Known Box/Packing Variants
There are four known variants of the 708, though there may be as many as five.
Originally, boxes for both the USA and Canada were missing the patent text below the logos, see the example below:
There are two versions of the 1961 box, one with $7.95 (USA price) and another with $8.95 (Canadian price). Below is the US version with no patents:
At some point in 1962-63, US examples were updated to include the patents and price:
Sometime in 1964 or after, the price was removed from the US version (though that date is a complete shot in the dark based on relative number of surviving examples and the known timeline for the other sets):
Box/Overview
The 708 Basic Set is yet another flat box set, though after the 705 Basic Set switched to a tube box in 1962, the 708 was the smallest flat box available in North America.
It follows a similar format to the other boxes, but has its own unique image on the front:
Another trait it shared with the 705 was the display of price printed directly on the side of the box:
The back shows various models that the set can build:
Contents
The set came with a standard assortment of basic pieces(surprise, surprise). Earlier examples (likely for 1961-62) contained painted trees, such as the ones pictured below.
Before I show my example, however, I need to emphasize that my copy does not have original inserts. My example was missing them, and so I tried my hand at creating my own. They're modeled after European boxes more than the US version simply because images of complete 708s were not readily accessible online back then, and I was unaware there was a difference
The US version would've had a simple cardboard sheet to hold the windows/trees and a small tray to hold the looser elements.
The middle insert used to be crisp and nice, but I didn't use very thick cardstock and it has warped over the years:
My copy looks very close to complete, though I'm sure the assortment varied between examples across its production.
Historical Examples
The 708 is in an odd place with this section, as while it has more examples available than other sets, they usually don't tell us much. It's a basic set after all, there isn't too much to unpack, but I still thought them worth showing.
Shown below are three such examples.
The first example, however, is an open box prototype 708, seen on the right:
The 708 reappears in the 1962 FAO Schwarz catalog, still showing painted trees, but this is not why I believe painted trees continued into 1962:
And finally, another open box example from 1964. Besides the unpainted pine trees, it does not appear the box has changed much. Even the price is still visible on the inner box:
