Westwood Table Soccer is the creation of owner and Table Soccer artist Calum Westwood who has been a Subbuteo enthusiast, a collector & painter for more than 20 years.
This website showcases the development of his work from teams intended for collections & table play to the framed products that have been honed & perfected in recent times. "The first Subbuteo team I ever owned was a modified original heavyweight Ref 2 that my dad had painted into Leicester City's 1994 home kit. I loved it & I think my passion for the game plus of painting & modifying teams was born right then & there, From that moment onwards I've just always wanted to paint". "I would paint anything I could lay my hands on. All the goalkeepers from my Lightweight Subbuteo teams soon sported the brightly coloured & sometimes outrageous designs inspired by keepers synonymous of the mid 1990's". "After the 'improvements' made to my goalkeepers & having run out of things to paint, I quickly moved on to raid my dads spares box trying my hand at various kits with varying success, but it wasn't really until the early 2000's that I was able to properly get the paints out again - and this time dad, I've learned to put the lids back on properly!" The Football Clubs of Harold Spencer. A commission piece completed in 2016 for the Grandson of ex Professional footballer; Harold Spencer."As I reached my early teens the Word Wide Web was uniting Subbuteo & Table Soccer enthusiasts from all over the UK & the world, Subbuteo club forums were leading to new shared knowledge, sharing of childhood memories & ultimately the sharing of images of stadium set ups, prized collections & indeed the re-painting efforts of others."
"The forums gave rise to much anticipated Subbuteo Club fairs & meetings in preparation for which I would be amassing as much money as a teenager of the day could lay his hands on knowing that at these events there were bargains to be had!" "Great days indeed; my Dad and I would make pilgrimages travelling to fairs up & down the country, Here Dad would delight in meeting those people he'd conversed with taking friendships from the online world into the physical one." " We would wake up at 04:00, making sandwiches and a flask, ensuring that we arrived on time for the opening of each venue driving to cities & towns such as Wakefield, Leicester or Knutsford. Dad would have a list of what he wanted to find to add to or enhance his own collection but I had my own mission very much in mind". "Back then there weren't really any 'Paint Your Own' products such as those we enjoy today, so on arrival as sellers were still brining in their tatty over-filled cardboard boxe,s no doubt retrieved from lofts the day before & began arranging their best goods on the table tops, I would make it my businessto scoot around peering beneath those tables into the boxes pushed out of site.. Here in the "not so worthy to display" was were I'd find my 'gold dust'. For me this was the humble Heavyweight Ref #21 .It was this all white strip that would to bear the brunt of mine, & doubtless countless others, painting habits". "Within my collection I still have teams that were once Leeds; they are now Darlington & Northampton Town, the latter of which I have also re-based." "Things now began to snowball. In 2010, having graduated from University, I had returned home & with a part time job, to fund me, I had begun to purchase 'Paint Your Own' products of which there were now several styles to choose from." "I was painting up team simply for myself or for my Dad but with the huge internet interest in Subbuteo & Table Soccer , there were by now dedicated forums for both old and new styles of players & collectors. It was to these forums I would upload photos of my latest creations, wanting to share what I was up to" "It was totally unexpected but people began to message me asking if I would produce teams they wished to add to their own their collections. Painting to sell wasn't something I had considered, True, I'd received a lot of really high praise about those images I'd shared, but having only ever considered painting for the pleasure of it for myself or my dad. I was genuinely both surprised & humbled that others were interested in owning something I'd worked on!" |
"Having completed a few small orders for others who were delighted with what I'd done, it was always a nice feeling when they immediately shared images of their purchase, These images also received positive feedback. I got a kick out of this & it helped my confidence no end".
"By now a few quality painters were making a living by custom painting teams for others. Naturally, since painting Subbuteo is such a passion I would study the uploaded images of the work of others comparing & seeking where I might improve on what I was able to do. There is some amazing work being done, but I was beginning to believe what others were telling me, my work did rank up there amongst the best". "After much discussion I decided I would market myself as a hand painter,. At first it was full teams I was producing but there were several other talented painters all doing the same, While always striving to challenge myself & to improve my technique, I also wanted to offer people something new........................." "So, that brings us pretty much up to the present day. The now 25 plus years of practice to hone my painting skill equates to hundreds & hundreds of hours of paining. The time & effort spent has given rise to Westwood Table Soccer." "I am incredibly proud to be able to bring to market a truly unique, one of a kind, product. It is one that will appeal just as much to the Subbuteo enthusiast of yesteryear, as to the modern table soccer player, to old & new collectors & to the "every man" the a season-ticketed football fan, even if they've never flicked-to-kick in their life". Our Historic Kit Frames are not just a nostalgic nod to one of the most successful 'toys' of the mid 1900's, every single one is a work of art in and of itself which is without question a beautiful example of football as an art form. " This is a product I feel very proud of & am passionate about producing. Every single stroke of the brush is made by me. Though I've painted thousands of Little Plastic Men, I have never stopped challenging myself. Regardless of the team, I work to the same exacting, 'OCD- perfectionist' standards as I would when painting something for myself. My aim is simply this; to truly delight my customers". Take walk through the past history of football clubs from all around the world. Please have a look around Westwood Table Soccer & if you can, why not also make some time to view our YouTube channel. There you'll discover series' of frames often highlighting individual players chosen to grace grace them. We also have a very popular series of tutorials which aim to answer questions & to inspire the budding Subbuteo painter in you". Why not make our next piece yours? If you have questions about painting or if you would like to order a frame for yourself or as a gift for someone else, please do get in contact. We are genuinely always pleased to hear from you. so do please email, use our Contact Us form or send a us a tweet. Wolverhampton Wanderers FC classic Goodyear "Tyre Track" home kit from 1992-93.One of our Limited Edition Leicester City 5000-1 display cases. each frame numbered, individually named and complete with CoA.What we do & what we don'tWe pride ourselves in producing Table Soccer products that would not look out of place in an art gallery.
We specialise in hand painting. We do not use machines, we do not use decals. Our Table Soccer figures are 100% hand painted 100% of the time. Every individual player is given our unique, undivided attention, thus making sure that the product you receive is the best it can possibly be. As a Subbuteo enthusiast & perfectionist, Westwood Table Soccer would never send you a hand-painted product that we aren't 100% happy with ourselves. If we wouldn't want it in our collection it certainly isn't good enough for yours. That's our promise. |