Pictures fromvarious sources, based on an ideaby Robert Pratt

Issue #14, Spring 2006

Welcometo theSubbuteo Club Newsletter issue#14, thelast in theseries becauseas of next issueit will becalled
Subbuteo News. This is amoregeneral titleand onewhich better reflects thefact that this mag is availableto all
members of theSubbuteo community (no subscription necessary) on apay-as-you-go basis. If you know of any
Subbuteo enthusiasts who would likeacopy then pleasetell themabout it, just in casethey dont seeit advertisedon
Ebay as weapproach thereleasedate. For therecord, thenumbering will continuefrom#15 onwards.
Next month also sees our last official Subbuteo Club fair, in Leicester whereit all began and I amobviously looking
for abig turnout to mark theoccasionseefull details on P.2. To behonest, Immighty relieved to behanding over
thefairs baton after having done15 of them, and even morerelieved to know that many volunteers havecomeforward
to keep theshow on theroad! So its definitely business asusual apart fromafew cosmetic namechanges and right
now Imworking on anew logo for theSubbuteo Club Website which Ill officially renameon 1/8, its 4th anniversary.
ImsureIll havecomeup with something between now and then.
So, back to thepresent issueand amI right in saying its oneof our finest yet? I may well haveused this linebefore,
but only becausethemags seemto begetting constantly better and I hopeto berepeating myself many moretimes in
thefuture! My only problemthesedays is choosing which articles to publish - afar cry fromtheearly issues which I
couldnt fill without using largelettering, and when I finally did each copy took meover 5 minutes to print on an old
2.50 printer fromacar boot :-) I did haveafew trying moments with this issuethough when my scanner packed up a
few weeks ago but was bailed out by Robert Tornado Toys J ones who sent methepics I needed.cheers Robert!
Ivesinceinvested in anew model and so (without wishing to tempt fate) issue#15 should beplain sailing!
If you havean articleto submit pleasego ahead and if you wish to send in accompanying photos then even better!
If, however, you cant providethephotos thats finebecauseI can always usually trawl around theInternet or delve
into my own collection to find theimages you require. I hopenobody has been put off by thehassleof supplying
photos to enhancetheir article, and only mention this becauseIvehad 2 enquiries onthesubject recently from
potential contributors. In actual fact,, finding photos is abreezecompared to typing up the4 sides of A4 paper that
Phipps presented mewith for his centre-pagespread!!! But whatever mediumyou useto present your work, whether
on paper, afloppy disc, aWord document or Email messageyour contribution will bemorethan welcome.
Having used green, yellow and pink covers thus far itsnow timefor abit of blue, and maybethenew newsletter will
providean opportunity to innovatefurther. If thereareany changes youd liketo seemadeto theoverall format please
let meknow. Obviously, cost is afactor but Ivealways acted on members advicein thepast so just fireaway if you
can think of anything. Herenow is thelist of contents, beginning with someones kind suggestion as to what I should
call futureeditorials.
CONTENTS
(1) His Masters Voice (2) Forthcoming Events (3) A Subbuteo Dream
(4) Modified Subbuteo Cricket (5) F.I.S.T.F. TableFootball (6/7) Subbuteo World Catalogues 80 & 81
(8) Collecting LineFlags (9) Subbuteo Premier LeagueReferees (10) Spotlight on Spectator Figures
(11) TheHW TeamRange, featuring refs. 1 - 190 (12) Subbuteo Brochures of the70s - thecompleteline-up
LEICESTER SUBBUTEO COLLECTORS FAIR
SATURDAY, JUNE 17th
TRINITY METHODIST CHURCH ON THE A5460 - Just 3 mins. from the motorway!
Start : 9 a.m. sellers (to set up), 9.30 a.m. buyers (sorry, no entry beforethis time) Finish : Midday
Admission : Sellers & Buyers - 2.00 on thedoor
Directions : After leaving theM1/M69 junction, head for thefirst major roundabout. Takethesecond
turning onto thedual carriageway which leads into town and this is theA5460. After approx. 1 mile
you will cometo aset of traffic lights at thelargecrossroads with theHoliday Inn on theright and a
J aguar car showroomon theleft. Keep going. Continuealong thedual carriageway until thenext set of
lights, but just beforecoming to theseyou will seethelargechurch on theleft. Turn left at thelights and
then first left again to go round to theback of thebuilding wherethefair is taking place.
Amplecar parking spaceon thechurch car park and in thesurrounding residential area
Food and hot drinks available. All thecatering proceeds fromthis event will as usual go to theLRF
***EVENTS PAGE***
A plea to all Couch Potato collectors
Comeon everybody, set thosealarmclocks early and get yourselves along to Leicester on J une17th!
Attendances havebeen dropping off recently and Ebay is undoubtedly afactor behind thefalling gates. Instead of
going out and hunting for items as in bygonetimes, collectors now seemcontent to order themfromtheir computer
screens. Imsurethat many collectors today havenever even met afellow Subbuteo enthusiast, so pleasecomeand
join us if you can for what is always agood social occasion.
With theamount of Ebay fraud going on at present (amajor talking point amongst HW buyers in particular) here
is achanceto seethegoods on offer at first hand. You will also saveon postagefees which aregetting ridiculous of
late. Sellers arecharging up to 3.00 per teamand so you wont need to buy many items to offset thesecosts, even
after paying for your petrol! Also, I know of traders who dont sell much on Ebay but who arriveat events with some
quality stuff so its quitepossibleto find things that thearmchair collector cannot access viahis computer. Thereare
definitely bargains to behad and abit of haggling and bartering (which is impossibleon Ebay) just adds to thefun!
