SUBBUTEO / SOCCER TWO-IN-ONE CROSSWORD

Clues Across (1) Pattern on shirts (2*) Thetwo teams sold in C180 pack
(4) Shared areferencewith Leeds (7*) Found on middleof Ajax shirt
(8) A product advertised on C108s (11) Thereplicaof .. football
(17) Ref. 48 (18*) Early goalkeepers cameon one (19) Defeat
(20) Typeof Umbro ball (21) C106s were.. goalies
Clues Down (1) Ref. 20 (2) Collectors all haveone (3) Part of thebase
(5) Send ball to another player (6) Teamrecently added to DreamStadium
(9) Accessory C112 (10 & 13) Thenameof an early 1980s set
(12) This Subbuteo ruleis almost as complicated as thereal one!
(14) C130, C154 etc (15) Set of cups (16) Ref. 6, East .

* = 2 words required Robert Pratt
Taken froma1985 issueof Subbuteo News, thecrossword below (with
clues on left) gavereaders thechanceto win prizes. Thefirst correct entry
received aSubbuteo Sports Bag filled with Subbuteo goodies and the
next fiverunners-up each got aSubbuteo Sheaffer pen. Not bad eh?
Unfortunately, thereareno such incentives here:-(
You will noticethat all theoriginal clues pertained to real football so Ive
updated themand (still using thesamegrid) madeup another set based
entirely on Subbuteo. You can decidewhich ones to doBest of luck!
1 2 3
4 5 6
7
8 9
10
11 12
13
14 15 16
17 18
19 20
21
Issue #15, Autumn 2006
I hopeeveryonehad agood Summer and its good to beback again with issue#15. Thefirst thing you
will havenoticed is that werestill called theSubbuteo Club and havenot changed thelook of this
newsletter as planned. I received 3 messages, all very persuasive, to theeffect that theSC banner is the
newsletters identity and in thenameof continuity weshould stick to it. It was also pointed out that
even if theSC no longer has 300+paid-up members wearestill asizeablegroup of individuals with a
collectivespirit, pulling together not only to producethis fanzinebut to maintain an Internet forum*
for all Subbuteo enthusiasts. Theclub spirit lives on therefore, as does thelogo.
So, whats new? Well, its all goneabit quiet recently sincetheShoveHapenny crew (who want to be
accepted as Subbuteo players:-) reacted badly to Andrew Churchills parody in issue14. Someof them
got quiteirate, providing fineentertainment for awhilebut things havenow calmed down and theyre
happily discussing their favouritelubricants onceagain. However, Andrew has promised meanother
classic spoof for issue16 to liven things up abit - roll on J anuary!
Has anyoneelsegot apiecewecan use? Imsuretheres alot of untapped literary talent out thereso
pleasehaveaserious think about what you can contribute. True, wealready haveenough material for
thenext coupleof issues but anything really original jumps thequeueand gets published straightaway.
In fact, I was agonising over what to put onto P.3 theother day when theHasbro PLC articledropped
into my mailbox just hours beforethedeadline.perfect! Cometo think of it, I could wax lyrical about
many of this issues articles but you will soon beableto judgefor yourselves. I only wish I wasnt the
compiler right now, then I could enjoy reading it with you rather than already knowing whats inside.
On amoreserious note, apologies for thecancellation of theLeicester Fair in J uly which Id advertised
in good faith last issue. Unfortunately, family circumstances meant I was unableto fully commit to this
event and so had to pull theplugs at quiteshort notice. Darren Ames did put on aBristol show in
August to partially compensate(although it escaped mention heredueto thetiming) and plans are
already underway to stagesomething for collectors early in 2007. Theexact dateand venuearestill
undecided but full details will bein our New-Year edition of theSubbuteo Club Newsletter.
Seeyou then!
TREV.
* J oin us 24/7 at www.subbuteoforum.co.uk for thebest Subbuteo-related discussions on theInternet
(1) Masterpiece number 15 :-) (2) Lifewith Subbuteo (3) Anexclusiveinterview with Hasbros new boss
(4) Play Subbuteo Sweep (5) Reliving theLeeds glory days with Subbuteo (6) Dark-skinnedGoalkeepers
(7) Comparing Subbuteo bases (8) How to re-baseHW players (9) An attic fire- every collectors nightmare!
(10) Subbuteo Keepers 1947 - 2006 (11) The61*** Accessory PriceGuide (12) A Subbuteo/Soccer Crossword
CONTENTS
Ill begin this story in 1979 when my Dad was given somehand-me-downs by my cousin Craig. This was on the
understanding that theyd belooked after onceintroduced to me. I think I was kicking thecats wicker ball around
thehouseat thetime, minus thebell, when my Dad had told methat you could actually play football in thehouse,
but not with areal ball! I was abit confused by all this ( being only 8-9 years old at thetime) so heshowed me
this green pitch, someboxes and acoupleof old brown panel footballs. Whats all this Imwondering, and then
got astern lectureon treating themliketheHornby train set and Scalextric. I laid out thepitch, completewith 2
goals which weresimilar to C148s but on widegreen bases, and then I saw the2 teams ThesewereMan City (5)
and Fulham(156) and lovely things they weretoo.both with whiteouters and with sky blue/black inners
respectively. My Dad picked City and I was Liverpool in changed kit (with only 2 teams I improvised!) A couple
of weeks later my Dad knew Id taken to this gameso hemademeaboard for thepitch (considering hewas no
craftsman hedid agreat job!) and bought mearef 41 ZombiefromGrays Sports in Cambridge. Apparently the
shop still exists today according to my brother whos moved to thecity. Both this shop and Mick McNeil stocked
teams and Id soon spent my pocket money on a232 100 &21, all Zombies. My brother got a28, 25 & 211
- heloved theteams but hated thegame!
