One of the biggest new stories (for me, not the general public!) at the Toy Fair 'back in' January (where does the time go, it's our very-actual-bloody lives; tick-ticking away!) was the return of Subbuteo, which if I understood the sales-chap right is now in-house, or part of the intellectual-property portfolio of Paul Lamond, they having either bought the rights, or a long-term license?
Look for the sales display in your local stockist!
It's green!
A nice display of what is already a growing
range of teams, with seven strips already issued (last year?) including all the
teams of the UK and Eire (actually - not sure about Wales while Curnow seems to
have been left out!), backed up by accessories and larger 'starter' play-sets.
The main event is the International Playset which gives a pitch with hoardings, fences,
two teams, goals, referee and officials, balls &etc - in a box. The only
visible difference is that the goalies' beams are red now, rather than the
green they used to be.
However, there are two other major changes
over the older versions (which we have looked at once or twice here at
Small Scale World), the first has to be a matter of opinion, in that they claim
the pitch material is better . . . if it makes for faster ball play, those who
liked a slow ball game won't find it better at all, and if it's slower . . .
vise-versa!
The other upgrade one of those no-brainer,
rocket-science, euraka!, why-didn't-someone-think-of-it- in-1950-something
applications - which I can attest-to personally as being a major contribution
to player-safety (he misquotes the old Goodyear
TV add's) because - the players are now made of a flexible rubber, silicon or
substitute-PVC compound, making them extremely flexible and almost impossible
to damage if you drop them, drop something on them or tread on them - genius! I
bent one (after invitation to do so - I hasten to add) pretty-much flat and he
just popped-up again!
A smaller pitch-set or goals are also
available to build your league slowly on a budget, there seems to be a choice
of white or coloured nets, probably indicated on the box-ends, I didn't notice.
Other accessories are currently limited to the fence-hoardings, a set of
officials and spare balls, but I'm sure the range will be expanded if sales are
promising.
The teams, notice the set; hair colour
varies, ethnicity is obvious and varied. Another seven team-strips have been
added for 2018, and if that rate is continued for a few years they'll be back
to the 1970's heyday when you could order from several hundred different
strips, and while I don't suppose it will get to that point, there's no reason
why it couldn't be done with computer-aided manufacture (CAM).
Indeed, with a dedicated support website
and CAM-linked ordering system you could stipulate the strip, boot, ethnicity
and hair colours individually for all 11 players, just like buying a new-car
(or 11 new cars) these days! Hint-hint Paul
Lamond - find a VC who loved Subbuteo
as a kid, they'll lend you the money!
All new for 2018 is the beginnings of a
Spanish league, flicking goalies and a leaping goalie for penalty shoot-outs,
whether there are any plans for an English player who can't hit the goal for
toffee, remains to be seen and for the English goalie . . . Vaseline his hands?!
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