Wealways attract aroomful of sellers to SC events and this final onewill beno exception. On this noteId liketo
thank thosewho havefollowed us around thecountry thesepast few years, and nonemoreso thanDarren Ames who
is based in Bristol. Mark Parker comes aclosesecond with trips up and down theM1 fromWakefield to Welwyn, and
SteveFox also warrants amention.Mr. Professional himself! Without thesechaps wecould never haveput on
15 shows in 45 months, asregular as clockwork and in all kinds of weather. J une17th will beafineday Imsure,
so pleasedo what you can to bein Leicester to givethemyour support.
Seeyou soon!
TREV.
WATCH THIS SPACE!
Fromconversations I had with members at therecent Wakefield Fair and postings on theSubbuteo Forum, thereare
several peoplewilling to organiseevents at somepoint in thefuture. It is still too early to say which ones (if any)
will beconfirmed but Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk and Inner London haveall been cited as possiblevenues.
Updates will of coursebegiven here- thenext issueis dueearly in September - but for moreup-to-theminutenews
pleasecheck theSubbuteo Forumregularly on theInternet. This is adiscussion board availableto all members of the
Subbuteo community and can befound at www.subbuteoforum.co.uk
REFS. 119 Themain aimof this early rangewas to producethemost common football strips, beginning with
red/white& blue/whiteand then following aloosepattern suchas acoupleof striped kits together (3&4), two more
(8&9) or acoupleof sleeves being different to theshirt colour (16&17) for example. Many of thestrips related to
English teams of theday and only 3 of theseearly references do not haveany corresponding English teams.
REFS. 20-29 Again, loosely-speaking this was theScottish range, beginning with Hamilton at #20 and carrying on
via#25 Celtic (themost well-known one) to Partick Thistleat #29. Sure, thereweregaps at 21,22,23 but
Scottishness was themain themeof the20-29 range.
REFS. 30-35 TheSouthern Leaguefeatured in this series (if 3 teams can becalled aseries?) and they werethe
3Bs of Burton, Bishop Auckland, & Barnet.
REFS. 36-75 References seemed to bemadefor specific teamsin this range(exceptions are41&42 which featurea
welter of well-known onesheaded by Liverpool & Chelsea). Obvious examples are65, theUK Olympic teamwhich
never materialised and 50/67/68, Brazil, Argentina& Chileall completewith dark skin. FC Subbuteo (#60) is oneof
themoreenigmatic refs!
REFS. 76 81 Herewehaveaspateof reservekits, all 6of thembeing fromfirst-division teams at that time.
REFS. 82-89 Holland is thehighlighted country herewith all 8 kitsbeing thoseof Dutch teams. This was the70s,
theeraof Total Football and 2 appearances in WC Finals for theDutch national side.
REFS. 90-106 Over to Italy for this range, with ashort interludefor Man. Utd,. Birmingham& Palaceat #s 100-102
REFS. 107-114 Its Switzerlands turn as thefeatured country REFS. 115-120South Africa
REFS. 121-126 -Austria REFS. 127-134 -West Germany REF. 135 is STOCKPORT...who let themin???
REFS. 136-149 France REFS. 150-166 TheInternational run (well, apart fromSantos at #165!?)
Funny isnt it how Subbuteo did moreor less coherent ranges with acentral themeand then as if on awhim
threw in completely arbitrary teams likeStockport and Santos to ruin thecontinuity. Wouldnt you just loveto know
thereason for this, if any? But I digress
REFS. 167-173 English sides
REFS. 174, 175 & 176 Thesewerethe3 WC teams that werein the74 finals but hadnt been in WC 70.
REFS. 177-190 Scottish teams


Other points of interest
In 1967-68 when theHW rangebegan therewere52 teams. Hereis how they progressed to 190 by themid-70s
1968-69 (55) 1970-71 (75) 1971-72 (81) 1972-73 (106) 1973-74 (165) 1974-75 (190)
Number of teams wearing.. Most common types of shirts.

Red 77 Green 26 Plain (trims to collars/cuffs allowed) 90
Blue 64 Purple 15 Stripes/Vertical Bands 42 Halves 8
White 142 Sky Blue 12 Hoops/Horizontal Bands 26 Diagonal Band 4
Black 53 Navy 4 Sleevecolour different to shirt (eg. Arsenal) 11
Yellow/Orange/Amber/Tangerine/Gold etc 37 Other patterns (quarters, largeV, cross etc) 9
A guide to the 1-190 HW team range
By Martin Lunn
Andy Simpsons Stadium Update
With acloser look at Subbuteo spectators
SinceI launchedmy stadium-buildingproject about oneyear ago Iveroundedup6redandbluegrandstandsandjust over 300
spectators, whichisenoughto completely fill oneof them. Somewouldcall thisslow progressbut I didemphasizethat timewas not
anissueandthat theenjoyment wouldcomeasmuchfromthesearchasfromthefinishedproduct. Ivefounditrelatively easy to find
standsbut thespectatorsaremoreelusiveandso thisarticleisall about thetricksIveresortedto inorder to put bottomsonseats!
Well, basically Ivenot limitedmyself to official soccer spectatorsandhaveincludedotherssuchasthecricket spectatorsshownat the
foot of thispage (havingremovedthemfromtheir deckchairsof course:-) Thesemay belesscommonthanthesoccer onesbut it all
helpsto increasethetotal andI now haveabout 20of themIdsay. No mistakingtheoneontheright asacricket follower thefact
hesnoddedoff saysitall but Imsurethat afew dozenof thesescatteredrounda3600-seater stadiumwont standout too much.
Havingsaidthis, athought occurredto methat whenplacingmy fansinthestadium(oneday!) Ill perhapshaveawholesectionfor
figuressuchas thisandthey couldbesupportersof theteamwhichislosing, alongwiththemanager withhisheadinhishands(see
next paragraph) andafew other fed-uplookingfigures. Conversely, I couldput all thecelebratingonesinaseparatesectionelsewhere.
