Subbuteo Club Magazine Mag14B

8/12/2019 Subbuteo Club Magazine Mag14B

1/6

The 1948-49 Price List

Accessories A-O (inc. teams 1-16) occupy t he first two and a half pages but on page 3 it also advertises the new Super Assembled Set.

However, we are told that Owing to the difficulties of the times the sale of the Super Assembled Set is restricted to Exports abroad

and for Educational Purposes in the United Kingdom. The Soccer Marketgame is featured on the back cover.

Trevor Smith

Issue #14, Spring 2006Welcome to the Subbuteo Club Newsletter issue #14, the last in the series because as of next issue it will be calledSubbuteo News. This is a more general title and one which better reflects the fact that this mag is available to allmembers of the Subbuteo community (no subscription necessary) on a pay-as-you-go basis. If you know of anySubbuteo enthusiasts who would like a copy then please te ll them about it, just in case they dont see it advertised on

Ebay as we approach the release date. For the record, the numbering will continue from #15 onwards.

Next month also sees our last official Subbuteo Club fair, in Leicester where it all began and I am obviously looking

for a big turnout to mark the occasionsee full details on P.2. To be honest, Im mighty relieved to be handing overthe fairs baton after having done 15 of them, and even more relieved to know that many volunteers have come forwardto keep the show on the road! So its definitely business as usual apart from a few cosmetic name changes and right

now Im working on a new logo for the Subbuteo Club Website which Ill officially rename on 1/8, its 4th anniversary.Im sure Ill have come up with something between now and then.

So, back to the present issue and am I right in saying its one of our finest yet? I may well have used this line before,

but only because the mags seem to be getting constantly better and I hope to be repeating myself many more times inthe future! My only problem these days is choosing which articles to publish - a far cry from the early issues which Icouldnt fill without using large lettering, and when I finally did each copy took me over 5 minutes to print on an old2.50 printer from a car boot :-) I did have a few trying moments with this issue though when my scanner packed up a

few weeks ago but was bailed out by Robert Tornado Toys Jones who sent me the pics I needed.cheers Robert!Ive since invested in a new model and so (without wishing to tempt fate) issue #15 should be plain sailing!

If you have an article to submit please go ahead and if you wish to send in accompanying photos then even better!

If, however, you cant provide the photos thats fine because I can always usually trawl around the Internet or delveinto my own collection to find the images you require. I hope nobody has been put off by the hassle of supplying

photos to enhance their article, and only mention this because Ive had 2 enquiries on the subject recently frompotential contributors. In actual fact,, finding photos is a breeze compared to typing up the 4 sides of A4 paper that

Phipps presented me with for his centre-page spread!!! But whatever medium you use to present your work, whetheron paper, a floppy disc, a Word document or Email message your contribution will be more than welcome.

Having used green, yellow and pink covers thus far its now time for a bit of blue, and maybe the new newsletter will

provide an opportunity to innovate further. If there are any changes youd like to see made to the overall format pleaselet me know. Obviously, cost is a factor but Ive always acted on members advice in the past so just fire away if youcan think of anything. Here now is the list of contents, beginning with someones kind suggestion as to what I should

call future editorials.

CONTENTS

(1) His Masters Voice (2) Forthcoming Events (3) A Subbuteo Dream

(4) Modified Subbuteo Cricket (5) F.I.S.T.F. Table Football (6/7) Subbuteo World Catalogues 80 & 81

(8) Collecting Line Flags (9) Subbuteo Premier League Referees (10) Spotlight on Spectator Figures

(11) The HW Team Range, featuring refs. 1190 (12) One of the oldest catalogues in existence, dated 1948!


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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 before this time) Finish : Midday

Admission : Sellers & Buyers - 2.00 on the door

Directions : After leaving the M1/M69 junction, head for the first major roundabout. Take the second

turning onto the dual carriageway which leads into town and this is the A5460. After approx. 1 mile

you will come to a set of traffic lights at the large crossroads with the Holiday Inn on the right and a

Jaguar car showroom on the left. Keep going. Continue along the dual carriageway until the next set of

lights, but just before coming to these you will see the large church on the left. Turn left at the lights and

then first left again to go round to the back of the building where the fair is taking place.

