The beatiful football art of Subbuteo

JS: How did you come to create customised Subutteo pieces? Is it purely a commercial venture, or are you genuinely passionate about the craft involved?

TL: It all started from recycling broken Subbuteo pieces; I had painted teams before but saw an opportunity to create iconic single figures that people would like to collect. I am deeply passionate about Subbuteo Art and everything that comes with it; from creating, painting and glazing of the miniature figures to the emails, tweets and sending the figures worldwide.

Beckham, Champions League final ‘99

Scholes, Champions League ’99 (unfortunately not the final)

JS: Are you the world’s only Subbuteo artiste, as far as you’re aware?

TL: As far as I am aware I am the only Subbuteo artiste who creates the iconic moments in football. There are numerous painters of Subbuteo teams but very, very few of these use Subbuteo products.

JS: Is Subbuteo a global game? Do you get many requests from abroad to create bespoke figures?

TL: Subbuteo is global; I have requests from all over the world. My main market is Europe but there are many, many requests from Asia, Australia and the Americas.

Barthez appealing Di Canio’s goal for West Ham at Old Trafford 2001

JS: What’s the most random or abstract fun figure you’ve been asked to create?

TL: The most random figure must be a custom figure I made of a Subbuteo fan in his work uniform taking his dog for a walk. I was also once asked to create pieces of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho playing Subbuteo.

Sunday League games nationwide are often played out before one man and his dog

JS: What’s the most requested figure you get asked for?

TL: The most requested figures are Rene Higuita and Arsene Wenger. Of the United figures, Wayne Rooney’s overhead kick followed by ‘Fergie Time’.

JS: Are there any figures that have proven been particularly tricky to recreate, or that you couldn’t actually manage?

TL: So far I have been able to create all figures that have been requested. The trickiest must be the Gazza ‘dentist chair’ figure with four figures on one base, and all the figures needing manipulating in some form.

JS: Any MUFC-related requests that stand out in your memory?

There is a very recent request of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knee slide in the 1999 Champions League final. This stands out only because I can’t believe it has never been requested before. Such an iconic moment for every United fan. I see this piece being very popular with the collectors.

Solskjaer ’99 Champions League Final Winning Goal Celebration

JS: Have you ever showcased your work at an arts’ fair or museum etc?

TL: Not as of yet, but hopefully in the future I will have some larger displays of iconic footballing moments showcased.

That overhead kick from Rooney against another team in the vicinity who like to make a din

JS: I sincerely hope so too. Your work certainly warrants such exposure. Has anybody high-profile within the game (player, manager, media member, fan) ever contacted you or commented upon your work?

TL: There have been a few so far, and interest from the media, players and mangers is steadily growing. To date, Romario – an idol of mine – has two figures I created for him and was kind enough to send me signed photos of himself holding the figures, and also a signed Brazil shirt. John Sheridan also kindly sent me a photo holding a figure of himself. Tim Cahill has recently shown interest and I am hoping to get a figure out to him soon. There are also quite a few high profile ex-international footballers from Europe and South America that will hopefully be seen with Subbuteo Art figures in the coming future.

Bebeto’s USA ’94 World Cup “baby cradle” celebration with Mazinho and Romario

JS: I imagine Cahill will want one of himself sparring the corner flag, his hallmark celebration. Well cheers for your time today Terry, and your work is magnificent. You may have discerned this by the number of orders I’ve recently placed!

TL: Haha, no worries Jonny, many thanks.

In conjunction with this interview, Jonathan and Terry are running a competition. Terry’s existing MUFC-related pieces are interspersed throughout this interview post, so the challenge for you is to propose an iconic MUFC moment for Terry to immortalize in Subbuteo (Subbutealize?)

The best suggestion will have his/her piece custom-made and sent by Terry. Please leave your ideas in the comments section below the interview – or on Twitter (please use hashtag #unitedrant and @unitedrant @JonathanShrager so we can find your entry)

Deadline for entry concludes on Sunday 19th January. Best of luck!