So yes, afew borrows fromcricket andto swell theattendanceevenfurther Iveusedhalf adozenof thegroundsmen too. To be
honest, havingspectatorsleaningforwardwithboththeir handsbehindtheir back isabit unnatural evenfor MY stadiumbut Ill keep
themintherefor themoment. I hadno qualmsabout usingtheC114Mascot andBenchSet thoughto provideafew extrafigures,
includingonewithhisarmscrossedandonewithhislegscrossedandmanager inaflat capthey couldjust aseasily bespectators
rather thanthe subsbench figures! TheC139set isamorecommonsourceof thesefiguresandthisonehasamanager withhishead
inhishandsalongwith3subsin(usually) greentracksuits. Itsamazinghow many of theseyoufind, thoseC139bencheswiththe
littleplastic dugout must havebeenreally popular becauseover 50of mytotal iscomprisedof thesefigures. LikeI say, most of them
comeintracksuitsandarent dressedlikeother spectatorsbut if theyre00scaleinasittingpositionIll takeanythingandthey still
look better thanthenaked unpaintedonesthat cameintheC168set!
Onthispoint, I still havent decidedwhether to paint theC168s inmy collectionor just leavethemasthey are. I know I shouldpaint
themfor addedrealismbut Imapoor painter anditsvery time-consumingaswell! Ivebeenquitelucky inthat most of my real
spectatorsso far havebeentheC141paintedtype, andthisismainly dueto abigfindfromthelocal paper wherealmost 100turnedup
inonego!! I think my current spectator total (all typesincluded) standsat around280andmy unpaintedtypefall into two categories
- either thoseinoriginal conditionor thosewhichhavebeenrepaintedby their former owner. Someof thepaintjobsarenot that good
andcanjust look aglossy messwhenyouexaminethemclosely, but oncethey taketheir seatsamongst theother figuresitsamazing
how well they blendinunnoticed!
TheseC168(unpainted) and C141(painted) official spectator sets, addedto all theimprovisations meanthat Iveusedspectatorsin
17different posesaltogethermorethanIdoriginally thought existedandthey givefar morevariationto thestadiumthanby just
stickingto theofficial soccer ones. I havelinedthemall upbelow withthe5typesof unpaintedfiguresonthebottomrow. Thesewere
availableover about a20-year longperiodandstill inshopsuntil theendof the90sso intheory I shouldendof withmoreof these
thanany other type. Isnt it strangethoughthat, atimewhenmachinepaintingwas producingteamsinfantastic detail withevensuch
thingsas logosonshirts, spectatorswent theoppositeway andregressedfrombeinghandpainteddownto just thebareplastic!?
Altogether I havespent 112onmy stadiumto date, whichisnot badfor 300+spectators, 6standsandall thematchday figuresI need.
I evenhave4pylonfloodlightslinedupfor whenthebigday comesso Ivedonevery well to limit theexpense, bearinginmindthat
58spectatorssoldfor 32onebay whileI was writingthisarticle. However, I must start to acceleratebecauselast year was afairly
inactiveoneandIdcertainly behopingto get morethan300spectatorsin2006, bearinginminditwouldtakemeover 10yearsto fill
all thestandsat that rate! Ivethereforeset myself atarget of at least 500spectatorsayear fromnow onandI got someoneto bringme
back over 40fromtheWakefieldFair inFebruary so thatsagoodstart!
Shownbelow arethevarioustypesof spectatorsinmy collection. All of themareingoodconditionwithno missinglimbsbut some
havegluemarksontheir bottomswheretheyvebeenremovedfrompreviousstandsandterracing. I must havebrokenat least 20in
tryingunsuccessfully to get themoff their seatsSupergluebeingthemainculprit! I intendto attachthislotwithBlu-Tack whichhas
theadvantageof allowingmeto insert/removethemasoftenasI likewithno mess. If only their previousownershadthought of this,
or Subbuteo hadsuppliedablobwitheachpack of 50they sold.thegreat ideasyouthink of withhindsight! :-)
PHOTO GALLERY
TopRow- 9of the14typesof
paintedspectators I haveused.
BottomRow (L) -The5types of
unpaintedspectators(I also have
theseinpaintedversion).
BottomRow (R) - The2Cricket
spectatorsplusgroundsman,
rangingfromtheapathetic to the
edgeof theseat look!
When you haveadreamitsoften about something youvebeen thinking of beforefalling asleep. Well this
particular night Id been tending to my HW teams for an hour or so beforegoing to bed and that must havebeen
what triggered it off.
I cant remember thefull dreamthey say they only last afew seconds anywaybut thebit I DO remember is me
going into aretro toyshop that had just opened. It doesnt maketheslightest bit of sensewhen you think about it
later but this placewas bang in thetown centrebetween Woolworths and aclothes shop which may havebeen
M&S. So I entered and went past acoupleof rocking horses, on through theLego section and sureenough there
was awholecorner of this shop dedicated to Subbuteo.ashrine!! :-) I was theonly person in this placeapart
fromacoupleof assistants and everywherewas eerily quiet; I was completely focussed on theSubbuteo items by
now!
Therewas aglass counter in which I could seetreasures such as aboxed LeagueCup Trophy and next to it was a
FIFA one. Could I haveoneof themand oneof themplease I said pointing feverishly through theglass, and
beforetheman could removehis hand fromthecabinet Id pointedto another half adozen objects such as the
Subbuteo Sound record, theAutomatic Timer, Soccer Plotter and alittleRefs Whistlein apacket ...all delightful
gems!!!!!!
I then raised my eyes to seetheshelves behind thecounter and therethey were; theHW boxes! Although
tantalisingly out of reach I could seethelittlenumber stickers and therewas a23, 37, 46, 66.I remember calling
out thenumbers to theassistant likeI was announcing theNational Lottery winning numbers (and felt likeId just
won it too!!) whilehewas busily pulling themoff theshelf and into alargebag hed found (which strangely had
PC World on it:-) But you dont stop in mid-dreamto work out thelogic of thesethingsnot when thereare
boxed sets still to befound!