Ample car parking space on the church car park and in the surrounding residential area

Food and hot drinks available. All the catering proceeds from this event will as usual go to the LRF

***EVENTS PAGE***

A plea to all Couch Potato collectors

Come on everybody, set those alarm clocks early and get yourselves along to Leicester on June 17th!Attendances have been dropping off recently and Ebay is undoubtedly a factor behind the falling gates. Instead ofgoing out and hunting for items as in bygone times, collectors now seem content to order them from their computer

screens. Im sure that many collectors today have never even met a fellow Subbuteo enthusiast, so please come andjoin us if you can for what is always a good social occasion. With the amount of Ebay fraud going on at present (a major talking point amongst HW buyers in particular) hereis a chance to see the goods on offer at first hand. You will also save on postage fees which are getting ridiculous of

late. Sellers are charging up to 3.00 per team and so you wont need to buy many items to offset these costs, evenafter paying for your petrol! Also, I know of traders who dont sell much on Ebay but who arrive at events with somequality stuff so its quite possible to find things that the armchair collector cannot access via his computer. There are

definitely bargains to be had and a bit of haggling and bartering (which is impossible on Ebay) just adds to the fun! We always attract a roomful of sellers to SC events and this final one will be no exception. On this note Id like tothank those who have followed us around the country these past few years, and none more so than Darren Ames who

is based in Bristol. Mark Parker comes a close second with trips up and down the M1 from Wakefield to Welwyn, andSteve Fox also warrants a mention.Mr. Professional himself! Without these chaps we could never have put on

15 shows in 45 months, as regular as clockwork and in all kinds of weather. June 17th will be a fine day Im sure,so please do what you can to be in Leicester to give them your support.See you soon!

TREV.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

From conversations I had with members at the recent Wakefield Fair and postings on the Subbuteo Forum, there areseveral people willing to organise events at some point in the future. It is still too early to say which ones (if any)will be confirmed but Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Norfolk and Inner London have all been cited as possible venues.

Updates will of course be given here - the next issue is due early in September - but for more up-to-theminute newsplease check the Subbuteo Forum regularly on the Internet. This is a discussion board available to all members of theSubbuteo community and can be found at www.subbuteoforum.co.uk

REFS. 119 The main aim of this early range was to produce the most common football strips, beginning withred/white & blue/white and then following a loose pattern such as a couple of striped kits together (3&4), two more(8&9) or a couple of sleeves being different to the shirt colour (16&17) for example. Many of the strips related to

English teams of the day and only 3 of these early references do not have any corresponding English teams.

REFS. 20-29 Again, loosely-speaking this was the Scottish range, beginning with Hamilton at #20 and carrying on

via #25 Celtic (the most well-known one) to Partick Thistle at #29. Sure, there were gaps at 21,22,23 butScottishness was the main theme of the 20-29 range.

REFS. 30-35 The Southern League featured in this series (if 3 teams can be called a series?) and they were the3Bs of Burton, Bishop Auckland, & Barnet.

REFS. 36-75 References seemed to be made for specific teams in this range (exceptions are 41&42 which feature a

welter of well-known ones headed by Liverpool & Chelsea). Obvious examples are 65, the UK Olympic team whichnever materialised and 50/67/68, Brazil, Argentina & Chile all complete with dark skin. FC Subbuteo (#60) is one ofthe more enigmatic refs!

REFS. 76 81 Here we have a spate of reserve kits, all 6 of them being from first-division teams at that time.

REFS. 82-89 Holland is the highlighted country here with all 8 kits being those of Dutch teams. This was the 70s,the era of Total Football and 2 appearances in WC Finals for the Dutch national side.

REFS. 90-106 Over to Italy for this range, with a short interlude for Man. Utd,. Birmingham & Palace at #s 100-102

REFS. 107-114 Its Switzerlands turn as the featured country REFS. 115-120South Africa

REFS. 121-126 -Austria REFS. 127-134 -West Germany REF. 135is STOCKPORT...who let them in???

REFS. 136-149 France REFS. 150-166 The International run (well, apart from Santos at #165!?)

Funny isnt it how Subbuteo did more or less coherent ranges with a central theme and then as if on a whimthrew in completely arbitrary teams like Stockport and Santos to ruin the continuity. Wouldnt you just love to know

the reason for this, if any? But I digress

REFS. 167-173 English sides

REFS. 174, 175 & 176 These were the 3 WC teams that were in the 74 finals but hadnt been in WC 70.

