Friday, May 31, 2013

Zombie 28's?

It's the last day of the month, so we see 'zombie month' draw to a close. I will continue to post zombie pictures in the coming months but the focus with now change. June will be the month of...ah! Well, you'll just have to wait and see.

I know that people are checking in regularly to keep up-to-date with the site, which is appreciated. Please feel free to comment - I've had almost 2500 page views in six weeks but nothing much on the comment front. Is there anything you want to see, say or ask?

To round off May here are a couple of delectable zombie sides for your perusal. The top side is one of those mystery sides - it could be a 28 or a 174. I've picked up a number of Australia sides over the years as they were one of the few available teams in NZ, this one was unboxed however and features an armstripe, so is just  as likely a ref 28. Though, ref 28's usually have short stripes and this team is missing them...so therein lies the mystery. The other side is definitely a 28 plus a couple of spare, well worn, mates on different colour inners.

Reference 28/174 - Norwich variation or Australia hp
Reference 28 - Norwich City hp


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Italy Zombie

I've already posted the machine print, here is the hand painted version.
Ref 166 - Italy hp

Blackburn Lightweight

This Blackburn team was the first lightweight figures I ever saw. Although I never fell in love with the figure type, I did like this team as it was an aesthetic improvement on the zombie figure. I was disappointed when I got them home however, as they didn't seem to play well and made a hollow sound when flicked...not at all satisfying. I didn't add any other lightweight teams to my collection for years.

Reference 31 - Blackburn Rovers

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Scottish Zombies

Today's post features a couple of Scottish zombie teams. Aberdeen hand painted and also Dundee. The latter are a machine painted side with shorts and trim added. These type of teams turn up fairly regularly in the zombie world - but one should always be on the lookout for a repaint. I know both of these sides are kosher as they came in referenced boxes.

Reference 193 - Aberdeen hp
Reference 196 - Dundee hp

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

1970's Melchester Rovers

A first for the blog today.  A team that was neither painted nor is owned by me.

This 1970's Melchester Rovers is the handiwork of Matt Holmes. Matt has modded the figures with milliput to produce a fabulous version of Racey's boys.

Melchester Rovers - modded zombie team

Monday, May 27, 2013

Wolverhampton Wanderers Zombie

This Wolves and Borussia Dortmund Zombie was one of the first c100 teams I owned, buying this and Coventry 206 on the same day. I remember being disappointed with them, but bought them anyway, pocket money HAD to be spent. The problem was, I was brought up on the HW figure and the difference between the two figure types was just too great. 

I've learned to love the zombie over the years - but it did take years. The hand painted ones are my favourite. I think my major dislike aside their looks is that most of the one I encountered had white inner discs. Of the 5 teams I owned as a kid only one broke that rule. It made it virtually impossible to distinguish the sides from one another.

This side has numbers on their backs - painted very badly but a much younger me. It also features a repainted goalie, a common feature of the teams I owned back then.

Ref 211 - Wolverhampton Wanderers mp

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Middlesbrough Zombie

Middlesbrough & Bayern Munich kit as reproduced by SSG in 1979.

2013 Champions League winners, Bayern wore the same kit at Wembley in their 2-1 win against Borussia Dortmund.

Ref 219 - Zombie

Today's zombie is a hand painted Ipswich with an extra player.  Bobby Robson's side were performing well in cup competitions at home and in Europe when I first discovered Subbuteo. Despite this any games featuring blue teams were usually Everton, in Merseyside derby matches.

Ref 219 - Ipswich

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Heavyweight - QPR

Subbuteo inventor Peter Adolph was a Queen's Park Rangers supporter, this lack of insight didn't stop him from bringing the best ever football game to the table.

So by happy coincidence, pictured here, is QPR - Ref 11.  This one is the rarer version with a collar.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Ref 301 - Penarol

This is a repainted original Subbuteo team - note the dwarf figures.

Ref 301 - Penarol

Reference 1

When I get time I will clean off the adhesive residue from this super hand painted reference 1.

Reference 1 - Nottingham Forest hp


Accessories 10

Another mug - this one is in the same vein as the Marks & Spencer mug.  Released by Boots The chemist in 2010 as part of their Christmas range, it came with an equally as ugly key fob. One saving grace is the packaging which is quite tasteful and has a vintage feel. 


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Ref 41 - Liverpool Heavyweight

The ref 41 is one of the most common heavyweight Subbuteo teams, aided no doubt by the club's success coinciding with Subbuteo's popularity in the late 60's & 70's.

This team is a little rarer than most in that it has white inner discs - usually they are found on all red bases.

This team has featured on the blog for a week or two under the 'Red Hot Subbuteo Action' banner but it is time for them to make way for the Gunners.

Ref 41 - Liverpool 

Ref 225 - Bristol City Zombie

The interesting thing about many zombie teams is they are very often machine printed and have some if not all trim added later by hand. This ref 225 is a good example of just that. Having checked Peter Upton's website it seems that when the lightweights came out this team also became Rouen and Denmark.

Another interesting fact is that my uncle used to play for Bristol City as a young man before signing for Liverpool. Sadly his career was ended with a knee injury. He only managed to make appearances for the reserves. Big ups to Uncle Stan.

Ref 225 - Bristol City hp

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Coventry 206

It's a great kit the 206 - made by Admiral, this template was used by a number of teams in the 1970's and found it's way onto a fair few SSG teams too. Here it is in hybrid and mp zombie. 
Ref 206 - Coventry Hybrid 
Ref 206 - Coventry Zombie mp


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Ref 231 Zombie

It's been a couple of days since I posted a zombie team.  This one is Czechoslovakia (or Luxembourg and Norway, if you prefer).  I've only ever seen this team as hand painted but I'm sure it was made as a mp too as it would lend itself well to that. A simple kit but a cracker nevertheless.

Ref 231 - Czechoslovakia hp


Monday, May 20, 2013

Heavyweight Morocco

World Cup team Morocco - name sticker sadly absent. I restored this team after it had been repainted into Man Utd, reference 1.
Ref 158 - Morocco


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Exeter Heavyweight

Exeter / Lincoln. I had to make these up from three different sources, despite this I think they look fairly uniform.  I never came across this team as a kid - I definitely would have gone for them if I had - I think they are gorgeous. 

Ref 52 - Exeter

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Zombie Watford

Today's Zombie team is Watford. I find Watford kits always transfer well onto table football teams. It is probably the colour combination that sets them apart. The Ref 203 is no exception.

The kit was reasonably short-lived and was worn by the clubs real life counterparts between 1976-79. As it was released on the cusp of the changes in figure type at SSG it is just as likely found in HW and lightweight.

Ref 203 - Watford hp

Friday, May 17, 2013

Welsh Zombie Miscellany


A classic kit that looks better on heavyweights but rendered here on those funny little Z-Men.

Ref 319 - Wales 
Ref 319 - Wales mp
Ref 319 - Wales hp
Ref 319 - Wales mp


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Ref 3 Zombie Team

This is my 50th blog post. I have had some great feedback so far -but not so many comments...Oh, okay - just the one. Site views have been pleasing too at over 1500, in a little under a month. Including almost 150 one day.

So...on to the team. I've been trying to complete this team for a number of years (admittedly not very hard). So I was pleased this week, when I did just that. I feel this team works really well with the sky discs, it is usually presented with blue bases & white discs.

A piece of 'not so interesting' trivia - WBA were one of the last HW teams I bought when I finished collecting the first time around in 1983! These Z-Men cost me about the same as that team.

Ref 3 - West Brom mp


Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Zombie - Paris FC

A very fine example of a hand painted Zombie Ref 306 - VFB Eppingen/Paris FC. 

I got this team approx fifteen years ago along with twenty or so other teams. The goalie has a disc fitting. I'm unsure if this is the original goalkeeper or a replacement. I'm guessing it should have be either a heavyweight or lightweight one on a bar. This doesn't detract however from a quite lovely team!

Mint 306 Box 
Ref 306 - VFB Eppingen / Paris FC


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Zombie - West Ham

The Hammers in two flavours.

Ref 209 - West Ham mp
Ref 209 - West Ham hp

Monday, May 13, 2013

Accessories 09 - Ball Boys

Another Ball boys post today.

The SSG ones do the job, there is no question about that, but I always thought it might be nice to have some variation. 

These are some that I have painted up in different kits. I had the tracksuit teams in mind when I chose the colours.  I did the red one first and thought the figures looked like they were wearing onesies...hence the black track pants.

C.134 - Ball Boys - modified

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Accessories 08 - TV Tower C.110

The early 60's version of the TV Tower.  This one is in excellent condition - shame about the box though.

I picked this up recently and was surprised to see that the monitor, camera-man and his camera are made from blue plastic, just like the early first aid stretcher-bearer figures.  Later camera and monitor figures are made from silver plastic.
C.110 - TV Tower 
C.110 - TV Tower
C.110 - TV Tower

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Accessories 07

Another Subbuteo mug.
This one is an International Edition - again unofficial, but pretty nice all the same

Subbuteo Mug - International Edition
Subbuteo Mug - International Edition



Friday, May 10, 2013

Benfica Zombie

Another fine example of a hand painted zombie team. This one is Benfica.

Ref 138 - Benfica hp

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Argentina Zombie

Today's picture is a nice example of an Argentina hand painted zombie team.  Proof, in my opinion,  that SSG's least favourite figure can look pretty fetching.

Ref 67 - Argentina hp

These early zombie teams usually featured a HW 'keeper, as seen here, before being replaced by the lightweight figure on a bar. This particular team has 'Subbuteo' written on the inner disc. Many early teams' discs were blank. I'm unsure how accurate dating teams can be using this evidence. My first two zombie teams, refs 1 & 2, were in a Club Edition - they both had Subbuteo branded discs. Incidentally the goalies in that set were crouching style!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Zombie Blues

A nice selection of zombie teams.

Ref 51 - Brighton & Hove Albion mp
Ref 42 - Chelsea hp
Ref 192 - Leicester City hp
Ref 215 - QPR hp

Arsenal & Middlesbrough

Time for a some heavyweights. Here we have two reversed base teams.

Ref 16 - Arsenal
Ref 171 - Middlesbrough

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Accessories 06

 Soccer3D Table Soccer Streaker Set

If you are easily offended look away now.

Introduced by Tom Taylor in 1998 the streaker set divided opinion. Some thought it a bit of fun - others believed it was an unnecessary distraction from the beautiful game. For me it's a nice little 'Subbuteo' spin-off item.

The version shown below is a later  Soccer3D set.  It comes complete with instructions.

I've also copied a newspaper article that tells you all you need to know about the set.

Soccer 3D Streakers (male & female sets) 
Soccer 3D Streaker Set

Soccer 3D Male Streaker Set

Naked truth about fun times on the table

By Malcolm Boyden


TOM TAYLOR CAN BARELY CONTAIN his excitement as he reaches for a small white box. He scatters the contents on to his humble workbench. Out falls a tiny naked gentleman standing three quarters of an inch tall but anatomically perfect. “There you are,” Taylor announces proudly. “It’s my biggest-selling line — the Subbuteo streaker.” 
The man stands on a red, round-bottomed base. He comes complete with a policeman, poised with helmet in hand, to cover up his “vital credentials”, and a set of rules. “I also do a female set,” Taylor, tipping a wobbling Erica Rowe-type figure on to his cluttered work surface, adds. “But she comes with a policewoman — I thought it would be for the best,” he says, carefully holding the woman up to his illuminated magnifying glass. 


Taylor, a former West Midlands fireman, is the self-proclaimed saviour of Subbuteo. His love affair with the game started when his wife, Sue, bought him his first set as a Christmas present in 1989. “It was supposed to be a joke, but it didn’t half backfire on me,” she says with a wry smile. Now the pair own the world’s only dedicated Subbuteo shop, which has become a shrine to the “flick to kick” faithful. 

Subbuteo, which is Latin for a bird of prey, was invented by Peter Adolph in 1947 to compete with its predecessor, New Footy. But, without Tom and Sue, the game would no longer exist. They have become the biggest producers and distributors of Subbuteo accessories in the world, since Hasbro, the toy-making giants, finally stopped making the game in 2001 in the face of falling sales. 

From the back room of his tiny shop in the Welsh border town of Knighton, the lifelong Aston Villa fan toils for hours attempting to keep the game, once played religiously by every football-mad boy, alive. His ever-expanding empire includes painstakingly hand-painted squads, pitches printed by a firm in the West Midlands, goals produced “as a sideline” by a chip-pan manufacturer in Oldham and, for the first time, women’s teams. Streakers, however, which sell at £4.99 a set, are by far his best line. He has sold 6,000 sets to 25 different countries, his Subbuteo streakers reaching such far-flung places as Japan, Singapore, Venezuela and Peru. 

“I got the idea in 1998, when I was watching a match at Walsall,” he says. “It came to me in a flash when a male streaker ran on to the pitch twice, dodging the police both times. I went home and made the first male and female streakers for a bit of fun. Then I invented a set of rules so they could be included in the game.” 

The rules state: “The streaker and the police officer must always be positioned behind the goalline. At any time during the match, a player can shout ‘STREAKER’ and place his or her streaker in the penalty area. The streaker must not, under any circumstances, come into contact with the ball. 

“If the streak is deemed legal,” the rules continue, “the referee must stop play and command ‘APPREHEND’ to the attacking player, who must take a police officer and flick him or her, attempting to strike the streaker. If a streaker is hit, an arrest has been made and he or she is removed. 

“The streak can continue indefinitely. When the defending player has flicked the streaker into all four zones of the pitch without being hit, it’s known as a ‘FULL STREAK’. The naked man or woman is then able to escape into the crowd and retrieve his or her clothes. A player who completes a full streak may streak again later in the game.” When a streak has ended, play resumes with a drop ball. 

Taylor, a dedicated Subbuteo player who is ranked No 26 in Britain, is hoping that his streakers will add a fashionable new dimension to the traditional tabletop game. He has taken his naked figures to tournaments all over Europe. “They can be just as important as my flicking finger,” he says. “You can use them tactically during a game if you’ve muffed up with your goalkeeper and your opponent only has to tap the ball into an unguarded net,” he explains, enthusiastically. 

“It’s funny,” he adds with a grin. “Antarctica is the only continent in the world I have not sold a streaker set to. I suppose it’s too cold there — even for Subbuteo streakers.”

Monday, May 6, 2013

Manchester Zombies

The Manchester clubs rendered here in glorious hand painted zombie.

Ref 191 - Manchester City 
Ref 100 - Manchester United