I could seeaniceStadiumEdition high up on thetop shelf and immediately said Id haveit, wary of anyoneelse
coming in and grabbing this stuff beforeId had first pick!! As theman went up his ladder to fetch theset I asked
if therewereany Munichsin stock and hethen went to look in thestoreroom, leaving meto marvel at theStadium
Edition. Unfortunately, no was thereply on his return, but then headded unless you want thedisplay set in the
window. Now, did hemean aDisplay Edition or was it really aMunich?? Heclimbed into thewindow and said
this onesir? in polite70s shopkeeper style(no-onecalls you sir thesedays:-) and sureenough it was what
looked likeamint Munich setwow!!! I said Id takeit, morethan willing to pay the70s going ratebut hekindly
knocked off 25% as it had been on displayI just couldnt believeit!!!
Thefinal bill cameto 11.30 (funny how you recall such details) and I remember giving hima10.00 and 5.00
noteand getting back somefunny-looking money including somepound and ten-shilling notes. This didnt bother
mein theslightest, hecould havegiven meshirt buttons and Id havestill gonehomedancing!! I then had the
dilemmaof getting all this stuff home, but parking wasnt aproblemin thosedays and I fetched my car which I
pulled up outsidetheshop with no hassle. Of course, I was in my 2006 car but on a1976 road...theideal mix!
I went insideand theman and afemaleassistant both helped meto carry theboxes out to thevehicle. When the
car boot slammed shut I recall afeeling of elation beforedriving off - I couldnt wait to get home!!!!
It was shortly after getting homethat my dreamended. I left thegoodies in thecar becauseit had started to rain
and I didnt want to risk any water-damaged boxes. I went indoors and turned on theTV to watch Grandstand
(so it must havebeen aSaturday) and this is themoment at which I wokeup. You know how it is when you awake
fromadream, yourestill groggy and wondering if it really happened. I had this did-it-or-didnt-it? feeling for
quiteawhile, even looking out of thebedroomwindow at thecar which I thought just might befull of Subbuteo.
But as I becamemoreand morelucid my common sensetook over and I realised it was only adream!
When I finally accepted this, having fought against theideafor as long as possiblein my drowsy state, the
disappointment was overwhelming. I can usually handlewaking up in themorning and facing theworld but this
seemed likesuch abitter setback to start theday! I felt totally subdued but I eventually coped around mid-morning
becauseas with most dreamsthedetails faded with timeas other everyday matters took precedence. But I can
visualisethoseSubbuteo boxes in theimaginary toyshop even now and Imsuretheyll stay in my head forever!
I havent been ableto return to this paradisesincethat night and I really dont know if this is agood or abad thing.
Its agreat feeling whileyouretherebut rediscovering reality is depressing - is this how junkies feel I wonder?
No ideabut I certainly wouldnt mind another fix sometime! :-)
MY SUBBUTEO DREAM
By Mark Quilty
HOW I PLAY SUBBUTEO CRICKET - By Sam Wykes
LAYOUT
First of all, akey to thediagram
= Batsmen
X = Fielders
III = Wickets
Eachsideisallotted6wicket stopsto useat
their discretion. Thisisbecauseoneof the
mainflawswithSubbuteo Cricket isthefact
that outfieldersarevirtually ineffective!
By increasingtheir sphereof influence and
enablingthemto stoptheball moreeasily a
moreauthentic-lookingfieldisencouraged.
Ontheadjacent diagramI haveshownmy
ideal fieldplacings(whichcanbemodified
duringthegameitself) for aright-handed
player.whichmeansaleft-handedbatsman!
EQUIPMENT

I useaseriesof bowlers, all flat football
figureswhichareeasier to flick thenthe
standardcricket bowler withitsasymmetrical
shape. My yellow manisShaneWarnethe
spinner for example, andmy bluemanis
GlennMcGraththefast bowler (yes, I liketo
beAustralia!) andI also havearedanda
greenbowler. Ballsusedcanrangefromball
bearingsto lightweight beadsinvarioussizes,
aslongasthey fit onto thetriangle, inorder to
vary thetypeof thedelivery. Amongmy
favouritesarethesmall panelledwhiteballs
that camewiththeearlier 5-a-sidesoccer sets.
PLAYING
Therulesherearebroadly speakingthesame
but withsomeminor modificationsto reflect
theabilitiesof individual teams.
Cricket fielderscamewith2different-sizedholes, theearlier onesbeingthesmaller. Inorder to createweaker fieldingteamsthe
smaller-holedfigurescanbeused, andanother methodof representingaweaker sideisby reducingthenumber of wicket stops
theyrealloweddownfromthemaximum6to 5or even4. Similarly, goodbattingsides areallowedto giveone(or maybe2) of their
top-order batsmenanextralife or havefewer of their bottom-order batsmenconsideredastail-enders. For thesetail-endersa
catch ispermittedif theball comesto rest withinthescopeof thesewicket stops, whichagaingivesgreater realismto thegame!
Thehome sideisallowedto choosetheplayingsurface(for moredetailsseeStadium section).
THE TEAMS
A shamethey only did4international teamsbut withabitof imaginationyoucanreproducethemall andtheWest Indiesbecome
Indiaor Pakistansimply by changingthecolour of thecaps. Further enhancementscanbemadewithemblemsonshirtsetc. but I
havent quitegot to that stageyet. Its apity that Subbuteo Cricket, whichI think just caught theKerry Packer era(they produceda
Floodlight Edition) didnt go onto makethemulti-colouredkitsof theinternational teams, not to mentionthelimited-oversclub
sidesof later years. J ust imaginehow goodtheydhavelookedandhow collectabletheydhavebecome!!!