REFS. 177-190 Scottish teams

Other points of interest

In 1967-68 when the HW range began there were 52 teams. Here is how they progressed to 190 by the mid-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) 90Blue 64 Purple 15 Stripes/Vertical Bands 42 Halves 8

White 142 Sky Blue 12 Hoops/Horizontal Bands 26 Diagonal Band 4Black 53 Navy 4 Sleeve colour different to shirt (eg. Arsenal) 11Yellow/Orange/Amber/Tangerine/Gold etc 37 Other patterns (quarters, large V, cross etc) 9

A guide to the 1-190 HW team range

By Martin Lunn


3/6

Andy Simpsons Stadium UpdateWith a closer look at Subbuteo spectators

Since I launched my stadium-building proj ect about one year ago Ive r ounded up 6 red and blue grandstands and just over 300

spectators, which is enough to completely fill one of them. Some would call this slow progress but I did emphasize that time was not

an issue and that the enjoyment would come as much from the search as from the finished product. Ive found it relatively easy to find

stands but the spectators are more elusive and so this article is all about the tricks Ive resorted to in order to put bottoms on seats!

Well, basically Ive not limited myself to official soccer spectators and have included others such as the cricket spectators shown at the

foot of this page (having removed them from their deckchairs of course:-) These may be less common than the soccer ones but it all

helps to increase the total and I now have about 20 of them Id say. No mistaking the one on the right as a cricket follower the fact

hes nodded off says it all but Im sure that a few dozen of these scattered round a 3600-seater stadium wont stand out too much.

Having said this, a thought occurred to me that when placing my fans in the stadium (one day!) Ill perhaps have a whole section for

figures such as this and they could be supporters of the team w hich is losing, along with t he manager with his head in his hands (see

next paragraph) and a few other fed-up looking figures. Conversely, I could put all the celebrating ones in a separate section elsewhere.

So yes, a few borrows from cricket and to swell the attendance even further Ive used half a dozen of the groundsmen too. To be

honest, having spectators leaning forward with both their hands behind their back is a bit unnatural even for MY stadium but Ill keep

them in there for the moment. I had no qualms about using the C114 Mascot and Bench Set though to provide a few extra figures,

including one with his arms crossed and one with his legs crossed and manager in a flat capthey could just as easily be spectators

rather than the subs bench figures! The C139 set is a more common source of t hese figures and this one has a manager with his head

in his hands along with 3 subs in (usually) green tracksuits. Its amazing how many of these you find, those C139 benches with the

little plastic dugout must have been really popular because over 50 of my total is comprised of these figures. Like I say, most of them

come in tracksuits and arent dressed like other spectators but if theyre 00 scale in a sitting position Ill take anything and they still

look better than the naked unpainted ones that came in the C168 set!

On this point, I still havent decided whether to paint the C168s in my collection or just leave them as they are. I know I should paint

them for added realism but Im a poor painter and its very time-consuming as well! Ive been quite lucky in that most of my real

spectators so far have been the C141 painted type, and this is mainly due to a big find from the local paper where almost 100 turned up

in one go!! I think my current spectator total (all types included) stands at around 280 and my unpainted type fall into two categories

- either those in original condition or those which have been repainted by their former owner. Some of the paintjobs are not that good

and can just look a glossy mess when you examine them closely, but once they take their seats amongst the other figures its amazing

how well they blend in unnoticed!

These C168 (unpainted) and C141 (painted) official spectator sets, added to all the improvisations mean that Ive used spectators in

17 different poses altogethermore than Id originally thought existed and they give far more variation to the stadium than by just

sticking to the official soccer ones. I have lined them all up below with the 5 types of unpainted figures on the bottom row. These were

available over about a 20-year long period and still in shops until the end of the 90s so in theory I should end of with more of these

than any other type. Isnt it strange though that, a time when machine painting was producing teams in fantastic detail with even such

things as logos on shirts, spectators we nt the opposite way and regressed from be ing hand painted down to just the bare plastic!?

Altogether I have spent 112 on my stadium to date, which is not bad for 300+ spectators, 6 stands and all the matchday figures I need.

I even have 4 pylon floodlights lined up for when the big day comes so Ive done very well to limit the expense, bearing in mind that

58 spectators sold for 32 on ebay while I was writing this article. However, I must start to accelerate because last year was a fairly

inactive one and Id certainly be hoping to get more than 300 spectators in 2006, bearing in mind it would take me over 10 years to fill

all the stands at that rate! Ive therefore set myself a target of at least 500 spectators a year from now on and I got someone to bring me

back over 40 from the Wakefield Fair in February so thats a good start!

