I really want to get in to the bases section but to close on the players I think a gallery or two of player characteristics is called for. It is all very well me writing about them but some will think 'I have no idea what he means'.

Each gallery is intended to illustrate in close up specific parts of the player designs . I will take a look at the sock bands, short creases, faces, arm gaps and collars etc. There is a danger of over-analysis here but sadly it interests me (why,when etc) that at some point manufacturing changed and the bottom of the shorts were cut sharply across rather than a more gentle curve.

This of course leads to one obvious question - who designed the players?

Some points to watch out for. On an earlier page I mentioned that the stripes differed between the card and the celluloid players. You can see this easily in the gallery, one four stripes one five, one wider stripes than the other.

The genuine coloured socks of Barcelona can be seen next to one of the most common white strips that were produced by third parties for enthusiasts to colour for themselves.

Flick Me! subbuteo archive player design