THE STADIUM
Imthinkingof havinggrandstandsdowneachsideof thepitchwhichwouldbetheoldgreen& tantypethat aremoreinkeeping
withcricket grounds. It wouldnot bepossibleto placeany at theendsof thepitchbecauseof how thegameisplayedbut to some
extent different venuescanbecreatedby varyingthenumber andpositionsof thestands. At present I haveanylonand3felt pitches
of different shadesandtextures, whichagainchangethelook of thegroundaswell asofferingdifferent surfacesto play on. A future
project I haveisto usethebacksof football pitchesto mark out slightly different-shapedcricket ones. Thisisbecauseinreal cricket
no two pitchesareexactly thesameshapeandsize, andmost arefar rounder thanthestandard-sizedrectangular Subbuteo ones.
X




X X
X
III X
Batsmans crease
X


X X


Bowlers crease

III

X Bowler
X X
=Wicket
Bases
=Wicket
Stops
I often play Subbuteo with my cousin who is only 14 but full of ideas! Hehas been showing somegreat
resourcefulness with referees over thepast coupleof years, which as acollector I can supply himwith at
regular intervals. Basically, heknows all thePremiership referees by heart and each of theseminiature
figures is designated to beoneof them. Heis currently thinking of doing somemodifications for extra
realism, such as painting theskin brown to represent Uriah Rennieor removing thehair by painting over
it in aflesh colour to look likeDermott Gallagher. Then theres abeard hereand another distinguishing
featurethere. Sure, someimagination will still beneeded becausethey arent that varied in appearance
and you cant vary theheight for examplebut then you never could with theplayers! So heaccepts
theres never aprefect likeness but herecognises each onestraightaway and now has 15 of them
altogether (seelist below photos). Hes currently looking for aref with agreen shirt and whitestripes,
which I think will completethefull set and Ill probably havefound himoneby thetimeyou read this.
I supposeall wereally need is for Hasbro to bring out aPhotoreal Refereerangeand hed bein paradise
...but would that betoo easy? Maybeits best to stimulatepeoples imagination and creativity by
providing achallenge. Hes not too fussy about linesmen (thank goodness) but hedoes usethesenow
and again. Not to run thelinemind you, but to brandish yellow and red cards! I must admit Id never
thought of this beforebut thoseflags do indeed look likecards being held up over thereferees head
(seephoto 1) - Great improvisation, and seenow what I mean about thecreativity thing? Hes also
invented quitean interesting ruleabout using thesebut its maybeabit complex to explain here.
So this is therefereecollection so far, beginning with the
photos. Thesejust show thedifferent styles of ref but
each oneis availablein multiples and all thevariations
arelisted below. My personal favouriteis theHasbro
action pose typein photo 5 and no surprises for
guessing my least favourite. It has to betheguy stood
with his arms rigidly down his sides who appears to still
bewearing his old school blazer. Hed only look realistic
during thenational anthem!!
Referee Type Variations
Flat, Black Kit (black base, whitebase, green base)
HW Black kit (whiteouter/green inner, green/white, black/white, green/black)
HW Maroon kit (maroon/white, green/maroon)
Flat Base, Black Kit N/A
LW Black kit (black plug, whiteplug)
LW Green Shirt (black plug, whiteplug)
Hasbro base, striped shirt (black base, green base, whitebase)
SUBBUTEO REFEREES
JEZ
TOMLIN
SUBBUTEO LINE FLAGS
To me, lineflagsenhanceapitchmorethananythingelseso I try andcollect themall. Theoldest onesI haveare
theorangeandwhiteonesonthewirebases. I never understoodwhy therewere3of eachcolour but I supposethe
ideawasto have3downonesideof thepitchand3downtheother. They werevirtually unbreakableandif you
trod/put your handonto oneyoucouldjust bendthewireback into shape! The2colourswereorangeandwhite, but
unfortunately thevinyl toppart oftenusedto slidedownthemetal wireto whichit wasattached. Beforeslidingthe
toppart into placethoughyouweresupposedto pokethethinmetal poleupthroughthepitchfrombelow, which
couldexplainwhy so any 50spitchesturnupwithlittleholesjust off theplayingsurface. Personally, I prefer to
leavethemfree-standingevenif thelargecircular wirebaseisstill visibleby thismethod. Somehow theflagpart
alwayslookeddisproportionately largecomparedto thelengthof thepole, but onthepositivesidethey werevery
stableanddidnt oftenfall over inthenormal courseof agame. They weresoldinlittleboxesmeasuringapprox. 3x1x1 asSet T.
Thencamethegreen-basedoneswhichwerealso very stableandtheonly onesto this
day to encroachonto thepitch. Thisisbecausethey containedindentationswhich
enabledyouto chiptheball, so to all intents thesedoubledupasanactual playing
accessorytheonly onesto havehadanactiveroleinthegame! Thedownsidewas
they tendedto get intheway whentheball rolledinto thecorner andcouldseriously
disrupt thegame! Initially they camewithwhiteflagpoleswithorangetriangular flags
but thentheshapeof theflagrevertedback to rectangular andthepolesbecame
orangeas well. Thesewereoriginally soldinlonggreenboxes(Accessory C117)
containing4corner and2halfway-lineflagsbut eventually went into squareboxes
with6of thehalfway flagsandnonewiththechippingfacility - just thelargeround
bases. Wasthisabiglossthoughbecausehow many of uscanclaimto havebeenable
to chiptheball into theareafromoneof thesecorner flags??? Idhaveto say that overall theseflagsontheir largequadrant-shaped
bases weremoreof ahindrancethanahelp! They finishedupbeingreplacedat theendof the70sby thesmaller versionsbelow.
