightly changed look. The main variation was the picture on the lid of the box, which had almost the same action shot but was drawn with more realistic figures.

Like the 1960s sets, the players in these editions were usually those with their feet moulded to their bases, not the Classic Heavyweight figures of the period. I'm not sure why these figures were used, as they were never produced in the reference team format.

Display	Same contents as 1960s version, two teams, two balls, two goals and an instruction book.
Club (I don't possess this set)	As with the 1960s version, this had the contents of the Display Edition and a pitch. It also gained line/corner flags (C117).
Floodlighting	Again, this is a copy of the 1960s edition, being a club edition plus floodlights. The early versions had red floodlights, and these change to white around 1971-72. Like the Club Edition, the set also gained line/corner flags (C117)
International (I don't possess this set)	What a surprise. Another set similar to the 1960s version, with floodlighting contents plus an extra team (usually England) club flag, referee set, TV Tower, and photographers, manager, trainer. This set also saw the floodlight change at the appropriate time, and the addition of line flags (C117)

DISPLAY

FLOODLIGHTING

The 1970/1974 World Cup Editions.

The 1970 World Cup Edition was first to be released to coincide with any official Football Tournament, and was also the first to be two-tiered.

I have 2 versions of the 1974 World Cup Edition - one set has Brazil, Italy and England which I presume was produced prior to the 1974 World Cup and the other set has West Germany, Holland and England which I again presume was after the 1974 World Cup.

World Cup (1970a)

(I don't possess this set)

The first World Cup edition had the contents of the international edition plus a red fence surround (C108), matching red half-time scoreboard (C111), normal scoreboard (C115), Jules Rimet trophy (C119), the target board (C124), and a ref's whistle (Set V). The goals were the "new type"(C122). In this first version, the floodlights were still the red ones. The box had the word "NEW" on it.

World Cup (1970b)

(I don't possess this set)

This update still had "NEW" on the box, but had the 1970s accessories. So the fence surround and half-time scoreboard were green, and the floodlights were white (from 1971-72).

World Cup (1974)

This later version was basically, the same set as the World Cup 1970b version, but with further updates. The new "World Cup" goals with red and blue netting (C130) were introduced in 1972-73 and were an obvious addition to the World Cup set. This was also the first Boxed Edition to feature teams with plastic goalkeeper rods in lieu of metal ones, although these were introduced back at the beginning of the 1970's.

WORLD CUP 1974 (Version 1)

WORLD CUP 1974 (Version 2)

The Munich World Series.

The "holy grail" as it is sometimes referred to among collectors was available from around 1973 to 1976, and this two-tiered set is rated highly in my collection.

The teams that came standard in my version were Brazil, Holland and England although I have kept 2 spare teams of West Germany and Italy along with their respective corner kickers and throw-in takers in case I fancy a change of contents, as I know that a few variations of teams have been spotted in this Set.

Munich World Series

It had the international set contents, plus fence (C108), half-time scoreboard (C111), Police set (C113), bench set (C114), Scoreboard (C115), transfers (C129), Corner kickers x3 (C131), throw-in figures x3 (C132), interchangeable goalies (C133), ball boys (C134), logbook and wallet (Set L), referees whistle (Set V), etc. However, unlike the World Cup set, this did not feature the target board. Although the goalkeepers in the interchangeable set are on green rods, the goalkeepers in the three teams provided in this set still were produced with metal rods.

THE MUNICH WORLD SERIES

The Original Stadium Edition 1977-78

This huge original Stadium Edition with it's cardboard tray inserts was the first set to have three tiers. It replaced the Munich Edition as the top of the range set and was probably designed to incorporate the newly released Grandstand (C140).

I remember a friend of mine getting this set for his 10th birthday, the same year as I was bought the Club Edition - his parents were a lot better off than mine! As much as I appreciated my own set, it was fantastic being able to go round to his large house with the pitch all set up in all it's glory including the grandstand, floodlights, fence surround, etc. - a proper stadium.

Stadium

The 1977 version of this had the contents of the floodlighting edition plus a grandstand (C140), photographers (C104), referees and linesmen (C107), TV Tower (C110), half time scoreboard (C111), policemen set (C113), old scoreboard (C115), corner kickers (C131), throw-in figures (C132), ball boys (C134), new trainer's bench set (C139), plus an extra team with extra corner kick and throw-in figures (in their respective colours).

1977-80 Re-boxed Editions.

These six sets were originally produced with cardboard tray interiors, but the later versions were made out of polystyrene.

The International Edition ceased production around 1977, and the Stadium Edition remained three-tiered but had changed to the same size as the Floodlighting Edition.

Although as I have already stated the Club Edition, my first set, - Christmas 1977 aged 10 -contained the Classic Heavyweight teams of Reference 1 and 2, the Zombie figure seems to be the more common version provided with these sets.

Unfortunately I don't possess any of the 6 sets mentioned below, although I'm still on the lookout!

The Club Edition was lost in a house move many years ago.

Display	Two teams, two goals, two balls...just the same as usual.
Club	Again, this was unchanged apart from the figure/goalkeeper types mentioned above.
Floodlighting	As with the club edition...just the same as usual.
World Cup (1978a)	The new box arrived in 1978, and seems to be identical to the 1974 Edition, with the brown scoreboard, half-time scoreboard etc.
World Cup (1978b)	The second version of this set had polystyrene inserts, and was not as big as its predecessor, mainly because several items from that set had dropped from the accessory range. It had the contents of the Floodlighting Edition, plus an extra team (usually Argentina ref 67 in Zombie form), photographers (C104), refs and linesmen (C107), TV Tower (C110), Jules Rimet trophy (C119), and the new black scoreboard (C158). The Floodlights are advertised as "new" on the box, and feature proper battery boxes with switches.
Stadium	This is the second version of the Stadium Edition, and simply added a polystyrene tier to the World Cup Edition shown above. This third tier featured the grandstand itself with five spectators (C140), ball boys (C134), new trainer's bench set (C139), policemen set (C113), corner kick (C131) and throw-in figures (C132) for each of the three teams, and three more balls. Again, the third team was often Argentina (ref 67) so you got a corner kicker and a throw-in figure in the colours of Argentina.