Rugby Smurfs

The devil is in the detail, the devil is in the smurf. The difference between something really rare to something that has been made to look rare could save you heartache and money. A good example of this are the Rugby Smurfs.

The introduction of the smurfs to the UK started to peak around 1980. This was the year that Rugby (#20065), Cricket (#20066) and Congratulations (#20067) was produced by Schleich.

Out of the three, it was the Rugby Smurf that really caught the imagination of the nation. In 1980 the British Lions Rugby Team toured South Africa. To coincide with the tour, two Rugby Smurfs were sold in South Africa. A British Lions Rugby Smurf wearing red shirt, white shorts & green socks and South African Rugby Smurf wearing Green shirt & socks, yellow collar and white shorts. At the time of release they were just sold for 65cents.

In 1981 the Five Nations Rugby Championships was played from 17 January to 21 March with a total of ten matches being played. These included the following countries France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

To coincide this tournament, five Rugby Smurfs were produced painted in the team colours.

France colours – Light blue shirt, white shirts, red socks.

England colours – White shirt & shorts, black socks.

Ireland colours – Green shirt & socks, white collar, white shorts.

Scotland colours – Navy shirt & socks, white shorts.

Wales colours – Red shirt & socks, white shorts.

What is a little unclear was when was the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby Smurf was produced, though it is understand National Benzole did sell it with their other Rugby Smurfs. In 1980 the New Zealand All Blacks toured Wales, so it may have something to do with this. The New Zealand Rugby Smurf wears a black shirt, black shorts and black socks.

If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to buy one of these Rugby Smurfs there are a couple of small things you should watch out for.

Firstly the British Lions and South Africans should not have a mustard paint dot on them as these were not originally sold in the UK only in South Africa. The others though should have a Mustard paint dot under their foot.

The other thing with the Rugby Smurfs is that none of them should have any markings on the actual figurine. The markings should be found under the grass pattern oval base.

Like a lot of other smurfs, the Rugby Smurfs are on my most wanted list. Perhaps one day I will be lucky enough to find one or possibly eight selling for just 65 cents each!

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

Halloween Smurfs from 2006

What do you remember of 2006? Perhaps it was Melbourne hosting the Commonwealth Games or the death of Steve Irwin. From a smurf prospective it was the release of the Halloween themed set by Schleich.

The Halloween set consisted of eight smurfs. When it was released it was given mixed reviews from collectors, some thought they looked nothing like smurfs and others loved them because of their creativity.

The Halloween set included the following smurfs:

20541 Dracula Smurf
20542 Ghost Smurf
20543 Werewolf Smurf
20544 Mummy Smurf
20545 Grim Reaper Smurf
20546 Frankenstein Smurf
20547 Witch Smurf
20548 Pumpkinhead Smurf

For those of you who are new to collecting smurfs, the Halloween set were also available as fakes made in China. The fake smurfs are easy to spot as they are badly painted in dark blue shiny paint, have strange looking shaped eyes and are made out of a very hard material. Also these are generally sold really cheap.

What makes the fake smurfs interesting, is that the first batch released misspelt China on the smurfs – the marking read “Made in Chian”. So if you are lucky enough and like to collect fake smurfs you may find two different markings – Made in Chian and Made in China.

For unknown reasons the Halloween set was discontinued in 2008. This seems to be a common thread with Schleich since 2002 when they started releasing their new smurfs as part of a themed set. Most themed sets have only been made for two or three years.

At the recent Nuremberg Toy Fair Schleich displayed the re-release of the Halloween set available in it’s new display box (Schleich #20915) This was a little surprising as the Halloween set was not displayed in the 2016 Schleich catalogue. It is also unclear at the time of writing that if the Halloween smurfs will be sold with new markings or if Schleich will be using the old ones.

I quite like the Halloween themed smurfs as I like their cheeky expressions and love the bright colours they used to paint them. I guess it just shows that you don’t need to like Halloween to like the Halloween themed smurfs.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

Smurfs Discover Australia in 1979

Once in a while you are going to find something that you think is priceless, so allow me to introduce you to my latest find – Smurfs Discover Australia. On the front cover it tells me its “an educational fun book” on the back cover it has (c) Peyo SEPP – BP Australia 1979 Published by Budget Books Pty Ltd.

In 1979 BP Australia introduced smurfs to Australia. The large variety of smurf merchandise available by BP Australia was mixed and varied. Everything from barbecue aprons, placemats, jigsaws, magnets, photo albums, door signs, red plastic flutes and activity pads. I am sure there are other things BP Australia produced that I am yet to find.

But back to my latest find, on the inside of the front and back covers is The Smurf Gallery. This included a picture of eight smurfs on the inside of the front cover and eight smurfs on the inside the back cover.

Judge Smurf (#20016)
Astro (#20003)
Coin Smurf (#20029)
Sunbather Smurf (#20014)
Smurf (#20002)
Flower Smurf (#20019)
Vanity Smurf now called Mirror (#20017)
Keep Fit Smurf now called Gymnast (#20020)

Spy Smurf (#20008)
Papa Smurf (#20001)
Drummer Smurf (#20009)
Smurfette (#20034)
Handy Smurf now known as Mechanic (#20012)
Watchman now known as Lantern (#20024)
Rocker Smurf now known as Lute (#20013)
I Hear Nothing Smurf now known as Earache (#20015)

All these smurfs would have been made in Hong Kong and were for sale for just 85cents. The interesting thing to note is the names that they gave the smurfs back then. I would say that these names would have also been used by National in the UK.

Within this gem, I came across something that I never thought I would see, a drawing of a blue Papa Smurf! I showed my husband who has little interest in the smurfs as he prefers Doctor Who, for his opinion and he agreed that it did look like Papa Smurf!

How could BP Australia get this so wrong. So I ask you was this just a genuine mistake or was it meant to be a joke? I wonder what Peyo’s reaction would have been.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B