Thesenext 4setsarevariationsonathemeandfor practical purposesthey all havethedrawback
that contact withtheball oftenknocksthemover dueto their small roundbases. Ontheother hand
theyremoreto scalewiththeplayersso I think their mainattractionisavisual oneandtheir designs
havebecomemoresophisticatedover theyears. Early onthey wereavailablewithred& bluehalves
(seeleft) or plainorange(right). Thered/blueflagscameeither withstickersthat youappliedto the
toppart yourself or thedesignwasprintedon. I prefer thelatter if only becausethedesignis
permanent andwont peel off as theyearsgo by. I also havesomeplainwhiteflagswhichI think just
lack thered& bluestickersso I wont count theseas another type, althoughtechnically they couldbe!
Whennot insetstheseflagsweresoldasseparateaccessoriesonblister packsasaccessory#61188.
Into theninetiesfor thenext innovationsandsomevery nicePremier Leagueflagswiththelionon
them, followedby Euro 96ones. They werebothavailableinsetsof thesamename, aswell asin
their ownseparatepackscontainingother matchingitemswithidentical logosanicebonus!
ThePremiershipAccessory Pack isaccessory #61234andtheEuro 96flags& ballsare#61235.
Whenever youpick upaset withpost-70s flagsinyounearly alwaysfindat least 1has beenbro-
ken....they really areextremely fragiledueto their thinpoleswhichareproneto bendingwhenthey
dont just snap! All of theselater flagsstandexactly 3cms( 1.25) highliketheearly wireones, as
opposedto 4cms(1.70) for thegreen-basedonesof the70s whichtoweredunrealistically over the
players.

Below isatablewhereI haveratedall theflagsproducedby Subbuteo over theyears, listedinascendingchronological order.
COSMETIC PRACTICAL AV. SCORE RANK
WIRE 5 7 6.00 4th
GREEN BASES (Triangular) 6.5 5 5.75 6th
GREEN BASES (Rectangular) 6 5 5.50 7th
RED/BLUE HALVES 7 6 6.50 3rd =
ORANGE 7 6 6.50 3rd =
PREMIER LEAGUE 9 6 7.50 1st
EURO 96 8 6 7.00 2nd
So asyoucanseeI tendto prefer thelater versions, but haveI missedany out? I hopenot but apologiesif so. Helpedby thefact that
Subbuteo flagsarestill abundant andcheap to buy I havecollectedall of thoseshowninjust over 3yearsof activecollecting.
By Ian Webster


THE BEAUTY OF TABLE FOOTBALL
Brilliant, theyvefinally arrived!! I exclaimedasI openedtheenvelopecontaining10littleplastic discs(photo >>)
They werethevery latest Craptor Sureslide base, pricedat just 59.99fromawell-knownTableFootball website.
What abargain! I thought, andafter hurriedly sprayingonsomeWindoleneI went to fetchmy specially formulated
Maxi-glide varnishto shinethemupreal nice.yep, thesediscsaregonnaslideatreat! I thenwipedthemonmy
FISTF-approvedanti-static clothbeforeslidingthemacross thetablefor thevery first time. Wow, just look at thosebabiesgo!!!! :-)
It suddenly occurredto methat therewereno playersinthebases, ohdear! But thenfor 60quidyoucouldnt expect these
includedor theydbeagiveaway. Andwho needsplayersanyway? my brother intervened, thisgameyoull beplaying
isnothinglikereal football! Hmm, maybehewasright but I just feltbetter withsomethinginmy slidingdisc andso I
chosemy favouriteset of symmetrical blocksfor theultimateinaerodynamic thrills(ohboy, dont they look superb! >>)
True, they haveno armsbut thisway theresno fear of ahandball...clever eh? Also, mybigcentreforwardsstumpfor a
headnegateshisaerial prowess somewhat but lookImtryingto winaTF gamehereandcant start thinkingabout real
football or it will put meoff!!! At thispoint I linedupmy Craptors inan8-1-1formation.but wasI beingabit
over-adventurousby playingamidfielder??? I decidedto taketherisk!
My Brother Billy got out hisoldHW teamandI scoffedasI saw how unbalancedthey were HAHAHA!!!! To think I usedto play
withthesefootball-likefiguresmyself until I saw thelightthey leavemecoldnow Ivediscoveredthejoysof hi-techaquaplaning!
Weagreedto haveagameaccordingto FISTF rulesbecausethesearenow myfavourite, andinmy previousgameI scoredagreat
goal frommy owncorner flaghehasno answer to my longflick-ins! So wekickedoff andthegamewas barely 10secondsoldwhen
hetriedhisfirst spin(how pass!) but thats Subbuteo playersfor youthey think that playersstill makenon-linear movements!
However, thefunniest momentswerewhenhereferredto throw-ins insteadof flick-insandat onepoint heevenaskedfor adirect
freekick thesewent out years ago!! I couldseehistactic thoughhewastryingto unsettlemeby pretendingwewereplayingsome
kindof soccer simulationgame; very subtle! :-))
Unperturbedby this, I was 6-0upby half timeandall that geometry Idrememberedfrommyschooldayswascominginvery handy!
Usingsomebasic PythagorusIdmanagedto totally outfox himwithmyanglesandthesightof theball hittingthosemetal netswas
tremendous!!! Tink, tink, tink wasthesoundof plastic onmetal withhisgoaliepowerlessasmydefenders(hurtlinginfrom90yards)
took pot-shots. I couldnt believehisnaivety thoughinholdinghisgoalieupright whensurely hemust know that keeperscanhover
horizontally inmid-air for several secondsbeforeashot istaken!!! I manageda120 victory intheendwithmy centrehalf scoringa
triplehat-trick fromwell insidehisownshootingarea.aclassic exampleof theway thegameshouldbeplayed!
So my60quidbaseinvestment hadcomeuptrumpsbut credit isalso dueto theorangeandturquoisepitchIdpurchasedfor asimilar
fee....greenpitchesareso boooring andyoucannever go back to grass-colouredonesonceyouveplayedontechnicolour turf!