Shown below are the various types of spectators in my collection. All of them are in good condition with no missing limbs but some

have glue marks on their bottoms where theyve been removed from previous stands and terracing. I must have broken at least 20 in

trying unsuccessfully to get them off their seats Superglue being the main culprit! I intend to attach this lot with Blu-Tack which has

the advantage of allowing me to insert/remove them as often as I like with no mess. If only their previous owners had thought of this,

or Subbuteo had supplied a blob with each pack of 50 they sold.the great ideas you think of with hindsight! :-)

PHOTO GALLERY

Top Row - 9 of the 14 types of

painted spectators I have used.

Bottom Row (L) -The 5 types of

unpainted spectators (I also have

these in painted version).

Bottom Row (R) - The 2 Cricket

spectators plus groundsman,

ranging from the apathetic to the

edge of the seat look!

When you have a dream its often about something youve been thinking of before falling asleep. Well thisparticular night Id been tending to my HW teams for an hour or so before going to bed and that must have beenwhat triggered it off.

I cant remember the full dreamthey say they only last a few seconds anywaybut the bit I DO remember is megoing into a retro toyshop that had just opened. It doesnt make the slightest bit of sense when you think about itlater but this place was bang in the town centre between Woolworths and a clothes shop which may have been

M&S. So I entered and went past a couple of rocking horses, on through the Lego section and sure enough therewas a whole corner of this shop dedicated to Subbuteo.a shrine!! :-) I was the only person in this place apartfrom a couple of assistants and everywhere was eerily quiet; I was completely focussed on the Subbuteo items by

now!

There was a glass counter in which I could see treasures such as a boxed League Cup Trophy and next to it was a

FIFA one. Could I have one of them and one of them please I said pointing feverishly through the glass, andbefore the man could remove his hand from the cabinet Id pointed to another half a dozen objects such as the

Subbuteo Sound record, the Automatic Timer, Soccer Plotter and a little Refs Whistle in a packet ...all delightfulgems!!!!!!

I then raised my eyes to see the shelves behind the counter and there they were; the HW boxes! Althoughtantalisingly out of reach I could see the little number stickers and there was a 23, 37, 46, 66.I remember callingout the numbers to the assistant like I was a nnouncing the National Lottery winning numbers (and felt like Id just

won it too!!) while he was busily pulling them off the shelf and into a large bag hed found (which strangely hadPC World on it:-) But you dont stop in mid-dream to work out the logic of these thingsnot when there are

boxed sets still to be found!

I could see a nice Stadium Edition high up on the top shelf and immediately said Id have it, wary of anyone else

coming in and grabbing this stuff before Id had first pick!! As the man went up his ladder to fetch the set I askedif there were any Munichs in stock and he then went to look in the storeroom, leaving me to marvel at the StadiumEdition. Unfortunately, no was the reply on his return, but then he added unless you want the display set in the

window. Now, did he mean a Display Edition or was it really a Munich?? He climbed into the window and saidthis one sir? in polite 70s shopkeeper style (no-one calls you sir these days:-) and sure enough it was whatlooked like a mint Munich setwow!!! I said Id take it, more than willing to pay the 70s going rate but he kindly

knocked off 25% as it had been on displayI just couldnt believe it !!!

The final bill came to 11.30 (funny how you recall such details) and I remember giving him a 10.00 and 5.00note and getting back some funny-looking money including some pound and ten-shilling notes. This didnt bother

me in the slightest, he could have given me shirt buttons and Id have still gone home dancing!! I then had thedilemma of getting all this stuff home, but parking wasnt a problem in those days and I fetched my car which I

pulled up outside the shop with no hassle. Of course, I was in my 2006 car but on a 1976 road...the ideal mix!

I went inside and the man and a female assistant both helped me to carry the boxes out to the vehicle. When thecar boot slammed shut I recall a feeling of elation before driving off - I couldnt wait to get home!!!!

It was shortly after getting home that my dream ended. I left the goodies in the c ar because it had started to rainand I didnt want to risk any water-damaged boxes. I went indoors and turned on the TV to watch Grandstand

(so it must have been a Saturday) and this is the moment at which I woke up. You know how it is when you awakefrom a dream, youre still groggy and wondering if it really happened. I had this did-it-or-didnt-it? feeling forquite a while, even looking out of the bedroom window at the car which I thought justmightbe full of Subbuteo.

But as I became more and more lucid my common sense took over and I realised it was only a dream!