In 1981 I got a1980 brochureand could now seetherewere3 styles of teamabout. My Grandmathen went to
Bristol on atrip and got measet of footballs and ref 12 in LW whilemy brother had aref 252 & LeagueCup.
At this point I got into finding trophies too. My Aunt Ingasent apackagefor Xmas oneyear and it contained the
scoreboard, TV Tower, C167 balls, aref 8 HW and 2 LW teams (9 & 194) but of theseonly ref 8 HW and the
scoreboard ended up being mine(!?) Wethen had atrip back to Tynesidewheremy cousin Craig (theonewhod
started all this off) had moreteams to clear outhed completely lost interest in Subbuteo by this time, preferring
Golf and Pool, so I inherited all theseHW sides...11, 19, 42, 50, 51, 56, 58, 79 with whiteshorts, 317 in an England
box and 206 (which had been thelast teamhebought!). Hewas actually going to keep this Coventry teambut I
persuaded himId treasureit and I was good to my word, only using it half adozen times.
Ill alwaysremember that trip up North!!
On thenext years visit Craig found acouplemoregreen boxes in his brothers cupboard containing aref.2 with
winged shorts plus a119 with whiteouters/blueinners.great! Then 2 others popped up - aref. 21 with 3 players
missing and aref 80 (minus 2 players). Hegavemethe21 to usefor spares but, criminally, hechucked out the
Northampton insisting that they wereuseless :-( I never did manageto retrievethat teamfromhimand it still
haunts me, knowing that Id havereplaced thoseplayers by now with abit of sleuth work.
During theearly 80s I picked up moreteams and got a350, 355 & 21 in awindow box typeand a168, 47 & 266
in HW but only managed to find a488 and 382 in ahorizontal box. Wealso got theCricket for my brother (who
still loathed football) and I then took all his football items instead.not bad really! I tried in vain to persuademy
Dad to buy metheRugby but it never happened. Imafraid hethought it was too extravagant and too similar to
football.
Wemoved to Norfolk in late1984 and I noticed that therewerenot alot of Subbuteo stockists. It had now moved
fromSports shops into Toy shops and they seemed too childish aplaceto beseen when you werea14 year-old.
Oneor two lads at school liked thegamebut wenever formed any leaguesI just played at homeand picked up
teams to repaint. Thefirst teamI found herein Norfolk was a571 France(it resembled Ipswich at thetime) which
was in alargewindow box. This was theerawheremy Mummoaned at mefor spending afortuneon teams so I
ended up buying most of themin secret. However, theideaof converting teams was great and soon became
addictive. A lot of my obscuresides wererepaints. Fromthelate80s to themid 90s I got items and accessories
with my earnings (along with CDs/vinyl, T-shirts & gigs) to do amassivecollection of lights. I even replaced all
therefs I had in Zs so I could put theminto retirement and thesamething happened to my heavies. Littledid I
know that ashop in Norwich (Langleys) had abig sell-off with several Astropitches, going for about 3-4 each.
I only got onebut had I known Id havebought about half adozen. Mind you, I still wasnt driving and so getting
themonto abus would havebeen difficult!
So I then lost interest for afew years until being ableto usemy brothers PC in about August 2003. I discovered
others who still cared about thegameand thats when you realiseyou dont haveamassivecollection but arejust
oneof many with asimilar problem! So that brings meup to today and Imglad to haverediscovered Subbuteo
with only a6-year gap.who knows whereit will lead fromhere?
Life With Subbuteo
By Andrew Phillips
The 61*** Accessories Price Guide
By Jon French
My last accessory valuations list stopped at theend of theC (Continental) rangewith reference#C206.
Ill thereforeresumewith #61207 and continuethrough to thefinal Waddingtons accessory using my
usual mixtureof Swapmeet prices, Ebay prices, what Id pay for it myself and just pureguesswork!
As ever, thevalues quoted refer to MINT items and can bescaled down accordingly for anything in a
lesser condition.
REFERENCE # ACCESSORY VALUE
(Boxed) (Unboxed)
61207 European Goals 20.00 12.00
61208 TV Tower 6.00 4.00
61209 3 Tango Balls 4.00 3.00
61210 3 MitreBalls 4.00 3.00
61211 Assorted Keepers x 4 10.00 5.00
61212 AlicanteBalls 6.00 4.00
61213 Mundial Goals 15.00 10.00
61214 Trainers, Ball Boys, Policefigures 6.00 4.00
61215 SambaBalls 4.00 3.00
61216 New Grandstand (Red/Blue) 15.00 12.00
61217 2 Grey Terraces 10.00 7.00
61218 1 Grey Corner Terrace 6.00 4.00
61219 Italia90 Goals 9.00 5.00
61220 Italia90 Balls 4.00 3.00
61221 Italia90 Pitch 9.00 6.00
61222 2 Newer StyleFloodlights 18.00 12.00
61223 Umbro EliteBalls 4.00 3.00
61224 1992 Wall Poster 3.00
61225 USA 94 Balls 4.00 3.00
61226 USA 94 Goals 10.00 5.00
61227 1995 Wall Poster 3.00
61228
61229 Euro 96 Goals 10.00 7.00
61230
61231
61232
61233 5 Different Balls 6.00 4.00
61234 Premiership Accessory Pack 12.00 8.00
61235 Euro 96 Balls & Flags Pack 8.00 6.00
61236
61237
61238
61239 StadiumServices Set 7.50 5.00
61240 Referees & Flags 6.00 4.00
61125 Premiership Trophy 8.00 5.00
61133 Throw-in/Corner figures 5.00 3.00
Pleasenotethecrazy numbering and omissions, which do not represent errors. This was just theway that
Waddingtons did their accessory references!