Anyway, weplayedafew morematchesandthenI compiledour first leaguetable. Thiswasthemoment Idbeenlookingforwardto
themost becauseIdbeenswottinguponmy SwissLadder systemfor agesandmy brother wasreally impressed!
Unfortunately, Billy soonbecamefedupwiththesematches, rudely fallingasleepduringoneof them, so I offeredhimagamehe
thinksisbetter suitedto hisSubbuteo players. Hiseyeslit upasI suggestedthat next week well play CURLING. Unfortunately, he
doesnt yet realisethat thesort of curlingI meanistheOlympic Sport version. Yes, Ill soonbeslidingmy state-of-the-art discsalong
apretendice-rink whichisactually thepolishedtopof our diningroomtable. Ivealready markedout thepistewithatarget at oneend
andwill beusingmy toothbrushto smooththeice asthey glideacrosstheshiny surface.thereplicaof associationcurling.
I havesincewrittento FISTF HQ about this proposednew gameandsomeBelgianblokerepliedby sayingthisisafantastic idea!
Hethentoldmeabout FISTF plans(andthisisanexclusiveto all newsletter subscribers) to producelarger versionsof their current
bases for useaspucksintheever-popular Air Hockey arcadegame. Youhaveto handit to theseguys, theyrealwaysonestepahead!
Heevenrecommendedsometrainingmethods to improvemy gameandsuggestedthat I practiceby playingShoveHalfpenny
.I think they call it ShoveEuro onthecontinent but I knew what hemeant :-)
So I bought agenuineoak Shove-halfpenny boardoff Ebay for 80withthehalfpennies included(photo>>)
andmy gamehasimprovedno endbut Imeagerly awaitingtheofficial FISTF onewhichcomesout inJ une
by all accountsit will becalledTrainingAccessory #1! It seemsagesago that Subbuteo releasedtheir
rather naff rangeof trainingaccessoriesbasedondribbling, shootingandpassingandat least 2of theseskills
havesincebecomeobsolete! Youdont swervefiguresintheFISTF New WorldOrder andrather thandoing
longpassesyoujust slideupanother figure(distanceno object) to jointhemaninpossession. Lifeisnow so
muchsimpler without all thosefancy football-relatedskillsto masterthank youFISTF!
For anyonestill unsureabout whether FISTF TableFootball isthegamefor themmy brother hasusedhiscamcorder to compilea
3hour video of mygreatest slideswithatotal yardageof over 15miles!! It containsexclusivefootageof somenever-seen-before
slidingwhichwill changeyour perceptionof thegameforever. Thecost isjust 12.99, whichisbarely thepriceof agoodlubricant,
anditsnow availableby contactingmeat andylovesfistf@hotmail.com
Shownbelow isoneof themoreadvancedFISTF techniquesfeaturedinthisvideo


They said it could never happen .. Andrew Churchill joins FISTF!
YES!!!
The Subbuteo World Catalogues (Part Two - 1980 & 1981)
The1980 catalogue, like79 and 81, isall colour and boasts an extra8 pages. Page2 lists thecontents with a
football, cricket ball and rugby ball down oneside(not to scalethough) and page3 touches on thegameshistory
and how its changed 33 years hence. A slight error describes how thereare330 references when clearly 329
England and 330 Wales aremissing (?) However, they describetheintroduction of 3 new games (rugby sevens,
Hockey & World of Sport). All areillustrated but sadly theWOS set wont beseen until 1981. Pages 4 & 5
illustratethenew Rugby and Hockey sets and all thenew accessories availablefromC167 up to C178 arelisted
and shown apart fromthemysterious omission of theC171 floodlights.
Pages 8 to 13 arethereferences 1 to 328 with alterations to 139 and 314 while6 new references arrived to takeus
up to 328. Sadly, this is as long as thechain of refs stretched beforetheshooting gallery was opened and someold
teams disappeared for good!
At thefoot of P.13 was alist of winning teams, both club and international sides, 40 in total. Curious inclusions
wereEast fife, Blackburn & Newcastlewho, to befair, werent exactly top-drawer sides. You might call me
controversial but you could hardly put theseteams into thesamebracket as Forest and Liverpool really!
Thenumerical charts cover pages 14 to 19 and worth noting alot of 2nd strips for teams and especially lower
divisions likeColchester, Lincoln and Bradford. Onehomekit changeis Stockport County sharing 278 with Porto
which only lasted for oneyear.
Onedownsideis aloss of lines separating each referencewhich makes themdifficult to traceif your copy isnt
printed straight (which mineisnt!) so refs. 250-281 areoffset to thenumbers! TheAlphabetical list is thankfully
printed on 4 pages instead of 2; alot easier to read if you dont haveamagnifying glass!
Page24 is alist of accessories and 25/26/27 havenicephotos of everything listed (check out theniceref. 214, LW
handpainted plusweseetheFloodlight Adaptor and theproper version of theC157 World Cup for thelast time).
Luckily, I still havemy C157 minus thebox..
Page28 covers thecricket nicely, with two box sets on view and aphoto of all thecricket equipment, similar to the
1979 brochure. Sadly page29 and therugby boxes loses thedescriptions of all theC200 teamreferences. Instead
wehavealist of all 37 which isnt much good to ayoung starter. Also sad to noteis that this isthelast weseeof
theHW rugby players who makeaquiet exit. Thesceneis of England v Australia. For somereason wenever see
thenewer International box but on therear cover its represented in its old box. Quitebizarre!
Page30 has awholepiecededicated to AndreaPiccaluga. Its worth aread as hewas renowned as being aone-off
to thegame. Page31 is aformto apply to theUKSA for theprincely sumof 75p. It has someinteresting details of
how thegamewas organised in this country and itspatron at thetimewas Bill Shankly.
Theback cover: Six football, two cricket, two rugby and ahockey set with an address and lists that thecatalogueis
also accessory number C155. An accessory full of accessories itself? It was thelast to beprinted by Exallprint Ltd.
Of TunbridgeWells in Kent.
Hereis my second piececovering thesepublications. It was adecadeof indulgenceand it proves so in the
publications with alot moreon offer to Subbuteo fans (whether alot of it was useful is amatter of opinion!)
< 1980 Edition
Title : Subbuteo World
Cover : Green with arugby/cricket/football figures taken fromboxed sets
Pages : 32 including covers
Refs. : #1 up to #328 (Luton Town)
< 1981 Edition
Title : Subbuteo World
Cover : Spain v Brazil photo which becamethepictureused on all but
oneof thefootball sets.
Pages : 36 including covers
Refs. : #1 up to #509 Inter 2nd (but many references aremissing!)
Phew!! Now wemoveon to the1981 edition.
On thecover of this onewehaveaction of Spain v Brazil in photo form. Page2 and thecontents havethe
inclusion of ahockey ball. Page3 finally illustrates theWorld of Sport set. Curiously, it has Zombiefigures for
both thefootball and therugby. What amagnificent sight to behold, especially to a10-year-old likeI was when
I first saw it. I spotted only oneever at atoy shop/sports shop down St. J ohns Street, Bury St. Edmunds in
approx. 81/82 and even on discount at 55!!! Bit beyond therealmsof my pocket money really.
Pages 4 & 5 describethebasics of Subbuteo football which makeinteresting reading even now. Pages 6 and 7
now have7 football sets with aFIFA set comprising of Argentinaand Spain, new goals, new flags and an
OFFICIAL World Cup. All thesets (except top Scorer) havethesamephoto as thisbrochureand all the
players in thesets arenow LWs and not Zombies. TheDisplay is now aLeagueEdition (still no pitch though)
and its teams arerefs. 81 & 149...Clydeversus Raith perhaps? Therearesomewho consider that theArgentina
teams in someof thesesets may actually beref. 505 which was missing in thecharts (?)
Page8, (titled SUBBUTEOWORLD) seems to cover history and combines how thegamedeveloped and how
theplaying sidehas also evolved. Wearealso informed of anew styleof teambox, thehorizontal typewith a
largewindow finally displaying all theplayers. It is to coincidewith theWorld Cup of 1982. Thereare39
nations listedfromAustriato Yugoslaviabut only 33 different references as someweremorethan onenation
(231 was theCzechs, Norwegians and Luxembourg!) Of course, Subbuteo werent to know that Algeria,
Honduras Kuwait and NZ would qualify and so thesedont makethelist.
Page9 is afeatureon teams and explains thedevelopment of theLW figure. I guess it took sometimeto adjust
to this figurebut it won meover after 23 years. Theres anicepictureof aset of ref. 48s in onecorner but
theres avery curious singleplayer in thetop-left of thepage. Heseems to bea#85 on ared outer/whiteinner
basewith red socks and trimming. Theres awhitetrimon theshortstoo. Hecould behowever an
interpretation of aNew Southampton with 2 largered stripes but its difficult to tell by theangle. Id bevery
interested to get anyones views on this if they haveacopy of this book.
Of theteams, thereare67 references missing, 38 new inclusions and 6 existing that arealtered. Theteamlists
arenow on whitepages under UK and international headings listed 1 to 509 with another oddity or two:
ref 155 and 227 despitebeing dark-skinned teams arelisted as West German club sides. Also, Panathinaikos
haveabandoned thefamiliar green for their d /bluehalves of ref 107 with FC Basle...havetheGreek sideever
really worn thesecolours or got muddled with Panionios instead?
To theaccessories and theinclusion of an FA Cup Pack with Arsenal & West hamplus acup and football.
Also new is theFIFA World Cup afirst aid team, Championship Goals (exotic at thetime) and aTV Tower in
moreconvincing scaffold style. Somenew corner flags and match day Packs concludethenew items. Gone
seemto betheC157 Soccer plotter & Trophy Trail and WC Winners pack.
Thehalf-timescoreboard& Logbook/rules aregonetoo. Oneitemthat should never haveeven arrived was
Sport Billy which turned up on P.29 and hemadethe82 poster too. Anyhow.
Cricket finally gets 2 pages but with only theinclusion of aFloodlight edition. I was always convinced this had
somespecial players in pyjama kit instead of whites. I was wrong but it isstill aniceideaand shows some
thought towards theTableCricket fans.
Rugby gets apageand ahalf but thepictureis of Zombieplayers representing Scotland and Wales.
Rugby enthusiasts who didnt likethefigures must havebeen cursing!! Despiteaslight changein background
nothing is added. In fact, this is thelast timeyou seealist of teams accessories and thesevens sets. Hockey
still remains for this year and 82 as well. Page34 is all about theUKSA with 2 pictures of someyoung lads
playing outsideWembley. If you look closely at thelad in whiteat thebottompicturehealmost resembles
Todd Carty fromGrangeHill. Page35 is an entry formfor UKSA and theback pageshows probably thelarg-
est collection of Subbuteo sets (15 in fact) with Football, WOS, Hockey, Sport Billy, Cricket and Rugby
asight to behold!
To concludethis largetwo-parter I would liketo thank SteveFox for finding methe1980 book hehad in a
loft, plus the79 brochurewhich got meinto Zombies back in 2004. I also must thank Bruno Valentewho sold
measuperb 1981 poster (well below thepricethey fetch on ebay and which now hang son my bedroomwall:
wonderful!) Finally, I must thank our Trevor for bothering to compileand typeout all my longwinded
explanations! Imnot good too at editing myself but hewas kind enough to cramit all in. I hopeyou haveall
enjoyed thesefeatures and that it inspires someof you to hunt thesepublications. They really areworth alook
and will enlighten thereader to collect, I think!
Cheers.
Andrew Phillips (aka Phipps)