When I finally accepted this, having fought against the idea for as long as possible in my drowsy state, the

disappointment was overwhelming. I can usually handle waking up in the morning and facing the world but thisseemed like such a bitter setback to start the day! I felt totally subdued but I eventually coped around mid-morning

becauseas with most dreamsthe details faded with time as other everyday matters took precedence. But I canvisualise those Subbuteo boxes in the imaginary toyshop even now and Im sure theyll stay in my head forever!

I havent been able to return to this paradise since that night and I really dont know if this is a good or a bad thing.Its a great feeling while youre there but rediscovering reality is depressing - is this how junkies feel I wonder?

No idea but I certainly wouldnt mind another fix sometime! :-)

MY SUBBUTEO DREAM By Mark Quilty


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HOW I PLAY SUBBUTEO CRICKET - By Sam Wykes

LAYOUT

First of all, a key to the diagram

= Batsmen

X = Fielders

III = Wickets

Each side is allotted 6 wicket stops to use at

their discretion. This is because one of the

main flaws with Subbuteo Cricket is the fact

that outfielders are virtually ineffective!By increasing their sphere of influence and

enabling them to stop the ball more easily a

more authentic-looking field is encouraged.

On the adjacent diagram I have shown my

ideal field placings (which can be modified

during the game itself) for a right-handed

player.which means a left-handed batsman!

EQUIPMENT

I use a series of bowlers, all flat football

figures which are easier to flick then the

standard cricket bowler with its asymmetrical

shape. My yellow man is Shane War ne the

spinner for example, and my blue man is

Glenn McGrath the fast bowler (yes, I like to

be Australia!) and I also have a red and a

green bowler. Balls used can range from ballbearings to lightweight beads in various sizes,

as long as they fit onto the triangle, in order to

vary the type of the delivery. Among my

favourites are the small panelled white balls

that came with the earlier 5-a-side soccer sets.

PLAYING

The rules here are broadly speaking the same

but with some minor modifications to reflect

the abilities of individual teams.

Cricket fielders came with 2 different-sized holes, the earlier ones being the smaller. In order to create weaker fielding teams the

smaller-holed figures can be used, and another met hod of representing a weaker side is by reducing the number of wicket stops

theyre allowed down from the maximum 6 to 5 or even 4. Similarly, good batting sides are allowed to give one (or maybe 2) of their

top-order batsmen an extra life or have fewer of their bottom-order batsmen considered as tail-enders. For these tail-enders a

catch is permitted if the ball comes to rest within the scope of these wicket stops, which again gives greater realism to the game!

The home side is allowed to choose the playing surface (for more details see Stadium section).

THE TEAMS

A shame they only did 4 international teams but with a bit of imagination you can reproduce them all and the West Indies become

India or Pakistan simply by changing the colour of the caps. Further enhancements can be made with emblems on shirts etc. but I

havent quite got to that stage yet. Its a pity that Subbuteo Cricket, which I think just caught the Kerry Packer era (they produced a

Floodlight Edition) didnt go on to make the multi-coloured kits of the international teams, not to mention the limited-overs club

sides of later years. Just imagine how good theyd have looked and how collectable t heyd have become!!!

THE STADIUM

Im thinking of having grandstands down each side of the pitch which would be the old green & tan type that are more in keeping

with cricket grounds. It would not be possible to place any at the ends of the pitch because of how the game is played but to some

extent different venues can be created by varying the number and positions of the stands. At present I have a nylon and 3 felt pitches

of different shades and textures, which again change the look of the ground as well as offering different surfaces to play on. A future

project I have is to use the backs of football pitches to mark out slightly different-shaped cricket ones. This is because in real cricket

no two pitches are exactly the same s hape and size, and most are far r ounder than the standard-sized rectangular 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! He has been showing some great

resourcefulness with referees over the past couple of years, which as a collector I can supply him with at

regular intervals. Basically, he knows all the Premiership referees by heart and each of these miniature

figures is designated to be one of them. He is currently thinking of doing some modifications for extra

realism, such as painting the skin brown to represent Uriah Rennie or removing the hair by painting over

it in a flesh colour to look like Dermott Gallagher. Then theres a beard here and another distinguishing

feature there. Sure, some imagination will still be needed because they arent that varied in appearance

and you cant vary the height for examplebut then you never could with the players! So he accepts

theres never a prefect likeness but he recognises each one straightaway and now has 15 of them

altogether (see list below photos). Hes currently looking for a ref with a green shirt and white stripes,

which I think will complete the full set and Ill probably have found him one by the time you read this.