Subbuteo Goalkeeping through the ages
If youcouldchooseany kindof goaliefor your team(irrespectiveof theoutfieldplayers used), who wouldyouplacebetween
thesticks? Herearethepros andconsfor all wearers of thenumber 1jersey who havegracedSubbuteo pitches since1947....
Pre-60s Goalkeepers (+) Straight, upright posturemeant theycouldstoptheball moreeffectively thanmanyof their
successors. Thecelluloidones also pinged theball afair way out of danger whenasavewas made, but thisdidnot apply so
muchto thecardboardversions.
(-) Unrealistic-lookingwitharms downsides rather thanbeinginanactionpose. Theyalso camewithavery short handle,
althoughatthetimethiswas not adisadvantage...short inrelationto what?? Cardboardtypes werealso abit fragile, andonce
creased(usuallyintheanklearea) theywereuseless.

60s HW goalkeepers (+) Verylongwirehandles givingthemmastery over alargepart of thepenaltyarea. Morerealistic
inthis respect, as well as beingmoreeffectiveinclearingtheball. Youcouldalso narrow theangleagainst theoncoming
attacker takingashot. Availableineither acrouchingor divingpose(avery poor designwhichlooks goodbut is ineffective
for stoppingshots duetothe45-degreeangleof thebody).
(-) Becausethekeepers wereonly attachedto awirebyaholeintheir basetheycouldoftencomeoff, sometimes ata
critical moment! Therods werealso proneto rustingandmost fromthis eranow havesomerust onthem, althoughthisis
only acosmetic thinganddoesnt affecttheir playability.
70s HW goalkeepers (+) Thenew greenrodswereweldedto thekeepers baseandweremorecomfortableto hold. More
aesthetic withthegreenblendinginbetter withthepitch. Enormous varietyof keepers availablefromthis era, includinga
morevertical divingposewhichcombinedthebest featuresof thecrouchinganddivingkeepers. Later ones camewearing
caps (C153) andacoupleof other types whichbeganinthe70s (but werelater availableas LWs) arementionedbelow.
(-) Shorter rods only gavethesekeepers control of their own6-yardbox. Keepers couldnolonger bedetachedfromrodsto
becomeimproviseddropbacks, althoughtheref. C106(sparekeepers) cateredfor this.
70s Interchangeable Keepers (+) Thesecombinedtheabilityto removethekeeper if requiredwiththefact hewas
permanent (beingsnappedonto theendof therod) andnot proneto fallingoff. Otherwisetheyrebasically thesameas the
standardkeepers but withaslightlylarger base- its small differences likethis whichcanprovedecisive! Also, onebox of
theseandyouweresetupfor lifewith6different colours andactionposes. What morecouldyouwant?
(-) I cannot think of anyserious negatives withthese
70s Springy Keepers (+) I cannot think of anypositives at all withthese!
(-) They just wobbledontheendof thespringwhichmadethemhardto control andthekeeper kept fallingoff of attached
spring. Thesewereprobably theworst keepers Subbuteo ever made, andthey didnt do whatthey weresupposedto
80s LW goalkeepers (+) Themoreupright posewitharms stretchedabovetheir heads meant that thesekeepers werebetter
shot-stoppers withbothagreater horizontal andvertical reach. Easyto removefrombases, youjust pull out theplugto
replaceabrokenkeeper andpopinanew one!
(-) Glossymachinepaintedkit notas goodlookingas theprevious ones andmost of themhavedrabcolours likegrey/black
& dark green/black. Only availableinonepose, whichwasthevertical type. Thekeepers bodies arelongandthin
disproportionately so!
Hasbro Photoreal Keepers (+) Theplayer itself is about twicethewidthof previous LWs andconsiderablytaller
anadvantagefor bothhorizontal andvertical saves. Theyaretheonly keepers to havetheplayers nameon; it doesnt get
morerealistic thanthat!
(-) Pity about thehandledesign, whichmakes theendof therodalmost impossibleto gripproperly. Somewouldalso claim
that returningto flat figures is aretrogradestepbut theyreof far better quality plastic thantheir 1940s60s predecessors.
So who wouldget your vote? All things consideredIdprobablygo withthe80s LW types that stoodupto everythingthat
was flickedat themfor about 20years, whether fromZombies LWs or Hasbros. I grew upwiththeseandtheyveservedme
well sinceI beganplayinginthelate80s. Maybeintheendit comesdownto what youreusedto andfeel comfortablewith??
Alex Isman
Fantastic! Ivejust landedthejobof ManagingDirector hereat Hasbro PLC. Apart fromthe120K ayear, whichImsurewill
bevery handy, ImoverjoyedbecauseI cannow implement someserious improvements to thecompany. Many of thesewill
directly concernour Subbuteodepartment, whichI intendto upgradeinview of its enormous potential. Hereiswhat I propose
withimmediateeffect.
I consider boxedsets to beof theutmostimportanceandso aEuro 2008editionwill belaunchedstraightaway. This will
contain2 teams (thehostnation& current holders), goals, balls, pitchandaminiaturetrophy. Thecost will bejust 25.00as I
think it isimportant tointroducenewcomers to thegameat anaffordablepriceandthenattract themto our other items asthey
becomehooked.
Withthis inmindI proposeanew rangeof 3D teams inboxeslikethosetheysoldtheItalianones in, all different colours
dependingonthosewornbytheteam. Therewill beafull Premiership rangeandafull Calcio rangetoo for our numerous
clients inItaly. Thetop5or 6teams of someother Europeanleagues will also befeatured, as will someSouthAmericanteams
plus adozenor so prominent International sides. I envisageatotal of about 100new teams goinginto productionas from
November 1st 2006, whilefutureplans includeaEuro 2008Qualifiers series inspecial boxes, availablefromJ anuary2008.
