The Corinthian ProStars Elite range was a very special series of figures and unique in the history of Corinthian figures for a number of reasons. The figures were all brand new sculpts, and once used in this range the sculpt would be retired and not used again, with the sculpting of these figures amongst the best work they ever produced.

The figures did not come in blister pack, window box or sachet format, Corinthian designed a whole new and exclusive packaging design for this ultra special product. The figures were released as a set of 2, home and away kit, with the packaging being a solid box with 2 clear windows so the figures could be seen without removing them from the packaging. 2 circular velcro pads held the lid shut, once opened above the figues were the 2 individualy numbered collector cards, all limited to just 1,500 pieces Worldwide. On the reverse of the box was the individually numbered certificate of authenticity, which was in a clear window, so just like the figures, it could be seen without removing it from the packaging.

It was clear a vast amount of thought and detail had been poured into this product, which is a large reason as to why it has always remained highly collectible. There are 24 sepearate players in the series, with each player have a home and away kit figure, making a total of 48 Corinthian ProStars Elite figures to collect.

The first Corinthian ProStars Elite pack was released in July 2004, with another pack being released every month there after, until the last pack was released, in June 2006. Upon it's initial release, each pack had a suggested retail price of £14.99 and over time some would decrease in price, howerve some would increase to over £100 a set!

The first figure released was Mario Zagallo in Brazil 1958 kit, with fellow Brazilian Garrincha in Brazil 1962 kit following him, as Augusts release. September 2004 saw England legend Geoff Hurst released in 1966 home and away kit, with Ocotober seeing another Brazilian player released, this time it was Carlos Alberto in Brazil 1970 kits.

November 2004 saw the first goal keeper to be released as a ProStars Elite, with West German Sepp Maier in 1974 kit. Daniel Passarella in Argentina 1978 was December's release. The great Italian goal keeper Dino Zoff was released in Italy 1982 kit as the first release of 2005, followed up in February by the legendary Diego Maradon, in Argentina 1986 kits. The Maradona is the most sought after in the range and can quite easily command over £100 a set.

Jurgen Klinsmann in the 1990 Germany kit was the March release, with April seeing prolific Brazil forward Romario in 1994 kit released. I must say the Romario sculpt is absolutely superb and regularly sells for over £50 a set. Zinedine Zidane in France 1998 kit, the kit he won the World Cup in was the May release, i would say he is the second most sought after and valuable figure, with his pack fetching in the region of £75, not surprising given the populairty of the player and the sheer excellence of the sculpt.

June saw Ronaldo in the Brazil 2002 kit released, which of course was the kit he won the World Cup in. I would place Ronaldo as the 3rd most valuable in this series, estimating a set to sell for over £60. Following Ronaldo was the iconic Italian defender Paolo Maldini, in the 1994 Italy kit. The Maldini is on par rarity wise with Romario, fetching around £50 a set.

August saw Michel Platini in the 1984 France kit added to the series, and the September release was Franz Beckenbauer in 1974 West Germany kit, i would value both those packs at around £25 each. Mecurial Dutchman Johan Cruyff was October's release, with the Cruyff turn inventor being in 1974 Holland kit, with his pack always selling for over £40. Davor Suker was the November release, in 1998 Croatia kit, not the most popular in this range but that is hardly surprising given the high calibre of players in the series.

The last release of 2005 was that of Peter Schmeichel in Denmark 1992 kit, with the home kit figure being just an incredible paint job, in my opinion one of the finest painted kits Corinthian ever did. The first release of 2006 was Hristo Stoichkov in 1994 Bulgaria kit, a wondeful sculpt of a true national treasure. George Best in 1971 Northern Ireland kit was the February release, a top class sculpt featuring Best with his shabby beard which he was famous for during that period in his career.

We stayed in the United Kingdom for the March release, as Welshman John Charles in 1958 kit was added to the series, followed up in April by Scotsman Kenny Dalglish in 1974 Scotland kit. The release for May was Ferenc Puskas in 1954 Hungary kit, another very popular release. The final Corinthian ProStars Elite figure was released in June 2006, as Roy Keane in 1994 Ireland kit selected to draw the ProStars Elite range to a close.

Very hard to value the set as a whole but i think a rough guide price would be around £750, hard to say as you seldom see a complete collection advertised for sale, what i can say for sure is the Corinthian ProStars Elite series is a superb collection of figures and a real who is who of World football. The format was fantastic and well conceived, not to mention fantastically execueted, releasing one a month allowed collectors to spread the cost of the collection over a regular and structured time frame.

I am not alone in thinking it would have been great to see Corinthian use this packaging format for a ProStars Club Elite series, players in iconic kits for their clubs, endless possibilities and a product i am confident would have been as popular, if not more so than this range.