SELECT 500
2007 UK RELEASE

The later part of 2007 saw the release of another 8 figures in the ProStars select 500 range. Corinthian had already released 4 Select 500 figures earlier in 2007 at the convention, so it was some what of a surprise to see they were releasing more Select 500 figures in the same year, what was even more perplexing is that they chose to release 8 figures!

 

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Collectors could obtain one for free by spending a certain amount with Corinthian via their online shop, the figures never appeared in any of their newsletters or mail order catalogues and were exclusively available to customers shopping online.

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The 8 figures released were Edgar Davids in Tottenham Hotspur 3rd Kit, Fredrik Ljungberg Arsenal Away, Gianluigi Buffon Juventus Away, Arjen Robben Chelsea Away, Gennaro Gattuso AC Milan Away, Rio Ferdinand Manchester United Away, Robbie Fowler Manchester City Away and Zlatan Ibrahimovic Inter Milan Away. All 8 figures were painted in their respective away kits, none of which had previously featured in any Select 500 range.

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Their was something about this range of Select 500 figures which made them different to all series which preceded them, the collector cards for 4 of the figures were placed into the blister packs the wrong way round!

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The collector cards were individually stamped from #001-500, however the cards were placed the incorrect way round, so that you could not see what number your blister pack was, unless you opened the pack, a disaster for all those collectors who kept their figure in mint blister pack format. The 4 figures which had cards placed the wrong way round are Davids, Ljungberg, Buffon and Robben.

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Upon their release collectors were very disappointed and annoyed by this mistake but Corinthian announced that they would not correct their mistake by producing the figures again, simply as then there would not be 500 of each their would be 1000, so they could then not be placed into the Select 500 range.

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This set of figures did not really catch the collector’s imagination and demand was not exactly high for them. Contributory factors for this could be that they were released in the same year as 4 other Select 500 blisters, it could also be attributed to the fact 8 were released at once, however I think the biggest reason was that you could not see the collector issue number.

 

 

This range of figures was aimed at the collector who kept the figures in blister pack, however without the issue number visible the packs became less attractive, especially those who tried to collector shirt number packs or low issue blisters.

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The figures themselves are actually very well painted, the detail on the figures is superb, it is just a shame Corinthian dropped the ball by making such a basic error in not having the collector cards placed the correct way around.

 

 

As a result of this error the blisters were not as valuable as perhaps they should have been. Though given the players included they have really appreciated in value over the years, especially Fowler and Buffon who are both in very high demand, with Ferdinand and Ibrahimovic not far behind.