Accessories will berelaunchedandalready therearesomeideas inthepipeline. I quitelikedthosestatuettes fromwayback,
andimaginewhat extradetail youcouldput ontothemthesedays! A logbook for recordingscores andfixtures wouldalso be
handyandso isaserious contender. Ontheactual playingside, therewill beCorner Kickers andThrowers for those
all-importantset pieces plus revampedgoals, balls, fences andflags. Somenew-stylepitches arealso intheoffing, madeof
baizeandwithdifferent patterns likeyouseeat most groundsthesedays (light & darker greenstripes across thepitchbeingthe
most common). Undoubtedly, aredesignedgrandstandwill becomingout atsomestageas I hear thesearevery popular, along
withspectators at affordableprices to fill themgradually. A modern-lookingscoreboardis alsolongoverdue I dont count
that thingwhichhungfromthedome of theDreamStadiumEditionas ascoreboard!
Onthis point, many of thoseformerlyinchargeof theSubbuteo department havebeenrelocatedto other divisions of Hasbro
PLC andreplacedby specialists who know moreabout thesport of soccer andwho areintouchwithpublic demandfor this
miniaturereplicaof thereal game. However, someof their ideas of thepast 10years will beretained, suchas theextra
(substitute) player ineachteamwhichImsurepeoplewill recogniseas oneof our companys better initiatives.
Therules will berewritten, basedonthosewhichmadeSubbuteo so popular but withafew essential updates. Skills suchas
spinningas well as slidingwill becateredfor andwehopeour new players basedesigns will reflect this. Theimportanceof
havingarulebook whichisboththorough(for theseriousplayer) without beingoff-puttingto beginners cannotbeexaggerated!
A returnto the2-tier Elementary andAdvanced systemis thereforeadistinct possibility, andinanattractivebrochure
illustratedwithclear colour diagrams wherenecessary. Any tweaks to therules, suggestedto us byour new army of players,
will bemadeinannuallyrevisedversions of thebrochure. Inthefuturewehopeto createHasbro-sponsoredleagueswiththe
major tournaments beingplayedat prestigious venues.
My aimis to raisetheprofileof thegameto attract thosecurrentlyunawareof our products existence. I shall therefore
designateasubstantial sumof moneyto promotingSubbuteo onboththeTV andinthepress. Celebrityplayers havebeen
recruitedfor our publicity campaign, whichwewill beintensifyingintherun-upto Xmas so that all youngsters areawareof
what is onoffer. Therewill bebrochures producedby our advertisingdepartment to show all our latest releases, available
separatelyas well as beingincludedinbox sets, andthesewill includecolour charts of all theteams plus photosof the
accessories inour new extendedrange. Themainthingisto keepSubbuteo present intheHighStreet shops fromnow onso
that it becomes aninstantly-recognisablenameonceagain. I believethereis enoughgeneral interest insoccer for thisto be
possible, andinthis waywecanwinback someof thecomputer games market.
I hopethat members of theSubbuteo fraternity will appreciatetheseefforts. Havingsigneda5-year contract I canguarantee
that thegameis insafehands until at least2011. I will beaimingto restoreSubbuteo to its former gloryandestablishit as
Hasbros flagshipproduct. If success is achievedviasoccer wecanthenlook at relaunchingsomeof Subbuteos other classic
sports games andwho knowsmaybeevensomenew ones! Youwill behearingmoreabout theseprojects induecoursebut
I must now attendameetinginorder to maketheaboveannouncements.
Thegoldendays arestill ahead!
I anJ olley


Hello, this is Ian Jolley, the new Managing Director of Hasbro PLC
I cant believeit! I won acompetitionand havebeen invited to akind of Supermarket Sweep, Subbuteo-style!
Theyvenow cleared thesupermarket, thats thegood news, but 2 minutes is all I have- which way shall I go??
Looks liketheshelf stacker has had an off day or Id havearouteworked out easily, but theyvegoneand put
theHasbros next to theNewfooty! Havethey no historical perspective? And then wevegot soccer accessories
on theother sideof theshop to thegeneral accessories.it must havebeen thetraineewho did this lot!!!
Well never mind, Ivegot my trolley on thestarting grid(S) and I reckon I can blitz round this placegetting a
dozen or so rareOHWs (if I can find themwith thepressureon), drag about ahundred packs of flats off the
shelf as I dash by and still havetimeto grab aMunich beforesprinting to thefinish (F) in just under theallotted
time. Thats assuming my mental trial run goes to plan.Id hateto get theretoo early and feel cheated not to
havegot more, but thatsbetter than arriving too lateand being disqualified!
Unfortunately, anything that spillsout of your trolley is not allowed and I dont think it will hold many teams
with aMunich Edition also in there. On theother hand, thereareno other rivals in theshop so its aclear run.
This could makeor break my collecting career becauselets faceit, someof this stuff will never beseen
againespecially FREEso Ivegot to beon top formfor this once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity. Ivebeen told
that every itemSubbuteo ever madeis in theshop, someof themin multiples, and that everything is stacked in
thecorrect orderthat shouldmakelifeabit easier! J ust waiting for thewhistlenow.thats it, herewego!!!!
My legs almost turn to jelly as I set off but this is instantly overcomeby theadrenalinerush.
A quick sprint to my right and then up the60s row whereI try to remain calmas I seek my main wants.
I think I got most of thembut no moretimeto lose. Luckily, theflats aredirectly oppositeso no detour required
as I sweep themon board. Oh, no!!! Thesmall cellophanepacks arespilling out through theholes in thegrid of
my trolley but I cant stop becausethefirst minuteis almost up! Turning left, I can now seetheBoxed Sets on
thehorizon. Aagghh, theMunichs right at thefar end so Imalmost in thetop left corner as you look at the
diagram, but still ahead of theclock with about 40 seconds remaining. But waitchangeof plan! Ivejust seen
theEPNS Cups in the Soccer Accessories section and makeasplit-second decision to go for theseinstead!
