After the poorly received Zombie figures of the late seventies, S.S.G and Waddingtons revisited the drawing board to design a figure that looked more lifelike, akin to what made the Heavyweight figure so popular.

Enter the Lightweight, commonly abbreviated as LW, which was much better received by fans. It went into production around 1981 and boasts the distinction of having every team printed or painted on it from 1 to 830 (though the validity of 830 is debated). This makes it unique, as no other figure comes close to having so many references printed on it.

The Lightweight arrived at the right moment, revitalizing Subbuteo and restoring its popularity. As kits became more intricate and challenging to paint, the machine print became indispensable. However, the hand-painted aspect of the game did not disappear entirely, slowly dwindling but remaining available for teams ordered on demand or less popular references. The hand-painted side of the Subbuteo range came to an end with Ref 633 Reading, marking the conclusion of the Subbuteo hand-painted team dynasty, which had provided an opportunity for many housewives to earn extra income over the decades.

(The Main Range will have different Base combo’s you can expect to find the teams in also its not a vast as the HW days but some do have a few different combos)

For a more detail look and info on the LW Range http://www.peter-upton.co.uk/sublw0.htm (For More Info on the Player type Visit Peter Upton’s Subbuteo site)