Subbuteo Pitch Test!

[@barrybradshaw675]

Being born in 1953, so playing my Subbuteo in the early 1960's, we had the cotton/felt pitch and always my favourite. All us lads had our pitch on a piece of chipboard and it worked perfectly.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@barrybradshaw675 great stuff Barry, my first set would have been early 70’s and I played on the carpet. First time I played on a table was at a mates house. I so wanted a table with a fence around it, just like his 😁. Didn’t get a pitch on a board until the 1990’s. It’s the one I still have, although the set up I have now has changed quite a bit since getting back into Subbuteo during the pandemic.

[@barrybradshaw675]

@@SubbuteoFocus Thanks for your reply. Although I don't play now I still collect Subbuteo having sets like 'The World of Sport' boxed set 'Munich' boxed set numerous 'World Cup' boxed sets and numerous boxed sets of heavyweight players, tracksuit teams and so on. I still have my Spurs early 1960's heavyweight team that I would use as my team to play with as a kid. Remarkable, as my Mother was on a mission to give away all my childhood toys LOL. When I was about 11/12 Subbuteo was so popular there were leagues everywhere and me and my mates had on own league, playing home and away at each other's houses. Ahhh....those were the days. Enjoy your Subbuteo.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@barrybradshaw675 sounds like you have some collection there Barry. My only box sets from back in the day were the Stadium edition and the Test match cricket box set. It’s all about the nostalgia for me and remembering those days when I was kid 👍

[@barrybradshaw675]

@@SubbuteoFocus Yes I also have some Stadium sets and a few editions of the cricket boxed set. Yes, I'm sure it's nostalgia that still drives me on to collect Subbuteo although they are only really Museum pieces in my collection but I love owning them. Cheers

[@LdevArt]

cotton pitch on top of an astro pitch-laid on a wooden/mdf table-top is the best way to have your pitch. doesnt need any glue.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Yes that works well. My nylon pitch was stuck onto my board back in the 90’s. But I now have the Astro on top of it and I sometimes put the cotton pitch on top of the Astro like I showed in the video. So that’s 3 pitches on top of each other!

[@LdevArt]

@@SubbuteoFocus i'm now trying 2 cotton pitches-one on top of another. started to have problems with the astro-pitch base. air getting underneath and creases in it that wouldnt come out. simply ironing cotton pitches deals with that issue

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@LdevArt funny you should mention that, I’m having the same issue with my Astro at the moment with some slight puckering. It gets worse when the room is warm. Similar to yourself I’m thinking of using two cotton pitches on top of each other.

[@LdevArt]

@@SubbuteoFocus YEAH! DEF gets worse when theres heat in the room-had to turn off the radiator in that room.But only made it slightly better so had to abandon the astro-pitch completely.

[@robwotnot]

Totally agree about the cotton pitch. It's a really good surface and plays well too!

[@SubbuteoFocus]

I’ll definitely be using it for my solo games in the future 👍

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Thanks for dropping by, a little pitch comparison for a bit of fun! Hope you enjoy the video.

[@mikewood8136]

Hi Dean Fascinating to see how that nylon pitch played, never ever used one, don't think I ever will. They can stay in their boxes! Great video.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Thanks Mike, glad the video helped. I haven’t seen one favourable comment suggesting the nylon pitch is playable! So yes keep them locked away in their box sets!

[@chris-4566]

Hi Dean, my son bought me a subbuteo box set for my birthday. It must be 50 years since I last played. Your pitch test video was useful because it confirmed my thoughts about the different pitches having different properties. Am I correct in assuming that the standard issue pitch, which comes with a box set, is the nylon one because I thought the ball rolled too much, even with a light flick of the player.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Hi Chris, great stuff and fair play to your son for getting you a set. A 50 year old pitch in a box set would most probably be cotton, the nylon pitches I believe were produced a bit later than that. I do stand to be corrected on that though. However if your pitch is playing well that would suggest a cotton pitch. But that’s from my experience. As you saw from the video, the nylon pitch played a stinker whereas the cotton pitch played beautifully ⚽️👍

[@rcspaintserviceandgaming]

Love the look of your stadium. Can we have a closer look at the spectators and your spotlights?