I now doubleback and with 15 seconds left Imright by theFinishing Line, next to the80s sets. Hey, is that a
Sport Billy over there? Yes, Ill havethat, along with an Indoor Edition to fill up my trolley. Oof! J ust madeit
in timeand theregoes thefinal whistle, barely 3 seconds after I cross theline. Voicesin my head aresaying
should I havegonefor theWorld of Sport? and that was anice-looking Cricket Floodlight set etc... etc..,
but overall Imextremely pleased with my run which went almost exactly to plan - what afantastic day!!!
S
F
Boxed Sets 1947 to 1979 Boxed Sets 1980 onwards
S
o
c
c
e
r
A
c
c
e
s
s
o
r
i
e
s
Z
o
m
b
i
e
T
e
a
m
s
L
i
g
h
t
w
e
i
g
h
t
T
e
a
m
s
C
r
i
c
k
e
t
R
u
g
b
y
O
t
h
e
r
S
p
o
r
t
s
O
t
h
e
r
A
c
c
e
s
s
o
r
i
e
s
6
0
s
H
e
a
v
y
w
e
i
g
h
t
s
7
0
s
H
e
a
v
y
w
e
i
g
h
t
s
H
a
s
b
r
o
S
e
c
t
i
o
n
F
l
a
t
T
e
a
m
s
&
N
e
w
f
o
o
t
y
Welcome to the Ross Hateley Subbuteo Sweep
I went into my attic to fetch some Subbuteo in J uly of this year and to light the place up I have a lamp which
is basically a 100W bulb with a plastic grid around it. I then came down, leaving the lamp on top of a
folded-up 70s felt pitch and went about my business as usual. Approximately 20 minutes later I could smell
a vague scorched sort of odour but thought no more of it, and then became aware of it again when
returning to the bedroom maybe 10 minutes afterwards. This time the scorching smell was stronger but
once more I could find no source and so left again, but only to return when the smell (which by this time
could be smelt in the next room) got too strong to ignore and was accompanied by a faint crackling sound.
Furthermore, upon my return to the trapdoor in the bedroom I could see signs of smoke seeping out and
knew instantly what had happened....there was a fire in the attic!!!
I poked my head up through the open trapdoor and immediately saw a pitch on fire. The worrying thing was
that if it spread to all those boxed sets the whole lot would go up within seconds so there was no time to
lose. I shouted to my wife to bring a bucket of water but then realised we had electricity involved so I
instead grabbed the bedspread and smothered the pitch which was giving off a hell of a lot of smoke and
flames by now. I thought either this would contain the flames or make things worse by the bedspread also
catching fire, but luckily by repeatedly thumping the padded quilt I was able to stifle the fire before
dragging it out of the attic and stamping on it several times. By this time my wife had arrived with a
bucketful of water which she threw on it just for good measure.
There was a fair bit of mess to clear up afterwards and a bit of expense involved too but this was nothing
compared to what the cost might have been had my Subbuteo collection gone up in smoke and taken the
house with it! There was some damage to the boards Id laid in the attic just a few weeks beforehand, but
apart from this we're only talking about the (minimal) price of a pitch, a new bedspread and a replacement
lamp because the old one had black melted plastic all over the bulb where the outer plastic case melted
onto it. To be honest I was surprised how much heat was generated by these things, but shouldn't have
been because if you ever touch a lightbulb you'll know how hot these things get! Looking back it was pretty
daft of me to have left it for so long on top of something as combustible as a felt pitch when I usually hang it
up to the ceiling via a hook. The problem was that I was too engrossed in what I was doing with my
Subbuteo to think of this at the time.
During the incident I sustained some light burns to the wrist when tackling the pitch fire and then touched
the lamp with the same hand for good measure, burning a couple of fingers on the naked bulb, so my right
hand was in the wars a bit. You tend to do clumsy things on the spur of the moment when you have to
react instinctively, but I dread to think what would have happened if I'd have stopped to think for even just
10 seconds. I'm sure that the flames, which were quite high and easily capable of reaching the cardboard
sets in close proximity, would have triggered off a chain reaction beginning with the nearby
Stadium Edition. After this there were another 20 or so large cardboard boxes to feed the fire which would
have been out of control in no time! Fortunately, my burns turned out to be superficial and have to all
intents now disappeared - a major relief!

I suppose the moral of the story is that fire alarms save lives and property (including Subbuteo collections!)
and in the 2 months since this incident I've had some installed. It was a sobering experience to be honest
and every time I go up into the attic now I appreciate my collection that little bit more. I realise I'm lucky not
only to have found some of this stuff in the first place but to have managed to keep it intact because much
of it would have been irreplaceable. I think it may also be time to add the Subbuteo collection onto the
house insurance, which is something I'm looking into at present.
I have never heard of anyone else getting into a similar predicament but hope this tale will serve as an
advanced warning, plus maybe provide some entertainment to readers. I'm just glad they can all read
about it in this magazine rather than in some local/national newspaper under the headline
"Subbuteo collector sets fire to house".phew!!!
FIRE!!!
Mark Bannock
Whenever I haveaHW basethat doesnt go with theother 9in theteamI changeit and swap theplayer into thenew base.
This can bedonefor several reasons.
*Thebaselettering is not thesame
*Thebaseis damaged in someway (this includes serious warping, which often happened with certain colours!)
*Theplayer is not glued in straight - this will not requireanew base, just aremoval and reglue
*Theflat areaon thebottomis noticeably different to theothersin theteam
*Thereis arattling washer - often remedied by removing theplayer and squirting adecent amount of glueinto theslot
.and for many other reasons Imsure, but thoseabovearethemost commonones I encounter.
Sometimes you haveto weigh up thesituation and decideif its worth doing though. For exampledont even think about
trying to removealate70s player fromabaseif thatultra-strong Supergluehas been used. You will notbeableto remove
theseplayers fromtheir basesno matter what you do! On theother hand, 60s HWs areadoddlewith that brown gluethat
was usually used and many of theearly 70s teams still used it. Most you will find aresomewherebetween thetwo extremes.
So, having decided to go for it thefirst task is toremovetheplayer. Boiling water will normally loosen theglue, and then
you can sometimes just lift theplayer out. On other occasions you will haveto removethegluearound theplayers feet if
its been used liberally, and for this I useavery sharp bladeand slideit under theglue. It will thencomeoff in onepiece.
If thebases futureis unimportant and you can afford to writeit off, putting aStanley knifeinto theslot and levering thebar
out is anoption.
Whichever method you use, removing theplayer often entails removing thepaintfromaplayers boots (dueto theoriginal
gluebeing appliedover theboot) so beforereinserting theseits best to repaint them, not forgettingto do so underneath the
boot as well! This means adelay but it iswell worth it. If you aregoing to replacetheplayer into thesamebasethen you
may beableto put it back into exactly thesameholes left by its removal (assuming all thegluedidnt comeaway, therewill
still beacoupleof indents wherethefeet were) Onething for sureis that it will slideback into theoriginal slot however, as
it has already beenin thereonce.
But now wecomeonto how to replacetheplayer into another base. Well for astart you need to check that thebar will
actually fit as not all bases arethesamesize, undergoing achangein diameter during theseventies. Having found somethat
thebars will go into without too much difficulty I thenfetch thepolystyrenecement, which is as closeas Ivefound to 70s
glueand themain advantageis that if youreunhappy with theresultyou can removeit again dueto it not being too strong.
I would adviseagainst using Supergluebecauseif you get any on thebaseinners it literally burns thepaint and leaves a
whitemark beforevery long which you will never get rid of. You might get away with it if theinner is whitebut for other
colours youretaking abig risk!
As for applying theglue, my own personal method is to squirt it into theslot on thebase, going along thefull length.
You can get sometubes with avery finenozzlewhich areideal for doing this and it will leaveless surplus glueonthebase
inner by ensuring that most of thegluegoes downwards when theplayers bar is inserted. You can apply it as generously as
you likeas long as its going into thebase, and this is also agood method for curing rattling washers without removing the
inner! I dont usually put glueonto theplayers bar becauseit can comesquelching up out of theslot again, especially if
applied tooheavily and in my opinion polystyrenecement does NOT look like70s gluewhen its all over thebaseinner
after drying.
I then press downon theplayershead and shoulders which distributes thepressureand often suffices to get himin. If more
pressureis required you can press on both sides of thebar atthesametimebut this can get glueon your fingers. If oneside
of thebar is still being difficult themaybeyoull haveto useatool of somekindto press it in, but becareful! By pressing
onto thesides of abar you can makethemslopedown towards theends, especially as acertain amount of forceis usually
required, and this is asuresign that thebar has been reglued into theslot! Never press onto thepart of thebar between the
players legs though becausethis will makeit snap in themiddle!
I havenow donearound 50players in this way and can vouch for thesuccess of this method. You just haveto weigh up
whether its worth doing or not, and may decidethat if its an ultra-rareteamtherisk isnt worth it. YouCAN mess up
becausetheres always an element of risk and it only takes oneslip of thescalpel, but I just feel better knowing that all my
teams haveidentical bases, even at theexpenseof themnot all being theoriginal ones.
So wethen enter agrey areabecauseyou could say ateamwhichhas been improved in this way has been restored.
For me, restoring HWs just involves theplayers themselves but I can accept this viewpoint. You could maintain (quite
honestly) that theplayer himself has not been restored, but most would consider theplayer to bethewholelot including
thebase. Its another of thosecontroversial issues whichHWs in particular seemto attract, but thats all part of their charm.
But would I buy a70s HW which I knew had been enhanced by replacing abaseor two?Now, that really is atough one!!!
RE-BASING HEAVYWEIGHT PLAYERS (The Geoff Sibbald way)
Whenever I play Subbuteo thesedays I do so with my retro Leeds teams. I have6 of themaltogether, theseare:-
(1) 1961-65 seasonsAn OHW ref. 21 (2) 1965-71 seasonsA HW ref. 21 with alittlebluedot for thebadge
(3) 1971-73, aHW #21 with abluediagonal lineas abadge(4) 1973-76, aHW #21 with ayellow dot. With ref. 21s
being so cheap I can afford loads, and for theAway kits I keep it simple, using either an OHW or HW ref. 47,
depending on theseason, which areteams (5) & (6). I then pit themagainst other famous teams fromthesameera.
My favouriteperiod was theearly 1970s and hereis the4-4-2 line-up which I prefer to play with.
SPRAKE
REANEY - CHARLTON - HUNTER - COOPER
LORIMER - BREMNER - GILES - GRAY
J ONES - CLARKE
Gary Sprakethekeeper wears agreen shirt in the70s tradition when all keepers woregreen, and after sliding his
rod into thegoal I preparemy outfield players. They look agreat sight as I linethemall up on thebaize, neatly
spacing themin 3 rows for thekick-off. Over theyears I havebuilt up squads of all theteams mentioned aboveto
allow for breakages and substitutes, even including 14 ref. 47 OHWs, and I haveput theofficial black Subbuteo
numbers onto their backs. Becausethesecan bedifficult to seeI havealso used theSubbuteo gummed labels with
theround red numbers on themand added theseto thebacksof thebaseinners, but neither version will do any
damageto theplayer and can beeasily removed.
So what happens when I play? Well, Imnot agreat player but I know what my aimis and thats to play likeLeeds
United circa1973. I try and recreatethereal-lifemoves weused to seeat Elland Road back in theglory erawhen
my Dad took meto seemy boyhood heroes! As soon as thegamekicks off I focus not so much on my opponent but
on my own game, knowing in advancewhat I amtrying to achieveand striving to achieveit regardless of anything
else. For me, thats thebeauty of Subbuteo as opposed to what they call TableSoccer thesedays. With Subbuteo
you can play your players in positions which correspond(ed) to their trueroleand thus recreatereal situations.
If my #3 Terry Cooper gets theball for examplehell go off on abit of adribbleup thewing, and my #11 will be
spinning all over theplaceas well in trueEddieGray fashion. My two centre-backs #s 5 and 6, Charlton & Hunter,
areno-nonsensedefenders who will stop attacks by any means. Then they hoof theball upfield - nothing fancy -
aiming for Mick J ones, my traditional #9 target man whilst #8 Allan Sniffer Clarkeplays just alongsidehim,
always in thebusiness zone looking for ahalf-chanceand hes my top goalscorer as Subbuteo replicates real life!
On theother hand, if its my #7 Peter Lorimer who gets theball hell just launch rockets at goal fromany angleas
only hecould! Then theres my Bremner/Giles midfield combo, constantly harassing opponents and getting in those
blocking flicks as soon as danger approaches, and if it gets serious theres always Paul Reaney at #2 to savetheday
- he had thereputation of clearing balls off thelineand so I always stick himon thepost for corners and other
dangerous setpieces.
So as you can see, each of my 00 scalereplicas has his uniquestyleof play just likehis real-life70s counterpart.
Do I careif I win loseor draw? Not onejot!! Imtrying to win but as long as I can get in all my moves Imthrilled
to bits and will judgethegames quality on this alone. To me, thefun is in thenostalgia/escapismaspect of it all so
an ideal gameis onewheremy #2 clears oneoff theline, my #7 scores with acannon shot and #6 Norman Hunter
gets booked just likein thegood old days!! And if Gary Sprake(brilliant Welsh International keeper, but rather
accident-prone:-) drags theball into his net for an own goal then no problem. thats an authentic bonus!
I haverecently taken to studying all of theLeeds formations from1961 to 1976, mainly on theInternet, and
- depending on theyear of theteamImplaying with - will vary my approach accordingly. Its becomequitea
sciencein fact, requiring alot of research beforegoing into each match in order to get thetactics just right. My sons
(8 and 10) both indulgemeand Imgrateful to themfor that, although Ivebeen told numerous times to tonedown
thecommentary. Poor lads, theyvenever seen aLeeds teamto rival theoneaboveso they cant understand the
excitement they generate. Maybewhen weverejoined thePremiership elitenext season

Formations of the past
Jim
Headley
Dark-skinned H/W Goalkeepers restoration

Oneof themost commonproblemswhenbuyingbulksof spareplayersor joblotsof teamsisreplacingboxesandgoalkeepers.
Fixingthefirst problemisnow easy thanksto theH/W replicaboxes, andfor thoseof uswho cannot (or do not want) affordthe
expensefor repro boxestherearemany goodsuggestionsonhow creatingtheminthewonderful ReplicaBox Project articleby
PeteMarshall inIssue#8of thismagazine. Thelatter problemhasamoredifficult resolution, sinceitcannot behandledby repro
GKs, at least if youaretryingto seriously collect H/W teams!
I think everyoneof ushassomespareH/W original GKsto completeteamsthat needtheir Dino Zoff or GordonBanks
(or whatever nameyoulike:-) defendingthenet. It ispossibleacquiringsomeof theseroddedGKsbothfromdoubleteamsand
directly ontheInternet (mainly viaeBay auctions). Asalast resort, youcanalso borrow oneof thoseold-lookingZeugo GKsand
useit inplay, but thisisnt agoodideaif youretryingto amassaseriousH/W collection.
However, thetrueproblemseemsto surfacewhenthemissingGK isonefromthedark-skinnedteamsthat weall loveandownI
meanthequitecommononeslikeexquisiteBrazil, classic Uruguay, ArgentinaandChile(or evenHaiti andZaire, if youlove
WorldCupteamslikemyself), andalso morerarerefslikePenarol, Fluminense, Cruzeiro, or any other kit fromtheattractive
294 302range.
It isnearly impossibleto findsparedark-skinnedGKs, sincetheafrican/southamericanteamsarejust afractionof thecomplete
Subbuteo list andmany of themareamongst therarest kitsto find I recently managedto get awonderful Penarol side, andwill
lovemany othersof therange, but they areextremely difficult to findandfetchesvery highprices. For thelucky guysout there
who haveabox full of H/W Brazil sides, theproblemwill never surface, sincethey canobtainGKsfromdoubleteams, but for the
majority of others includingmyself this isaquiteannoyingquestion.
Havingrecently obtainedajoblot of spares H/W GKs, Iveusedthemto replacebrokenand/or repaintedGKsfrommy ownH/W
collection. Amongst theothers, I needed5dark-skinnedGKsandI hadonly oneinthelot, so I foundmyself inabigtrouble. All
my teamswerenow completely OK, withno regluedplayersnor GKs, but four sideswerestill without their No. 1players. After a
quick check, I foundthat 2GKsweredark-skinnedplayersbut badly shatteredat theankles, whiletheother 2sides hadstandard
white-skinnedH/W GKs.
Asaruleof thumb, Ivedecidedto do not wasteor throw away any brokendark-skinnedGK, sincethey aretoo difficult to replace.
Preferringto completetheteamwithanoriginal regluedGK rather thanarepaintedone, I patiently cleanedoff all theexcessglue
andthenfixedbothGKsinaneat manner, so they canat least taketheir placeinthebox without beingtoo unpleasant at first sight.
But what happenswhenyoudont ever haveanoriginal GK alongwiththeteam? After alongthought, Ivedecided(againdueto
pureaesthetic reasons) to takemy already repaintedGKsandtransformtheminsuitablereplacementsuntil I canfindsome
original dark-skinnedGKs. I understandthat thisisquitequestionablefromapurecollectingpointof view, but try to consider my
suggestionasatemporary emergency replacement until youcanfindasuitableGK. After all, I think that sideswithno GK at all or
witharepaintedoneareonthesamelevel onapurecollectablescale. I strongly suggest usingonly original H/W GKsthat have
beenalready repaintedby someoneelse(I hopeyouwont ruinthemrepaintingoriginal ones!), that oftenarefoundinteamboxes.
Youdo not ever needto stripthemblank, just go alongandpaint themover oldcoloursandI assureyouwont haveproblems.
About thecoloursused, I try to recreatekitsusually usedalso by Subbuteo inthe70s, so I limit myself to thefollowing: blue, red,
green, yellow andwhiteshirtsandmatchingsocks, witheither black or whiteshorts. SinceI usecoloursfromtheCitadel range
(producedby GamesWorkshop), I will includealist of exact paintsI commonly utilize:
Blueshirt & socks = Regal Blue
Redshirt & socks = ScabRed
Greenshirt & socks = CatachanGreen
Yellow shirt & socks(*) = GoldenYellow
Whiteshirt & socks(**) = Skull White
Black shorts = ChaosBlack
Whiteshorts = Skull White
If youlovetry experimenting, youcanalso giveachanceto theserather uncommonkits(Imunsureif thosecomboswereactually
usedby Subbuteo, so I avoidthem evenif I lovetheall black kit, likethat wornby thelegendary Lev Yashin):
Light Blueshirt & socks(*) = IceBlue
Black shirt & socks (***) = ChaosBlack
(*) To achieveabrighter effect, whenover paintingdark coloursisbest to apply alayer of Skull WhiteandthenGolden
Yellow or IceBlue.
(**) Asfar asImaware, all whiteshirtedGKsalwayshavewhiteshorts, so avoidpainting black shortswhenusingthis
kit.
(***) Useonly black shortswhenpaintingthiskit. Well, thiskit isnow officially includedintheofficial ones, sinceIve
just discoveredoneoriginal H/W GK inall-black suit inanew sealedRef. 504hybridMonzarecently bought, so no
moredoubt thiskit wasalso paintedby Subbuteo workers.
Asaruleof thumb, it isalwaysbetter to repaint usingacolour shadethat issimilar to or darker thantheoriginal onepresent onthe
GK, to achieveamoreneat result. Eventually, apply alayer of Skull Whiteover theoriginal paint andthenapply theshadeyou
havechosenfor new kit. If youapply abrighter colour over adarker onewithout first usingwhiteprimer, youwill obtainamessy
colour whichseemsdirt andunappealing.
For theskintone, youcaneither useDark Fleshor ScorchedBrown(I prefer thelatter, whichhasadarker tonemorecloseto that
originally usedby Subbuteo painters). Thefinal retouchesto hairs& bootsarelittlemorethanjust asplashy bit of Chaos Black.
SinceGKsdo not haveany trim, youjust needto paint plainshirts, shorts& socks, so isarather simpletask to achieveadecent
result. Also, youhavethepossibility to chooseashirt colour that matchestheoutfieldplayers or thebasecolours I recently
paintedinScabRedaBrazil GK for ateaminclaret outer base, withagoodoverall looking.
If youprefer to useclassic Humbrol Matt paints, youcancheck thecomprehensivearticleby Paul WilkinsoninIssue#10of this
magazineto findtheinfo youll needabout mixingcoloursto obtainaccuratetintsmatchingthoseof the70s.
Obviously, thissolutionisto beconsidered temporary, until youmanageto get someoriginal H/W dark-skinnedGKsto complete
your sides, but still thisisarather interestingandsimplemethodto obtaindecent results(withno collectionvalue) andkeepan
overall good-lookingteamwhilewaitingfor original stuff. J ust afiveminutespaint, about 15minutesto let coloursdry andyoull
haveaniceandquasi-original dark-skinnedGK to completeyour hardly-earnedandbelovedteam!
By Joe Myhill
TYPE SLIDING SPINNING CHIPPING POWER BALANCE
Flat (64%) 2 5 3 2 3.5
Moulded (68%) 3.5 4 3 3 3.5
60s/70s HW (64%) 3 4 3 3 3
Zombie/LW (58%) 2.5 4 3 2.5 2.5
Hasbro 90s (70%) 5 1 5 2.5 5
Cobra (68%) 4 3 1 5 4
Sidewinder (44%) 1 5 1 2 2
I havenow tested all types of bases used for Subbuteo teams over theyears to seehow they performand recorded
my findings on thetablebelow. SinceImnot used to playing with someof themthis could haveinfluenced the
outcomeso I must emphasizethat theresults refer only to my personal experiences. Still, Imsureyoull find some
of theresults surprising, such as thevictory for 90s Hasbro teams which had themost playablebases in my opinion.
Teams which to all intentshad identical bases havebeen bracketed together to prevent repetition and themarks are
given from1 (poor) up to 5 (excellent) based on my 5 chosen criteria. I think Ivecovered all themain ones, and by
BALANCE I mean theability of theplayers to remain upright when flicked - perhaps themost important feature!
So, herearethestats .
By Gianmatteo Tonci (tosattearp@yahoo.it http://it.geocities.com/tosattearp)
The Subbuteo Base Challenge