SUBBUTEO ADVANCED RULES HANDBOOKS

These are the 6 main types of Advanced Rules manuals. My dates are a bit blurry but I know the early red books gave
way to the first white & green ones sometime in the early 60s. The last type 1 book I have is 1961 and the first type 2 is
August 1964 so these dates provide a cluemaybe someone can give the exact changeover year? Types 2 & 3 have a
brief overlap for the 68/69 season so maybe this also happened for the earlier types 1 &2? Types 3 and 5 are not actually
dated so you have to go with clues such as the fact that type 3 still has pre-decimal prices and type 5 prints a results chart
of the 1974 Subbuteo World Cup.

As well as containing the full ARs, the handbooks provided playing tips and tactics and in some editions even advice on
such things as how to mount a pitch onto a board. A common feature was the line-up of England teams against various
opposition and this went from having Frank Swift in goal with a 2-3-5 formation in 1948 to Gordon banks & Co. playing
4-3-3 at the start of the 70s but they were eventually phased out in the later black & white editions. Its fascinating to
see photos of the playing figures used, ranging from the early flat ones through to OHW, Moulded and finally HWs.

The rules also evolved during this time, but thats another story in itself. Thanks for reading! - ALAN DUNMORE
1948Early 1960s Early 60s - 1968/69 1968/69 & 1969/70
1970 & 1971 1972 & 1973 Mid/Late 1970s
Issue #18 - Spring 2008
So this is the final Newsletter then, as mentioned last issue. I think Im right in saying that all of our
readership is online these days so well be keeping in touch one way or another, most probably on the
Subbuteo Forum at www. subbuteoforum.co.uk which now serves as our main hub of communication.
In fact, with so much good material appearing on the abovementioned site this mag has in some respects
lost its raison detre but its served us well for the past 5 and a half years. This was especially true during
the early period when it was the primary source of contact between members, many of whom had no
Internet access back then. Now were all just a mouse-click away whether in the UK or Australia and,
thanks to the wonders of PayPal, this issues price is reduced to a uniform 1.30 across the globe.

If I thanked everyone who has contributed to the success of this mag since 2002 Id need more than just
the front page but Andrew Phillips (aka Phipps) has supplied regular articles throughout the run and
is particularly worthy of mention, while Jon French has always come up with a timely piece for us when
required - price guides being his speciality. True to form, they both have items which feature in this final
edition. Our most demanded article remains the HW Price Guide by Simon Boakes, the first one ever
submitted (Issue #1, November 2002) and I had no idea at the time what an indispensable tool this
would become for so many HW collectors. Paul Wilkinsons Ultimate Painting Guide was another
much-read classic, as was his follow-up about make-your-own reference stickers. Still on the DIY front,
the two write-ups by Jeremy Morris explaining how to make extra-powerful floodlights and electronic
scoreboards are still as popular as ever, especially with the recent surge of interest in stadium building.
I suppose we all have our personal favourites but one article Ill never forget was by Andy Simpson,
which was taken from Viz magazine and advertised Subbuteo Swimming. It was funny enough in its
own right, but made all the more so by the number of enquiries I received afterwards about buying this
(spoof) game... priceless! :-)

It would be easy to reel off a further string of names but a look back over former issues will tell you who
the major players have been. However, there have been some lower-profile contributions by the likes of
Mike Peacock, who helped me with the design on the early membership cards. A little-known fact is that
Mike was the very first SC member and has always been helpful in advertising our fairs on his website.
Another unsung hero is my son Norman who installed the software to produce this mag, showed me how
to use it and still deals with all my computer-related panic attacks to this day. His travails are almost
over though now as the curtain falls 18 issues, 30 reams of A4 and 1000s of stamps and envelopes later.
So, I hope you enjoy reading this as it lands in your Email in-box. It may be bad news for the local
Post Office but the Subbuteo Club Newsletter has finally gone green. Very fitting! Cheers - TREV.
(1) Editorial - A prelude to the interesting bits (2) 4 more mugshots (2/3) Subbuteo Hunting
(4) Player turns collector (5) Subbuteo Speedway (6 / 7) HW Flesh, Hair & Boots Colours
(8) 1978 - my favourite year (8) Which was Subbuteos greatest decade? (9) Rugby Guide
(10) Subbuteo Injuries (11) Swapmeet Review - Jan. 2004 (12) Advanced Rules Booklets
CONTENTS
Final Photo Session
Only 4 this time (weve gone for quality over quantity)
Subbuteo; where to find it.

The one weve all been waiting for ... Chris Allen reveals his secrets at last!

Most of us have tried the usual places to look for Subbuteo; Car Boots, Charity Shops, Jumble Sales, Toy Fairs
etc and in desperation, have resorted to the lottery of Ebay.

There is an alternative, where prices are reasonable and the genuineness of what youre getting is much more
reliable;- Advertising

Other than sticking a card in the Post Office / Paper Shop / Supermarket window or trawling through the
various internet sites (Loot, Vectis etc see others below), the best option is a Wanted Ad in the Classified
Section of the local paper (often next to the Adult Premium Rate Chat Lines!). Rates vary from nothing to
20 quid + per insertion depending on the policy of the particular paper. You can get a good idea of the
circulation of UK papers via this link;-

http://jiab.jicreg.co.uk/ - type in "guest" as your user name and password,
and then click on Historical Data on the top left of the screen.

Some papers allow you to book ads online ( www.friday-ad.co.uk) or via a premium line phone (Oxford Times
0906 7390303), others need a text, an email or a coupon to be sent to them. Many others will take the ad over
the phone.

All you need to do now is sit back and wait for the phone to ring!

Happy advertising!

Chris Allen

www.adtrader.co.uk www.bargainpages.co.uk www.britlist.co.uk/ www.carbootcalendar.com
www.carbootjunction.com www.exchangeandmart.co.uk
www.freeadmart.co.uk www.oodle.co.uk/ www.thamesadvertiser.com
www.ukadpost.com/uk www.ukclassifieds.co.uk
Phipps Grant Lee Swain
Tampabayrowdies
Simon
a.k.a. Mordor
MY FAVOURITE SWAPMEET (Leicester, January 2004)

Ive only been to six swapmeets since I discovered the Subbuteo Community
on the Internet in August 2003. It's been enlightening to say the least. The
best one was my first one in January of 2004 at the hall in Leicester it
actually snowed while we were there!

Paul Saunders (ForestRed) & I had got there a bit late which was entirely down
to me as I'd been on the sauce the night before. Not a healthy bunny the next
day but luckily Paul was doing the driving. It was an incredible set up when we
arrived. Paul introduced me to Trevor Arthur (futoomph) who had brought a
table in the back of his Ford Fiesta. Neil Lishman had his display of his Raptor
bases & I got chatting to him about custom painting. Via him & Paul Wilkinson
I realised I was in the 2nd division regards painting players. These fellas are
quite incredible. Steve Fox's stall was a treasure trove of posters, literature,
spares & sets. It was here I was able to rekindle my desire for zombies via a
few teams at rock bottom prices & a 1979 Subbuteo World Catalogue from
Mr Fox's stall. Not forgetting a 1982 poster to replace one I ripped up when I
had an argument with a pal in 1983. It now sits proudly on my hall wall here at
home.

I also managed to acquire a few 9-man zombie teams from our Trev
(refs 81,85 & 192) & a couple of tasty LWs. I met Mike Peacock who had some
of his lovely LW Handpainted teams (a super Ref33 & a Melchester) There was
a nice 363 Liverpool yellow pinstripe in the horizontal-type box for about 5
(before the LW price hike of recent times. I was able to convert my battle worn
363 into a 572 LFC 2nd from 1985 when I got home.

A real treat was yet to come in meeting Mark (Cockney 1980) who happened to
be at the doors puffing a ciggy. He worked out who I was & proceeded to show
me a few Scalextric cars he'd picked up that were in the back of his Pal's
Calibra. We had a good long natter outside about Subby, Scaley & the state of
the world at the time (mind, we were freezing our knackers off cos of the snow
coming down so we didn't spend THAT long). He's proved to be a genuine ally
& friend

Generally, it was a close call to decide between this & my 2nd meet at Welwyn
where I got to meet Les Commons & also Jim, Dee & Calum Westwood (Jim
being Forfoxsake) who gave me a big bundle of zombies he'd hoovered up
whilst doing all the stalls. Both parties have also proved to be good friends.
In fact it would be unfair to single out people over others. In fact, it's a shame
there have been disputes & divisions since 2004 but I shall leave this article
with this analogy

The Subbuteo Internet community every so often transforms from something
virtual to something actual, rather like an episode of Bagpuss. If you were ever
in doubt about hooking up to this virtual world, don't hesitate.....Do It!!

Phipps (Andrew Phillips)
The main downside with Subbuteo teams is their fragility. I used to play a fair bit during the
HW/Zombie/LW crossover period and have experience of breaking all these types of player.
Not a record to be proud of but one that my younger brother can beat by a wide margin ... he
must have been the clumsiest Subbuteo player of all time!! Im sure no-one reading this needs
me to describe that sinking feeling you get when you realise what youve just done, whether to
your own man or to your opponents, which is even worse because of all the abject grovelling
thats required. I think if wed played 20 years later during the Hasbro period some of the
teams might have survived but back then if you broke a player youd had it!

We began our playing careers on the living room carpet and the attrition rate was about a
player every other game. You double the risk this way because knees are the main culprits as
well as the palms of the hand. Graduating to the table about a year later reduced the fatalities
because it takes knees out of the equation (unless you have a very strange technique!) although
the risk of players leaving the table and being trodden on was not negligible. We eventually
learned how to freeze as soon as a player went overboard, but better still was the purchase of
a fence surround which most of the time kept the players on the table top, barring a little over-
exuberance. I always found the most vulnerable time for players was just after taking a shot
because the force of the flick often took him off the pitch. If a goal was scored you might call
this a part of the goal scoring ritual but they didnt always survive the celebrations :-(

Balls also had a high mortality rate but these were easy to replace and you somehow dont get
so attached to a ball as you do your favourite centre forwardcall me sentimental if you like!
My most tragic loss was Mick Channon from the Southampton team I had but, as with most
breakages, I managed to patch him up and he turned out for my next game despite carrying an
obvious injury. Truth to tell, very few injuries were beyond redemption although I do recall a
West Ham players career being cut short after a direct impact from a size 9 shoe; there was no
way back from that! Over about 4 years though (the approximate duration of my Subbuteo
playing) I became very handy with the glue and many of my repairs were almost invisible.

I got out my old teams a few months back and they do paint a woeful tale of neglect with the
average number of breaks being about 2 per team over a 36-team collection. Incredibly, Leeds
United, Derby County and Uruguay somehow survived intact but I have a Liverpool HW team
that could only field 4 fully-fit players if called upon today. As soon as my brother and I broke
a player we tended to replace the team with a new one and this stretched our pocket money
sometimes to the limit. Our folks would usually bail us out though if we pleaded poverty and I
sometimes wonder what the full bill for our carelessness came to, just as I wonder how much
those 3 dozen teams would be worth today if they were all intact.

But thats Subbuteo, a great game to play and you dont think of future investments when
youre 12 or 13 years old do you? The investment is in the enjoyment you get from it at the
time and I reckon that the 100s of hours of entertainment we got from subbuteo in the early-
80s meant we had our full moneys worth there and then. So if I could go back in time (with
todays wisdom) and either buy teams to look at in their pristine boxes or to play with for en-
joyment Id still choose the playing option and to hell with the carnage!!! Having said this, I
might just go a bit easier with the HW Bradford City :-)
Subbuteo Injuries
- every players nightmare, by Ian Morten-Jones.
Advertising Rates

Paper 000s Cost Contact

Aldershot News 69 ?
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Bromsgrove Advertiser 57 5.98 gillian.gracia@midlands.newsquest.co.uk
Bucks Ad/Examiner 37 21.00 advertisingchesham@trinitysouth.co.uk
Bucks Free Press 67 20.00
Camden New Journal 78 28.20 for 5 weeks min. lfairbridge@camdennewjournal.co.uk
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Hackney Gazette 26 12**
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Farnham Herald 81 8.06 advertising.herald@internet-today.co.uk
Ham & High ? 13.16 0207 4336255
Hampshire Chronicle 43 15.04+ christie.payne@hampshirechronicle.co.uk
News Extra ? 15.04+
Romsey Ad 16 15.04+
Henley Standard 36 5.41
Herts Mercury 88 6.77 advertising@hertsessexnews.co.uk
Kent & Sussex Courier 106 29.14*
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Sevenoaks Chronicle 44 29.14*
Kent Messenger 144 10.22 3 for 2 classified@thekmgroup.co.uk
Lichfield Mercury 60 7.50 private@cintamworth.co.uk
Liverpool Echo 330 7.10 daily + free Saturday. 0151 227 3030
Maidstone Adscene 75 ?
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Richmond Times 34 2.50
Southwark News 23 ?
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Surrey Comet 32 2.50
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Western Mail ? ?
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FREE

Bracknell News 37
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Oxford Times 78
Reading Chronicle 84
Slough Observer 32
South London Press 92

Not suitable for advertising:-

Enfield, Southgate, Edmonton Gazette.

(The symbols * ** ++ denote papers which are all part of the same deal)
Player Turns Collector
Alex Isman enters a new Subbuteo phase

After 18 years of playing Subbuteo, always within a mile of my house and usually with family members (so I
never quite conquered the world) Ive decided to go in for Subbuteo collecting. I think you can go stale with
anything after a while and collecting will offer a new challenge.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 300+ games, the highlight being the mid 90s tournaments we held when interest peaked
at 4 players in our neighbourhood. It all began with a 1989 Grandstand Edition and carried on from there with
pocket money being spent on a new LW team every month on averageusually in the best colours I could find
that looked completely different to the other strips. Amazingly, they all survived for nearly 2 decades and there
are only 3 breakages in the 35 teams I have today. Some of the boxes are a bit worn though!

So these 35 teams, though not originally intended to become collectables, have given me a base from which to
launch. Purely by luck, half a dozen of them are even quite rare which was something I didnt know at the time.
I was already fixed up with most of the accessories I needed from the Grandstand Edition and some of them such
as the grandstand itself had hardly been used. It just got in the way when playing so I left it in the box all this time.
I bought loads of balls in the 90s for our matches, various goals (6 types altogether) and a few trophies to add to
this. With Subbuteo still being in the shops until the late 90s I got the whole lot at the RRP of the time without
paying eBay rates.

Now it remains to be decided what Ill actually collect! Ive decided not to go back further than anything I can
remember being in the shops because how can you get nostalgic about stuff that was around before your time?
(Some collectors tell me they can manage this but I cant!) This means that allowing for some old stock hanging
around for a few years after its Sell-by date Ill be doing the mid-80s onwards. Ive already rounded up those
excellent brochures from the mid/late 80s and the 90s posters so have not only some great reading material but
more importantlychecklists of what was actually available. Like I say, Ill be giving priority to things
I remember seeing but didnt buy, and after this I might go for other stuff that was around but I was unaware of.

Box sets figure high on my list because these are great value for money and you can get some of them for less
than the price of a single rare accessory. I bought a Dream Stadium for 24.99 (reduced from 29.99) and then
managed to complete 5 of the Hasbro Dream Teams and kept a copy of each of the 4 types of accessory boxes ..
I think this is where I got the first inkling that I was becoming a collector! Since then Ive got a mint Club Edition
for 10.00, a Premier League Edition for 12.50 and a USA 94 for 25.00, which is the maximum
I intend to pay for any single item.

I think the biggest challenge will be getting all the teams I want. Can anybody say they have all the teams they
want? Im not going to duplicate and once I have a team in (say) LW I wont get the Hasbro version as well be-
cause this seems a waste of money, which is something I only have in finite supply. But these are the 2 main sorts
Ill be collecting. If 2 teams are very similar, something like a sock trip being the only difference, then again I
dont see the point of getting them both. In this case the deciding factors will firstly be the pricethat sock trim
(or lack of) can make it 10x dearerfollowed by which team I personally prefer or is the most famous. This could
reduce the total Im looking for to around 200 instead being several times this amount!

So Im up for the task and its already been interesting just working out some kind of collecting strategy.
The main thing is to establish a budget and decide where Im going to be buying my goods. Ebay? Risky, but you
can get the odd bargain. Websites? Usually a bit dearer but more reliable. Spending could vary but just 10 a
week on average adds up to over 500 a year and I wouldnt want to be going much above this. I probably will
though, especially early on when theres more stuff I need before it tails off and purchases become less frequent.
Then again, when Ive got all the common items the rarer ones will cost far more so Ill just be paying the same
but for fewer goods if the usual collecting pattern is observed. What I wont be doing is fixing any kind of time
limit and definitely avoiding the panic buys that are often associated with trying to get everything right now!
I intend to collect at my own pace for however long the enthusiasm lasts.

Does all of this sound feasible? Have I overlooked anything? No-one can predict what Subbuteo will be worth 10,
20 or 30 years from now so Im not looking at this as an investment but if the price of post 1980s Subbuteo
rockets (once Ive found it:-) Ill be delighted. Because old habits die hard I can see me using items I shouldnt, if
only to try them out, but the days of opening mint blister packs to play with the balls are over and Ill just be
happy to look at them pinned to the wall from now on. It requires a whole new mentality, this collecting business!
# COMMENTS RATING

1 Popular International Side (Australia) 2
2 Popular International Side (England) 2
3 Came with many of the sets 1
4 Came with many of the sets 1
5 Popular International Side (The All Blacks) 2
6 Came with many of the sets 1
7 Less common (very similar in appearance to ref. 19 but slightly rarer in my experience) 3
8 A trickier one to find, maybe due to Blackheath being an unfashionable club? 3
9 Often came with the 7 a side set 2
10 Came with many of the sets, usually with ref. 13 1
11 One of the commonest teams that wasnt supplied in the sets 2
12 A medium rarity team, can still be found 3
13 Came with many of the sets, usually with ref. 10 1
14 Quite rareit took me a long time to get hold of one of these! 4
15 Quite rareit took me a long time to get hold of one of these! 4
16 A lot turn up, maybe due to St. Helens being a big, successful club? 2
17 Not seen many around recently but I have a couple so maybe not that rare? 3
18 A medium rarity team, can still be found 3
19 Less common (very similar in appearance to ref. 7 but not quite as rare in my experience) 3
20 A medium rarity team, can still be found 3
21 Very elusive! This was the last team I needed to complete my collection 4+
22 Available in at least 3 variationsyou should get one without too much difficulty 2
23 A medium rarity team, can still be found 3
24 A medium rarity team, can still be found 3
25 A medium rarity team, can still be found 3
26 Came out a couple of years after the 1-25 range so that bit rarer because of this 4+
27-37 I think that anything in this range is a rare find! 5

PRICES - 1 & 2: around 10.0015.00 3: 15.0020.00 4: 20.0030.00 5: 30.00+
but they dont reach the sort of inflated prices we see for the soccer HWs.

PLAYER TYPE - You might get/pay slightly more for Chunky figures where available
(they werent produced after ref. 26) because many collectors prefer them to HW style figures.

ITALIAN TEAMS - 9 of these (all Italian sides) were produced in addition the 37 shown above.
Chunky figure HW figure
The Jon French
RUGBY TEAMS GUIDE

I recently completed my Subbuteo Rugby teams collection.
This is a guide based on what Id expect to pay for the
teams today based on current eBay/website/fair prices and
(where none of these apply) just using my own judgement.
I hope that the table below will be useful
to both buyers and sellers ...
Ross Hateley asks Which was Subbuteos finest sporting decade?


1940sSoccer came out in 1947, followed two years later by Cricket.

1950s1953 saw the arrival of Speedway, followed by other similar racing games. Then Rugby came along.

1960sNo new games invented but Cricket & Rugby both went 3D with revamped rules. 3D Soccer figures came out too.

1970sAngling appeared in 1970 and was joined by Snooker in 1973. The Soccer range increased dramatically!

1980sHockey made a brief appearance from 1981 until 1983. The Soccer range was still expanding.

** No new sports games have been produced since, so which era do you think was Subbuteos most creative/productive? **
1978 My Favourite Year

The Times is currently running a series of Top 50 articles in its sports section Top 50 best
players, worst players, transfer deals, that sort of thing. They also published one called Top 50
Football Kits and when I saw it I was genuinely shocked.

What! No place for Peru 1978 in the top 50! I nearly shouted. Now I didnt expect it to be No.
1 (Brazil 1970 took that honour) but surely the classic all white strip with red broad diagonal
stripe on the shirt deserved some sort of recognition.

I have to admit to a soft spot for that particular kit ever since I watched in amazement as several
long-range efforts by Peruvian players sailed past the bubble-permed Alan Rough in the Scotland
goal during their 1978 World Cup finals match in Argentina. I was 9 years old and really thought
that Scotland was going to win the competition! Remember their pre-tournament song with Andy
Cameron (Well really shake them up when we win the World Cup!) I believed every word
of it!

Anyway it was about that time that I became interested in Subbuteo. I remember that on the day
of the Scotland-Peru game I went on an outing to Newcastle, Co Down and bought a since for-
gotten Subbuteo item in a local toy shop. It was one of my first Subbuteo purchases and so the
link between the 1978 World Cup and Subbuteo was established.

Ever since then I think Ive always wanted a Peru Subbuteo team but I dont remember ever
seeing one when I was younger. However, last year when my interest in the game was revived I
was able to obtain a delightful zombie (Im one of the minority who believes those two words are
not mutually exclusive!) ref 159 from a collector. It has seen action on a few occasions with
mixed results but it always looks fantastic one of the best kit designs out there despite what
The Times says.

Ive recently added a few more items with a 1978 twist to my Subbuteo collection including a
heavyweight Iran team ref 322. There must be something which attracts me to items linked with
Scottish World Cup embarrassments. Anyone out there have a Costa Rica team for sale?!

Derek Lawther
SUBBUTEO SPEEDWAY
An evening on the Dirt Track
By Nick Goodall


I used to live next door to a Speedway fanatic. He always came round my house on a Saturday evening to watch
Speedway on Sky Sports and one evening during the course of our conversation he mentioned that one of his mates
collected Speedway games. I enquired whether he had a Subbuteo Speedway set and he casually remarked yes, he plays
this quite often with the little balls and the blowpipes. I remember these words vividly because I then knew for sure it
was Subbuteo Speedway and he went on to say hed played it himself because his mate brought it round to his house for a
game now and then. The next time he came he said hed tell me and I could watch them play or even have a game myself.

Well about a month later he did just this and there were these 3 chaps, all well into their fifties ready for a game of
Subbuteo Speedway and as excited as kids. The small rectangular box was already on the table, along with a long strip of
curtain rail. I immediately knew what this was for. They were saying things like Im Ivan Mauger in the red helmet and
somebody else was Bomber Harris as usual while I was allotted the one with the blue base and helmet colours. At this
point, the set owner and his mate went to the back of his hatchback outside and returned with a large sheet of hardboard to
which they attached the curtain rail, with the shorter strip on the inside and the longer one on the outside as they put them
around some tacks that were already in the board. This made the familiar elongated circle and, moments later, the 4 of us
were lined up on the marked-out grid.

Wed already drawn lots and I was in gate 2, the second from the inside. We all slid the balls down our tubes at the same
time to hit our bikes. The rider who went the farthest was then entitled to another go to represent his flying start and I was
3rd at this point. They were pinging these balls down the peashooters using various techniques (some illegal according
strictly to the rules but this was the only departure I was aware of) and it soon became clear that my 3rd position was in
danger. Sure enough, I was last going into the first bend and remained there throughout. In fact, cornering was a
nightmare and I even managed to miss the bike a couple of times with my ball. I watched the others disappearing into the
distance and when the 3rd rider crossed the line I was still halfway round the final bend, but Id learnt a lot on my debut!
We had 4 races altogether and I did feel I was getting better, even managing to earn 1 pt. for a 3rd place finish as one of
the riders went over the rails and crashed out of the race!

I was fascinated by the enthusiasm of these guys which equalled anything Id seen at a football game and they also kept
stats such as the fastest lap which was decided by how many rolls of the ball theyd taken with each one being something
like a second. True to life, they took about 60 shots to complete a lap which ties in with your average Speedway time.
These stats were then entered into a little book which was pretty thick and had seen a lot of use by the look of it. To my
astonishment, I found that the 3 usual players had held several Grand Prix meetings comprising 14 consecutive races
taking up whole eveningsno wonder they were so good!!! The 4 races we had took about 10 minutes each to complete
and what you find is that attrition sets in, so I can imagine that stamina would be a factor in a full Grand Prix tournament.
It was no problem for me though because of the adrenaline rush I was getting from playing Subbuteo Speedway at last!

The first word that springs to mind about playing this game is basic but its definitely a game of skill. How you roll the
ball down the tubes and where you hit the riders base determines which direction the bike takes, which is particularly
important on the bends. Tactics also come into it, with larger or smaller ball bearings representing different gear ratios.
I seemed to get on better with the heavier ones, which had a bit more oomph when hitting the bike. After a while, you
also begin to see angles and cutting up other riders racing lines is almost as important as how fast you go yourself. As
with all SSGs, you have to take the advertising blurb with a pinch of salt because the bikes dont actually swerve round
bends in anything like the way the brochures suggest. That said, they do wobble about a fair bit due to the base design so
theres a degree of realism involved and the rest is down to your imagination.

Apart from the race itself there were some nice touches to enhance the track. The flag waver was on the start/finish line
and a sort of tractor was in the middle to represent the vehicle which smoothes out the track surface between races. The
owner told me he had a stand at home that was most probably a Scalextric one from the description he gave and he had a
load of spectators in it as well. When I told him they did a version of this game with a specially-made track he was
surprised, and I was equally surprised that he didnt know about this.

Needless to say I was very envious of this Speedway set from a collectors viewpoint set but didnt even attempt to ask
the owner to part with it. This would have been futile but what it did was make me determined to get one and Ive since
found a set. Mind you, Im sure you could make your own version in quick time out of everyday materials and instead of
paying 85.00 like I did you could create a playable game for about 1/10th of the price. You could buy whatever size
hardboard you wanted for your track and the rest is just 2 lengths of curtain rail plus some peashooters and ball bearings!
Ive never played with my set because my collectors mindset tells me to keep it in the best condition possible, but then I
cant find anyone to play with either which is perhaps the main reason. Looking back I sometimes wonder if I was
(briefly) part of a Subbuteo Speedway league and, if so, how many more of these have there ever been any at all???
A GUIDE TO THE FLESH, BOOTS AND HAIR COLOUR
OF HW SUBBUTEO PLAYERS

By ALBERTO ORAZI & FEDERICO COLONIA, Italy

Here is an unofficial guide to the boots and hair colour and to the flesh colour of Subbuteo HW teams.
Most of the list derived from our experience and from our collections, but many online catalogues have
been visited to confirm our thought.
This work started from the official HW catalogues of the years 1976 and from the official HW Italian
catalogue of 1981.
The guide is the most accurate as possible, but many other collectors can give a contribute to
update or correct it.
Please note that some boots and hair colours are missing because we were very doubtful about them and
we havent any of those teams.
I want to make clear that this list is probably not complete but it could be a precious tool to trade, sell
and buy. I know and I am sure the list has to be corrected, filled and updated with new future and
indications.

Some little remarks
We bracketed together the dark pink and light pink plastic in one plastic colour.
The black skin teams are always in painted flesh, but Brasil (probably due to the overproduction of
these team) that can be found in bare plastic colour as well, and black boots and hair.
Generally speaking when a team had to be fully painted they prefer to use the skin plastic, so they
could paint the kit saving time to paint the face, hands and legs.
On the contrary teams with painted flesh were made with players in white plastic so they could leave
white shirt or trim saving time As you can see in the guide many teams have both types
... Why ? We dont know, but we suppose that those teams had an overproduction or were made in a
period where some players colour was missing. But they are only a couple of suggestions.

The black skin teams are always in black boots and hair.
We found that only two teams have boots and hair of different colour (Uruguay and Haiti). In our
opinion this is due to the colour of the socks. Generally speaking you can easily see that all the teams
with black socks wear brown boots.
There are some general rules, but they are not absolute, and very often can be found exceptions.
Red kit team have brown boots and hair.
Blue kit team have black boots and hair.
The green kit started to have brown boots and hair but lately they have been painted with black boots and
hair (see for example ref # 214, 242 but there are more).
White kit team mostly have black boots and hair in particular if they have some black or blue trim.
The later production have changed a lot of these rules so, for example in my collection there is a
Reference # 3 with brown boots and hair in a small HW box with reference number !


Alberto Orazi & Federico Colonia

alberto.o@libero.it

Alberto has a list of all the HWs up to ref. 328 but I only had the space to printup to ref. 190 here, so
please contact him at the address above for the extended list.

Where two identical reference numbers appear, the second one always refers to the later version of the
team or - in the case of #139 - both later variations.
REF.
NO.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
53
54
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
61
62
63
FLESH
TYPE

PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
BOTH
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
BOTH
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
HAIR &
BOOTS

BOTH
BOTH
BOTH
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BOTH
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BOTH
BLACK
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BOTH
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BOTH
BOTH
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BOTH
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BOTH
BROWN
BROWN
REF.
NO.

64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
FLESH
TYPE

PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
PAINTED
BOTH
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
BOTH
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
HAIR &
BOOTS

BROWN
BOTH
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BOTH
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
REF
NO.

130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
FLESH
TYPE

PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PLASTIC
PAINTED
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PLASTIC
PAINTED
PAINTED
PLASTIC
BOTH
PAINTED
PAINTED
BOTH
PLASTIC
PAINTED
HAIR &
BOOTS

BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BOTH
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BOTH
BOTH
BLACK
BLACK
BOTH
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BOTH
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BOTH
*
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BOTH
BLACK
BROWN
BOTH
BROWN
*
BLACK
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
BROWN
BLACK
BROWN
BROWN
BLACK
BLACK
* BROWN BOOTS / BLACK HAIR