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Cheers, I can put a short together of the spectators and spotlights. Keep an eye out for it 👍 Just noticed this is the pitch test video. I’ve changed the crowd out for real stands and spectators. Did you mean a closer look at the spectators in this video? Cheers

[@rcspaintserviceandgaming]

@@SubbuteoFocus I meant the sides of your stadium

[@chrissylb100]

Really interesting, Dean, and good to see the cotton pitch still plays so well. That's all we had when we were kids. Am also partial these days to the TFM muddy pitch 😊

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Thanks Chrissy, yes the cotton pitch was the first pitch I had, but not great on a carpet! But at the time it didn’t matter, how on earth could we have played on a wrinkly pitch 😁 The muddy pitch looked really nice but I didn’t get one, at the time I was happy with my Astro. Could be a collectors item in the future!

[@ianpatterson123]

Good test of pitches, I still have my original cotton pitch from 1970 but don’t use it, I use my modern Astro pitch for one thing for ease in setting up as I can just roll it out. The cotton gets all creased. I do I have a nylon one but never touch it, it was part of a boxed set.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Yes Ian, with the Astro you do know what you’re getting with performance and look, it’s also easy to throw down and start playing. Have you tried laying your cotton pitch on top of the Astro? The cotton pitch stuck to it like glue and using your hand to remove the creases worked a treat. The playing surface was spot on after doing that.

[@philexley1853]

Best surface is a plywood base with four or five cotton pitches on top of one another and heavily ironed. Perfect.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Phil, that would be interesting, four or five pitches might be a bit springy! But it might be great, I haven’t got that many pitches to try it!

[@peezebeuponyou3774]

Grew up playing on the green baize pitch. Best set up is lying it on a sheet of hardboard- grips the pitch and doesn't have the 'hard' feel of chipboard.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@peezebeuponyou3774 yes hardboard or MDF seems to be the preferred surface nowadays as well. Back in the early 90’s when I put my board together I only had chipboard. But it still plays very well with the Astro pitch or the Cotton pitch on top of the Astro. 👍

[@MalcolmDoyle-e6x]

The way the ball rolled on the nylon pitch was shocking. I play on a pegasus astroturf field and am happy with that.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

A while ago I had a Pegasus Astro and I really liked playing on it but I spilt some coffee on it and ruined it. Schoolboy error! But a nice pitch. The nylon pitch was a stinker, I’m guessing it was back in the day when it must have played so bad I ended up putting it in the loft!

[@BritishRaceCaller]

This is just what I have been looking for. Nearly one year back and far prefer a cloth pitch

[@SubbuteoFocus]

It’s funny how long I stuck with the Astro when for just £10 I got a really nice pitch that looks like it plays very well. I guess it’s been a case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But I’m glad I bought it and tried it.

[@clivemedcalf9300]

Deluxe pitch gor me it' looks fantastic and all round plays brilliantly

[@SubbuteoFocus]

I’ll have to look that one up Clive, sounds interesting 👍

[@trustno_one]

Nylon pitch simulates the "Kick Off" video game effect😄

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Like playing on ice 😁

[@pitchforkcustom]

nice to see that wales kit get an outing 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 👍 we got the winter pitch with the famous missing red penalty spot i had to paint in! apparently people are selling the penalty spot on etsy !!! think it was a joke though. 😊

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Classic kit that is, always been a favourite of mine. The winter pitch is a tidy piece of kit as well, missing penalty spot though 😁 might be worth more £ in the future without it. Like those misprinted bank notes you could get!

[@pitchforkcustom]

@@SubbuteoFocus early run before they noticed the mistake.. wondered why it was cheap.. 🙄

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@pitchforkcustom 😁

[@eslermanu47]

Brilliant game much better than all these computer games.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@eslermanu47 Absolutely 100% agree 👍

[@soitra]

One advantage the Astro has over the cotton - the touch lines will always be straight - virtually impossible to get those lines straight with a cotton pitch. I have a Pegasus Astroturf, it plays well, but I was expecting that the backing would be of much thicker material (not sure why), and I think if it was, there'd be less problems with it warping. Was there anything unto the cotton pitch when you set it up, Dean? Was it just the nylon pitch or was it also the astro? Wow - the most noticable thing re. the nylon pitch is that the movement of the ball is unpredictable, as Simon Cowell would say, "It's a no from me...."

[@SubbuteoFocus]

The nylon pitch was a shocker, I had a Pegasus Astro and really liked it until I accidentally damaged it. And I can’t remember it warping in the heat like the Subbuteo Astro. I tried both methods with the cotton pitch, on top of the nylon and then the Astro. On top of the nylon pitch it was good but on top of the Astro it was even better. So I’ll be doing that in future as well.

[@soitra]

@@SubbuteoFocus To think that in the early days Subbuteo didn't come with a pitch, they recommended you marked an old army blanket using chalk!

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@soitra I know, that would have been a recipe for disaster. Even now though I can’t imagine how we would have got a decent game with the cotton pitch on a carpet! But we did and loved it!

