New 2017 Smurfs

2017 looks like a big year for smurf fans! Which is fantastic news for those you who enjoy collecting anything related to do with the smurfs!

This week Schleich released their first sneak preview of the 2017 Smurfs. At this stage there will be six new figurines released in around January. As the flyer is written in German I have tried to translate the best I could into English using online translate tool. Apologies in advance if the translation is not quite right.

Reason to celebrate with smurfs!

#20794 Guardian Angel
#20795 Smurf with key
#20796 Groom
#20797 Smurf with Cloverleaf
#20798 Smurf with bunch of flowers
#20799 Bride Smurfette

At this point of time there has been no mention by Schleich if there will be any additional smurfs produced in conjunction with the release of the new smurf movie – Smurfs The Lost Village. At the time of writing the new movie is due to be released in at the end March in 2017.

It will be interesting to see if the actual figurines will end up looking like this or if these are just prototypes released by Schleich. Now smurf collectors like you and me will begin to speculate what smurfs will be retired at the end of 2016.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

What are Plastoy Smurfs?

If you are looking for something to complement your smurf display, you may want to consider looking at Plastoy Smurfs. After the 2inch smurf figurines, Plastoy Smurfs are my favourite because of their comic like appearance and how they work with my smurf display due to their size being around 12cm tall.

Plastoy Smurfs are made out of a hard resin that feel very much like a ceramic like material. This makes them feel quite brittle and can be very breakable. Originally from France, Plastoy makes not only smurfs but other comic characters such as Asterix and Garfield.

In 1996 Plastoy first produced a chess set based on the smurfs. This smurf chess set is extremely hard to find. The chess pieces are made out of resin, just like their figurines.

In 2000, six smurfs were released as part of Series 1. These included Papa Smurf, Laughing Smurf, Grouchy Smurf, Naughty Smurf, Angry Smurf and Smurfette.

In 2003, seven smurfs were released as part of Series 2. These included Brainy Smurf, Hefty Smurf, King Smurf, Vanity Smurf, Earache Smurf, Shy Smurf and Lazy Smurf.

In 2009 Plastoy introduced two sets of bath (squeaky) toys which included four smurfs in are set. These are beautiful and bright and are made of a high quality material.

In the same year, Plastoy released another chess set. This time the pieces were made of a pvc material.

In 2011, four smurfs were released as part of Series 3. These included Astro Smurf, Greedy, Prisoner and Smurfette with a baby smurf.

Around 2012 a series of six Smurf eggs were released. The Smurfs in the eggs are like the bath (squeaky) toys but the plastic is slightly harder. I think it was around this time that Plastoy started producing some fridge magnets and money boxes.

The last Plastoy Smurfs released was in 2015. This included Hefty with halters, Smurfs shaking hands, Smurfette with a heart and a mini smurf money box.

When you are passionate about collecting smurfs like myself, you sometimes have to make a choice on what smurf toys or merchandise do you want to collect. I can highly recommend that Plastoy Smurfs are a great addition to any smurf collection.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

Blue Smurfs

We smurf fans have a lot to thank Nine Culliford for. Nine Culliford died on 5th July 2016 and was the wife of Pierre Culliford, more famously known as Peyo. It is thought to believe that it was her suggestion to make the smurfs blue.

Nine Culliford was a colourist and worked closely with Peyo in creating the initial design elements of the smurfs. Different colours were initially discussed at the beginning, but Peyo believed a pink colour would make them look too human like. The colour green was dismissed as the smurfs would live in a forest surrounded by green foliage, the colour red would make them stand out way too much and yellow is considered unlucky by some so that was quickly dismissed. Supposedly in Nine Culliford’s eyes this only left one possible colour – blue.

Nine was the colourist for the Smurfs from their first appearance in “Johan et Pirlouit” (Johan and Peewit) in 1958 until her husband’s death in 1992, and she continued to be active on Smurf projects after her son Thierry and her daughter Véronique took over.

It was in 1959 that the smurfs starred in their own mini stories and was also the same year that we saw the introduction of smurf merchandise. The concept was conceived by Dupuis when they started to produce 5cm latex figurines of their characters that included the Smurfs.

It is hard to think of any other comic character that is not as well known as the Smurfs. Their distinctive blue colour ensures that Smurfs will always be unique and unlike anything else.

If some call Peyo the spiritual father of the Smurfs then Nine must surely be called their spiritual mother. Nine Culliford was 86 years of age when she passed away.

Thank you Nine for your contribution, R.I.P

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B