I suppose all we really need is for Hasbro to bring out a Photoreal Referee range and hed be in paradise

...but would that be too easy? Maybe its best to stimulate peoples imagination and creativity by

providing a challenge. Hes not too fussy about linesmen (thank goodness) but he does use these now

and again. Not to run the line mind you, but to brandish yellow and red cards! I must admit Id never

thought of this before but those flags do indeed look like cards being held up over the referees head

(see photo 1) - Great improvisation, and see now what I mean about the creativity thing? Hes also

invented quite an interesting rule about using these but its maybe a bit complex to explain here.

So this is the referee collection so far, beginning with the

photos. These just show the different styles of ref but

each one is available in multiples and all the variations

are listed below. My personal favourite is the Hasbro

action pose type in photo 5 and no surprises forguessing my least favourite. It has to be the guy stood

with his arms rigidly down his sides who appears to still

be wearing his old school blaze r. Hed only look realistic

during the national anthem!!

Referee Type Variations

Flat, Black Kit (black base, white base, green base)

HW Black kit (white outer/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, white plug)

LW Green Shirt (black plug, white plug)

Hasbro base, striped shirt (black base, green base, white base)

SUBBUTEO REFEREES

JEZ

TOMLIN


5/6

SUBBUTEO LINE FLAGS

To me, line flags enhance a pitch more than anything else so I try and collect them all. The oldest ones I have are

the orange and white ones on the wi re bases. I never understood why there were 3 of each colour but I suppose the

idea was to have 3 down one side of the pitch and 3 down the other. They were virtually unbreakable and if you

trod/put your hand onto one you could j ust bend the wire back into shape! The 2 colours were orange and white, but

unfortunately the vinyl top part often used to slide down the metal wire to which it was attached. Before sliding the

top part into place though you were supposed to poke the thin metal pole up through the pitch from below, which

could explain why so any 50s pitches turn up with little holes just off the playing surface. Personally, I prefer to

leave them free-standing even if the large circular wire base is still visible by this method. Somehow the flag part

always looked disproportionately large compared to the length of the pole, but on the positive side they were very

stable and didnt often fall over in the normal course of a game. They were sold in little boxes measuring approx. 3x1x1 as Set T.

Then came the green-based ones which were also very stable and the only ones to t his

day to encroach onto the pitch. This is because they contained indentations which

enabled you to chip the ball, so to all intents these doubled up as an actual playing

accessorythe only ones to have had an active role in the game! The down side was

they tended to get in the way when the ball rolled into the corner and could seriously

disrupt the game! Initially they came with white flagpoles with orange triangular flags

but then the shape of the flag reverted back to rectangular and the poles became

orange as well. These were ori ginally sold in long green boxes (Accessory C117)

containing 4 corner and 2 halfway-line flags but eventually went into square boxes

with 6 of the halfway flags and none with the chipping facility - just the large round

bases. Was this a big loss though because how many of us can claim to have been able

to chip the ball into the area from one of these corner flags??? Id have to say that overall these flags on their large quadrant-shaped

bases were more of a hindrance than a help! They finished up being replaced at the end of the 70s by the smaller versions below.

These next 4 sets are variations on a theme and for practical purposes they all have the drawback

that contact with the ball often knocks them over due to their small round bases. On the other hand

theyre more to scale with the players so I think their main attraction is a visual one and their designshave become more sophisticated over the years. Early on they were available wit h red & blue halves

(see left) or plain orange (right). The red/blue flags came either with stickers that you applied to the

top part yourself or the design was printed on. I prefer the latter if only because the design is

permanent and wont peel off as the years go by. I also have some plain white flags which I think just

lack the red & blue st ickers so I wont count these as another type, although technically they could be !

When not in sets these f lags were sold as separate accessories on blister packs as a ccessory #61188.

Into the nineties for the next innovations and some very nice Premier League flags with the lion on

them, followed by Euro 96 ones. They were both available in sets of the same name, as well as in

their own separate packs containing other matching items with identical logosa nice bonus!

The Premiership Accessory Pack is accessory # 61234 and the Euro 96 flags & balls ar e #61235.

Whenever you pick up a set with post-70s flags in you nearly al ways find at least 1 has been bro-

ken....they really are extremely fragile due to their thin poles which are prone to bending when they

dont just snap! All of these later flags stand exactly 3 cms ( 1.25) high like the early wire ones, as

opposed to 4 cms (1.70) for the green-based ones of the 70s which towered unrealistically over the

players.

