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The Accessories.
C121: Three match balls.
Moulded in yellow plastic with black
spots. 19mm in diameter.
C122: "New-type"
goals. (Fixture-type goals).
With rounded posts and crossbar with
real netting mounted on green bases for fixing and holding.
A really flash redesign of the goal had to wait until C130. The early catalogues and boxes refer to this set as "new-type" goals, but this name obviously had to change when they weren't new any more. Hence "fixture-type goals". Hardly an inspiring name folks. They did not appear in the 1978 catalogue and their replacement, also with rounded posts, was the Tournament goal (C154).
C123: Live Action Goalkeepers.
The lifelike new accessory you have
been waiting for. He dives, twists and punches at shots from every angle.
Suregrip "Continental" plastic handle gives more effective goalkeeping.
Yeah, right. The optimistic description above is from the 1969 catalogue, when these 'keepers were new. If you are imaging a sophisticated device to "punch at shots from every angle", you are out of luck. This is an ordinary keeper with a coiled metal spring between the 'keeper and the green plastic handle. Does it work? Well I was disappointed with my set, when they didn't turn me into the greatest 'keeper ever. I found the loss of stability in the handle outweighed the benefits. Plus, I'm sure the spring yielded to powerful shots with the goalkeeper just helping them on their way. So a short-lived novelty item? No, actually a long-lived one with this item surviving right up to 1995. So either they were usually better than the ones I had, or generations of players were fooled into buying them. I suspect the latter.
C124: Training Kit A. Target Board.
...with numbered holes... Improve
your goal-scoring potential.
C125 Training Kit B. Goalkeeper Rebound Wall.
There is nothing interesting about this in any of the catalogues, and none even bother to illustrate it. It is however, one of my favourite items. A big yellow plastic thing, stuffed with rubber bands, it really is pretty successful at doing what it set
s out to achieve. The way to get the best out of it is to load it with small, tight rubber bands, and set it at an angle to the goal (30 degrees is a good start position). Then pin down your goal with goal grips or whatever, because you are going to need both hands. With one hand on your goalie, ping a ball at the rebound wall with a finger (don't bother with a player). The ball should fly off the wall at some strange angle, and will fly past your stunned static goalkeeper into the net. Repeat ad nauseam....
This 1990's reuse of the "125" number is detailed on the
61222+ Hasbro page.
C126: Training
Kit C. Dribbling posts and passing Tee.
An alternative use for this item is as the hole at the end of a Subbuteo golf course. In this exciting game, the corner kick figure becomes your driver, the 1998 World Cup corner kicker is a delicate wedge, and a normal player is your trusty putter. Add a few house plants and a cat's water dish as hazards, and you are ready to play.... and I really should get out more :-(
This item dropped from the range earlier than the other training items, with its final outing being 1973-74.
C127: Three Continental
Balls.
C128: The F.A. Cup.
This item also appeared in the short lived "FA Cup Pack" of 1980-81 (C180), which included the finalists of the previous year, and a ball. The FA Cup was joined in the range, belatedly, by the League Cup in 1980, but a league trophy didn't appear until the Premiership tie-in in the late 1990's.
C129: Number Transfers.
The latest type of international goals
adapted to the Subbuteo scene, complete with new coloured nets (regd. design)
As illustrated, the nets were one red, and one blue. These goals were new in 1972-73 just in time for the 1974 World Cup. (Shame they didn't get the new trophy until the 1982 World Cup, but you can't have everything). Arguably, this is where the Subbuteo accessories first hit their stride -at least until C136. These were square posted goals, with integral bases, and no back frames. They were quite a radical new look, and continued to prove popular through numerous box changes until 1995. They also appeared in the World Cup, and Munich World Series editions of the game in the 1970's. A mini design classic.... if you overlook the fact that the nets fall off, and that the posts end up bent backwards because they have no supports.
C131: Two "Corner Kick" figures.
Larger size, articulated, hand-painted
figures with "kicking" action on finger control base, adding practical skill, ball
control and direction to corner kicks etc.
"Arrggg... Run lads, it's a giant footballer". Again debuting in 1972-73, these seriously oversized chaps were the Subbuteo rugby Conversion figures on new bases. They were lots of fun to use, and really did help put in big floating corners. Designed for people, like me, who couldn't chip in a corner with a normal player, even with the ball-raising corner flags (C117). Many players also used them for taking goal kicks, and this eventually became an official rule, with kickers painted as goalkeepers added to the range (C201 added in 1984).
Back in the 1970's when firms could still be small and friendly, Subbuteo would provide these figures in a range of ten colours upon request. These teams, the same basics as available for "Football Express", were 1,2,5,7,10,16,21,25,41, and 42. But they've been seen in many more kits than this. Partly, this is down to Stadium Editions having three teams - with three corner kickers painted to match. But I also think the painters strayed from the catalogue range. I currently own a pair of Genoa kickers (ref 72) which came in a 1970s box from an English toy collectors fair.
C132: Two "Throw-in" figures.
Approx. OO scale, hand-painted spring-operated figures on finger-control
base. Enables you to place the ball where you want it.
Always the companion set to the corner kickers, and introduced at the same time. As a kid, I admired these, as they were the correct scale and really looked the part. However, I never really mastered them, as my finger and thumb generated back-spin which sent the ball back out of play, or straight up in the air. Like the kickers, these were available in the 1970's in a range of ten colours. Note the Arsenal kit (ref 16) in the illustration. The set had one redesign which removed the metal clip and made them simpler to manufacture. The new plastic bases seem to play just as well (or maybe just as badly) as the old ones.
61133: Two corner kickers and
two throw-in figures.
This 1990s double pack re-uses the number
given to the interchangeable goalkeepers below. It is detailed on the
61222+ Hasbro
page.
C133: Six Interchangeable goalkeepers.
Four diving, and two crouching goalkeepers, hand painted in yellow,
white, black, green, red and blue, with two controller rods for swapping over. Essential
for "international" matches.
Essential for international matches? How so Mr. Catalogue Writer? More essential for people who broke as many keepers as I did. (You've probably realised how clumsy I am by now!). The description above is from their first catalogue appearance in 1973/74, and the box also highlighted the fact that the goalkeepers were supposed to be "six different colours". These coloured shirts were paired with white shorts except for the black shirted keeper who wore an all-black outfit. I assume this was a reference to legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin who favoured this combination (and might be why the international matches was mentioned).
Later catalogues refer to this set as being in "assorted" colours, and certainly many variations exist. From my personal collection, I would suggest that the leaning back diving goalkeeper is far more common than his more useful upright rival sadly. Even in these early sets, the colours are spread randomly across the figures, so you are as likely to get an all black crouching 'keeper as a diving one. Although the bases are unique to this set, the goalkeepers are not of course. So the diving 'keepers are probably taken from taken from those painted for boxed teams, whereas the crouching 'keepers were probably only being painted for this set and their own C105. In practice, this means far more variation in crouching 'keepers than diving ones. I always hesitate to say "all" with Subbuteo, but the diving goalkeepers have sock colours that match their shirts, whereas the crouching goalkeepers see all sorts of versions. In a representative group that I own, there are green shirted 'keepers with green socks, white socks with green tops and white socks with red tops. The boots are not always painted on crouching 'keepers.
In addition to that, all three variations of crouching goalkeeper appear in these sets, and often you'll get two completely different ones in the same set. Note that one of the crouching goalkeepers in the set illustrated at the top of this section is a real chubby fellow, and his friend in all-white is slimmer.
...With Jockey Caps (1978).
The popular C153: Goalkeepers with jockey caps arrived in 1978, and Subbuteo Sports Games immediately added them to the C133 selection at the expense of the disliked crouching goalkeeper (C105). I had assumed that the first box to register this change was the monochrome logo version from 1981, but in fact the old reliable interchangeable box was rewritten to announce their arrival in 1978.
By the time of the monochrome logo boxes, the four diving 'keepers had been replaced with their modern version, which when added to the two with caps noticeably turned this into a lightweight selection. You may have spotted in my scan of the contents, that the yellow capped goalie is backwards on his base. I used him a great deal as a kid - he was brilliant ;-). The set continued into the "61" range, but had left the range by 1986.
C134: Six Ball Boys.
Four
standing and two kneeling 00 scale ball boys, hand-painted in yellow tracksuits.
Literally millions of ball boys in yellow tracksuits with red trim must have been produced, so it is a great relief to find them in different colours. The royal blue set above comes from Italy, and shows the inside of the display box pictured above. The second picture is a close-up of the crouching ball boy in light blue and royal blue. Like the track-suited team (C103) the colour of the plastic becomes the colour of the outfit. The last picture shows another Italian item. This time the ball boys are in red, completing the four colours also used for the track-suited teams. Many thanks to Francesco Disabato for this red version.
C135: VIP Presentation Set.
This was the final new set of 1973/4, but sadly didn't prove as durable as the ball boys, retiring from the range in 1981. I'm not sure why this was, as they were a well designed, and useful "stand around the pitch" group of figures, and the original presentation box was a beauty.
The figure holding the FA Cup is clearly the Queen, thanks to Charles Stadden's beautiful model work. Even at OO scale, he managed to get her side profile to match the stamps and coins of the period. The FA Cup has traditionally been handed over by royalty, and the Queen was regularly on the rota in the early years of her reign. I think she managed to clock up double figures before she gave up the role in the mid 1970s (her last regular appearance being 1976). Looking online at the Queen's cup presentations in a variety of impressive hats, another reason why this figure is so recognisably the Queen becomes apparent. It is clear that Stadden actually based her outfit on the most famous cup presentation she was involved in - giving the Jules Rimet trophy to Bobby Moore at the 1966 World Cup. Although Subbuteo have tweaked the colours, both the hat and coat/dress are a great match.
This information then leads to speculation over who the other figures represented. I haven't seen the Charles Stadden invoices for the period, so I don't know if he named checked anyone! As a kid, I always regarded the chap in the blue suit at the Duke of Edinburgh, and that seems certain. His stance matches the 1966 presentation photos, and his nose is quite distinctive even in Subbuteo scale. In the 1966 photos, FIFA President Sir Stanley Rous is standing between the royal couple clutching a medal, and the chap with the fuller figure and the grey suit seems to be a good match - albeit that Subbuteo decided to give him a full head of black hair. I would admit though that most Cup presentations of the period seem to contain a well-fed older suit from the FA or similar organisation. After this, the 1966 connection seems to break down. The second lady looks distinctive enough, but she doesn't look like the Queen Mum. There are certain 1966 photographs where you can see a lady in a sky blue dress standing a row back, and the next person on the balcony is the sport-loving Duchess of Kent. Not sure if she is either of these ladies though.
The final chap appears to be a little mismatched. With his coat and hat, he looks like someone who is working, rather than someone in a royal box - like a manager, or a journalist, or perhaps the Queen's racehorse trainer giving her a tip... Actually, the coat and the hat made me think of a famous FA Cup winner of the period. The figure is a great match for Joe Mercer, whose Manchester City side won the FA Cup in 1969. There are plenty of photos of Mercer on the day, wearing this outfit. Disappointingly, the Queen wasn't presenting the cup that afternoon. It was a very young Princess Anne (check out her hat online. She looks like she has just ridden in).
Sadly, the set did not keep the useful presentation box, and it was later dumped into a bag, and then a standard bubble pack (which is how I bought my set when I was a kid). Of course, the little FA cup in this set is the only trophy that is the correct size for a Subbuteo player. Instead of sitting one of your players in the top of the FA cup, they could now run around with it stuck on their arm. Hurrah.
C136: The Subbuteo Sound.
A record of the Subbuteo World Cup song and other thrilling sounds
of real-life international football.
At some point, the real seven inch actually arrived in my collection - I think it was hanging around at a boot sale or something! Anyway, this has allowed me to quote some of the amusing blurb from the back of the sleeve. Not all of it mind (look at the picture above - that's more text than some rule books). The back of the sleeve also has the lyrics written by Frank Burton of SSG, but I'm not going there either, even if his rhyming efforts are pretty heroic.