[@jimmer1159]

Good video Dean . I’ve got a woodentop astro now which is the peel off backing stick down type, excellent true surface great for spinning and straight flicks (I don’t polish my players) not too fast either although I use an ff ball . The sixties/seventies cotton on top of the astro is also an excellent surface and does have more “give” and “grip” if you know what I mean . As for that 80’s/90’s nylon , bin’s best place for that 😠😊

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Thanks Jim, there are some really good new pitches but I can’t justify the outlay or let’s put it another way, my wife might not be pleased if I buy more pitches lol. The cotton on the Astro is spot on and the Astro is nice. The nylon is a shocker and should never see the light of day! So I’ll be sticking to my two favourites 😊

[@jimmer1159]

I got a great deal on the woodentop astro Dean or I wouldn’t have bought on , as you say they can be expensive 😐@@SubbuteoFocus

[@Nelson.ViewsZ]

The astro pitch will play faster if the air is dry opposed to damp or humid.

[@SubbuteoFocus]

I also found that in warm conditions the Astro started to warp in places but settled down when it got cooler. I think the plastic back to the pitch reacts too easily with temperature changes.

[@mdj2010]

What is it you are using for floodlights? Im looking for the same type to fold down to the board when not in use. Thanks

[@SubbuteoFocus]

They’re from a company called Retroyears on eBay. £39.99 for 4 I believe. Run off batteries or via USB leads, which is what I use. Basically to save buying batteries! Hope that helps 👍

[@jamesdickey5407]

Can the new bases play good on cotton outch

[@jamesdickey5407]

I meant nylon

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@jamesdickey5407 I think the new bases would work well on all surfaces due to their increased surface area. However I haven’t given them a try so can’t be 100% certain. But a well polished player I would guess would slide well on a nylon pitch, however the issue might be the ball control. In my example in the video the slide wasn’t too bad it was judging the speed of the ball contact that was the problem. I would take it that it would be similar on the newer bases.

[@MonkeyMind123]

How to make players for this game diy?any ideas?

[@SubbuteoFocus]

I know some guys 3D print players. Depends on what you have material wise. The cheapest way I would suggest is buy a load of spare players in an eBay job lot and paint them yourself in the team colours you want. Or just buy the bases and disks and create your own players and stick them in the discs. Like the old celluloid players. But to totally make players DIY without a 3D printer would be quite a challenge.

[@MonkeyMind123]

@@SubbuteoFocus Thank you for the reply🤝🤝.i had one more doubt.is it okay to use flat bottom used in carrom board coins rather than hemisphere type?

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@MonkeyMind123 👍 not sure the carrom style would work on Subbuteo pitches. To be honest I’ve never tried them though, so they might.

[@MonkeyMind123]

@@SubbuteoFocus 🌟🤝👍

[@cuebj]

Really did mark up an old army blanket in 1963! With the flat plastic players. Then had the cotton pitch with a floodlight set about 1966, also with rugby and cricket which I still have. Cotton with pitch for son in about 1998. Then got him the Astroturf pitch which I still have. He never got into Subbuteo. Anyone still got the Fishing game - the most boring game ever invented so, true to life but even more boring. Can't find anyone to play football, cricket or rugby with. The original 3D players really did do all the turns in the advanced instruction leaflet

[@SubbuteoFocus]

Wow, that’s some Subbuteo history you have behind you. Those early days must have been magical. I remember when the Astro pitch came out and at the time I didn’t think it seemed right to play on one so didn’t get one. How wrong was I, really like playing on mine now. You can’t knock the brand for trying to mix things up, but Fishing and Speedway, wouldn’t have been something I’d be interested in having a go at! I love the HW’s they look great and play really well, my favourites 👍

[@cuebj]

​@SubbuteoFocus Tunbridge Wells from 1961. Subbuteo based in nearby Langton Green. They had a display in a window where you cross into The Pantiles. George Coker sports shop, opposite TW Central Station, sold the games and accessories. Land Registry up at Hawkenbury had a staff league

[@SubbuteoFocus]

@@cuebj I went down to Tunbridge Wells for the 75th anniversary event. Fascinating to see and hear how it all began. Incredible to see how it started as an idea and then flourished into a successful business. Made quite an impact on the local area.

[@martinodriscoll5158]

Pegasus is average at best

[@SubbuteoFocus]

I had a Pegasus Astro pitch a while ago and it seemed to play a bit slow compared to the original Subbuteo Astro. The Subbuteo Astro and Cotton pitches are my favourite.