Below is a table where I have rated all the flags produced by Subbuteo over the years, listed in ascending chronological 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 as you can see I tend to prefer the later versions, but have I missed any out? I hope not but apologies if so. Helped by the fact that

Subbuteo flags are still abundant and cheap to buy I have collected all o f those shown in just over 3 years of active collecting.

By Ian Webster

THE BEAUTY OF TABLE FOOTBALL

Brilliant, theyve finally arrived!! I exclaimed as I opened the envelope containing 10 little plastic discs (photo >>)

They were the very latest Craptor Sureslide base, priced at just 59.99 from a well-known Table Football website.

What a bargain! I thought, and after hurriedly spraying on some Windolene I went to fetch my specially formulated

Maxi-glide varnish to shine them up real nice.yep, these discs are gonna slide a treat! I then wiped them on my

FISTF-approved anti-static cloth before sliding them across the table for the very first time. Wow, just look at those babies go!!!! :-)

It suddenly occurred to me that there were no players in the bases, oh dear! But then for 60 quid you couldnt expect these

included or theyd be a giveaway. And who needs players anyway? my brother intervened, this ga me youll be playing

is nothing like real football! Hmm, maybe he was right but I just felt better with something in my sliding disc and so I

chose my favourite set of symmetrical blocks for the ultimate in aerodynamic thrills (oh boy, dont they look superb! >>)

True, they have no arms but this way theres no fear of a handball...clever eh? Also, my big centre forwards stump for a

head negates his aerial prowess somewhat but lookIm trying to win a TF game here and cant start thinking about realfootball or it will put me off!!! At this point I lined up my Craptors in an 8-1-1 formation .but was I being a bit

over-adventurous by playing a midfielder??? I decided to take the risk!

My Brother Billy got out his old HW team and I scoffed as I saw how unbalanced they were HAHAHA!!!! To think I used to play

with these football-like figures myself until I saw the lightthey leave me cold now Ive discovered the joys of hi-tech aquaplaning!

We agreed to have a game according to FISTF rules because these are now my favourite, and in my previous game I scored a great

goal from my own corner flaghe has no answer to my long flick-ins! So we kicked off and the game was barely 10 seconds old when

he tried his first spin (how pass!) but thats Subbuteo players for youthey think that players still make non-linear movements!

However, the funniest moments were when he referred to throw-ins instead of flick-ins and at one point he even asked for a direct

free kick these went outyearsago!! I could see his tactic thoughhe was trying to unsettle me by pretending we were playing some

kind of soccer simulation game; very subtle! :-))

Unperturbed by this, I was 6-0 up by half time and all that geometry Id remembered from my schooldays was coming in very handy!

Using some basic Pythagorus Id managed to totally outfox him with my angles and the sight of the ball hitting those metal nets was

tremendous!!! Tink, tink, tink was the sound of plastic on metal with his goalie powerless as my defenders (hurtling in from 90 yards)

took pot-shots. I couldnt be lieve his naivety though in holding his goalie upright when surely he must know that keepers can hover

horizontally in mid-air for several seconds before a shot is taken!!! I managed a 120 victory in the end with my centre half scoring a

triple hat-trick from well inside his own shooting area.a classic example of the way the game should be played!

So my 60 quid base investment had come up trumps but credit is also due to the orange and turquoise pitch Id purchased for a similar

fee....green pitches are so boooringand you can never go back to grass-coloured ones once youve played on technicolour turf!

Anyway, we played a few more matches and then I compiled our first league table. This was the moment Id been looking forward to

the most because Id been swotting up on my Swiss Ladder system for ages and my brother was reall y impressed!

Unfortunately, Billy soon became fed up with these matches, rudely falling asleep during one of them, so I offered him a game he

thinks is better suited to his Subbuteo players. His eyes lit up as I suggested that next week well play CURLING. Unfortunately, he

doesnt yet realise that the sort of curling I mean is the Olympic Sport version. Yes, Ill soon be sliding my state-of-the-art discs along

a pretend ice-rink which is actually the polished top of our dining room table. Ive already marked out the piste with a target at one end

and will be using my toothbrush to smooth the ice as they glide across the shiny surface.the replica of association curling.

I have since written to FISTF HQ about this proposed new game and some Belgian bloke replied by saying this is a fantastic idea!

He then told me about FISTF plans (and this is an exclusive to all newsletter subscribers) to produce larger versions of their current

bases for use as pucks in the ever-popular Air Hockey arcade game. You have to hand it to these guys, theyre always one step ahead!