"Here's the record you've been waiting for to add final realism to your SUBBUTEO matches and competitions! On side 1 you'll immediately feel the big crowd tension in those exciting moments before the match...." Later - "...And there's more to come on side 2! Tremendous crowd reaction conjures up the waving colours and banners as the game builds to a gripping climax.... Try it out yourself - then try it on your friends. They'll love every minute of it." I tried this. They didn't.
"For best results, play this disc stereo, or on a mono player with a lightweight pick-up". Lightweight is highlighted. I assume a zombie pick-up won't do. (Cheap gag. Sorry).
"If you're a hi-fi enthusiast, get a friend to look after the record-player while you record your own commentary on cassette or tape." But please don't send the results to this website.
"Like SUBBUTEO TABLE SOCCER itself, there's no end to the thrills and the excitement you'll get from this unique and fascinating disc... another really great Subbuteo product!" I'll leave you to decide whether this is true.
C137: Subbuteo Badge.
Another uninspired 1974/75 addition, this item allows you to add the 1970s Subbuteo logo to a t-shirt - thus ruining your cool for all time. Survived to 1980, but gone from the 1981 lists. It matches the other short lived badge Set BB, and the car sticker Set C116 as long forgotten promotional items. Two iron-on badges are now illustrated, the second one is a spanking colour badge (complete with instructions). However, it's the green and white one that gets its only catalogue illustration (in 1980). Still not as good as the Next t-shirts produced in the 2000s...
C138: England Team.
It seems like quite a good idea to produce a separate England team. If nothing else, it made it easier to locate this popular kit within the range. I guess the reason it was produced was to cash in on the new and swanky 1970s England kit with the blue and red sleeve trim, as produced by classic 1970s manufacturer Admiral. After all, England kits before this date were pretty uninspired, simply white with dark blue shorts (okay, this is a classic, but it was shared with Bolton Wanderers and others). Until this date, Subbuteo had seemed content to leave England in their World Cup team range. Come to think of it, the World Cup teams swap to the standard range around the time England failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup - a result which would have left a unique England team in no range at all....
But I digress. This new England team arrived in 1975, in the final years of the big box era. So this was a long box with a card interior. However, instead of a standard green box it was produced in appropriate colours with the England kit reproduced on the kicking player on the lid. The box end advised that this was C138. This was the only coloured box that Subbuteo produced for the UK market in the long box era, but Edilio Parodi in Italy obviously approved as he had the C100s range produced. That range put a number of Italian club sides and more national teams in similar colourful boxes. Perhaps it was only cost that prevented Subbuteo in the UK from doing the same thing.
The set only appeared in one catalogue (and two price lists 1975 and 1976). Team boxes were reduced in size in 1977 and Subbuteo, obviously still toying with the format, produced C500 instead. That later set had special coloured team boxes designed like this one, but in the smaller size (with plastic inner), and this time they covered all four home nations. After that, there was a Home Countries Pack (C165) containing the four sides in the single player window boxes in a wrapper, but by 1981 they were all back in the normal C100 range again.
Six
figures consisting of Manager, Trainers, and Reserves to seat inside the new modern,
covered, all-weather bench. Reserves have red, or blue tracksuits.
Introduced in 1976 to replace C114, this featured the classic clear plastic bench for the first time. It also saw the end of the forgotten Ken Baily mascot. In the early sets, there were a couple of grumpy looking cloth capped folk and the reserves from C114. These reserves tended to be painted in red or blue. Later versions had redesigned reserves, a manager with his head in his hands, and one separate exercising substitute on his own base. In the later set, the plastic, and therefore the tracksuits, was usually green. This later version was also available in a two bench set, with one group in blue, and the other in red (C179). It also reappeared in the Match Day series of 1981-82(C187/2), and after being produced right through to 1995, the set was finally merged with the other remaining "stand around the pitch" sets to become part of the Stadium Services Pack (61239).
You've reached another break in the list. If you want to go lie down at this point, that's fine :-). Otherwise you can carry on to C140, which is the icing on the 1970's Subbuteo cake. Err... It's the Grandstand.