He even recommended some training methods to improve my game and suggested that I practice by playing Shove Halfpenny

.I think they call it Shove Euro on the continent but I knew what he meant :-)

So I bought a genuine oak Shove-halfpenny board o ff Ebay for 80 with the halfpennies included (photo>>)

and my game has improved no end but Im eagerly awaiting the official FISTF one which comes out in June

by all accounts it will be called Training Accessory #1 ! It seems ages ago that Subbuteo released their

rather naff range of training accessories based on dribbling, shooting and passing and at least 2 of these skills

have since become obsolete! You dont swerve figures in the FISTF New World Order and rather than doing

long passes you just slide up another figure (distance no object) to join the man in possession. Life is now so

much simpler without all those fancy football-related skills to masterthank you FISTF!

For anyone still unsure about whether FISTF Table Football is the game for them my brother has used his camcorder to compile a

3hour video of my greatest slides with a total yardage of over 15 miles!! It contains exclusive footage of some never-seen-before

sliding which will change your perception of the game forever. The cost is just 12.99, which is barely the price of a good lubricant,

and its now available by contacting me at [email protected]

Shown below is one of the more advanced FISTF techniques featured in this video

They said it could never happen .. Andrew Churchill joins FISTF!

YES!!!


6/6

The Subbuteo World Catalogues (Part Two - 1980 & 1981)

The 1980 catalogue, like 79 and 81, is all colour and boasts an extra 8 pages. Page 2 lists the contents with afootball, cricket ball and rugby ball down one side (not to scale though) and page 3 touches on the games history

and how its changed 33 years hence. A slight error describes how there are 330 references when clearly 329England and 330 Wales are missing (?) However, they describe the introduction of 3 new games (rugby sevens,

Hockey & World of Sport). All are illustrated but sadly the WOS set wont be seen until 1981. Pages 4 & 5illustrate the new Rugby and Hockey sets and all the new accessories available from C167 up to C178 are listedand shown apart from the mysterious omission of the C171 floodlights.

Pages 8 to 13 are the references 1 to 328 with alterations to 139 and 314 while 6 new references arrived to take usup to 328. Sadly, this is as long as the chain of refs stretched before the shooting gallery was opened and some oldteams disappeared for good!

At the foot of P.13 was a list of winning teams, both club and international sides, 40 in total. Curious inclusionswere East fife, Blackburn & Newcastle who, to be fair, werent exactly top-drawer sides. You might call me

controversial but you could hardly put these teams into the same bracket as Forest and Liverpool really!The numerical charts cover pages 14 to 19 and worth noting a lot of 2nd strips for teams and especially lowerdivisions like Colchester, Lincoln and Bradford. One home kit change is Stockport County sharing 278 with Porto

which only lasted for one year.One downside is a loss of lines separating each reference which makes them difficult to trace if your copy isnt

printed straight (which mine isnt!) so refs. 250-281 are offset to the numbers! The Alphabetical list is thankfully

printed on 4 pages instead of 2; a lot easier to read if you dont have a magnifying glass!Page 24 is a list of accessories and 25/26/27 have nice photos of everything listed (check out the nice ref. 214, LWhandpainted plus we see the Floodlight Adaptor and the proper version of the C157 World Cup for the last time).

Luckily, I still have my C157 minus the box..Page 28 covers the cricket nicely, with two box sets on view and a photo of all the cricket equipment, similar to the1979 brochure. Sadly page 29 and the rugby boxes loses the descriptions of all the C200 team references. Insteadwe have a list of all 37 which isnt much good to a young starter. Also sad to note is that this is the last we see ofthe HW rugby players who make a quiet exit. The scene is of England v Australia. For some reason we never see

the newer International box but on the rear cover its represented in its old box. Quite bizarre!Page 30 has a whole piece dedicated to Andrea Piccaluga. Its worth a read as he was renowned as being a one-offto the game. Page 31 is a form to apply to the UKSA for the princely sum of 75p. It has some interesting details of

how the game was organised in this country and its patron at the time was Bill Shankly.The back cover: Six football, two cricket, two rugby and a hockey set with an address and lists that the catalogue isalso accessory number C155. An accessory full of accessories itself? It was the last to be printed by Exallprint Ltd.Of Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

Here is my second piece covering these publications. It was a decade of indulgence and it proves so in thepublications with a lot more on offer to Subbuteo fans (whether a lot of it was useful is a matter of opinion!)

Subbuteo Club Magazine Mag14B

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Transcript of Subbuteo Club Magazine Mag14B