Majorette Smurfette

Like anything collectible, fakes are always possible. Which leads me to ask the question is the Majorette Smurfette wearing a blue uniform with red boots – fake or genuine? I cannot confirm whether this is fake or genuine as I have never seen one with the naked eye, so I thought I would throw up discussion to see what others thought.

From my understanding there are two different versions of Majorette Smurfette to be found. The first version is Majorette standing on light green small round base, lavender boots and baton with Hong Kong markings. The second version of Majorette is also standing on a small round base, pink boots and baton with W.Germany markings. I should also point out this is not including the McDonalds Promotional Smurf made in 1996 with gold boots.

Majorette were first sold in Europe and the USA in 1985. By 1985 smurfs were being sold by Applause formerly known as Wallace Berrie. However the majority of the smurfs sold by Applause have Wallace Berrie markings. It is possible Applause only sold Majorette for one year. Schleich produced Majorette from 1985 through to 1989.

It is unclear when Majorette with the blue uniform with red boots first surfaced. Though like any colour variations you should always tread with care. Because sadly there are always people out there willing to repaint a smurf to make a bit of extra money. As long as there is money to earn by making fakes there will be people making fakes. So if someone can prove to me this version of Majorette is genuine I would be forever grateful.

When I first started collecting smurfs, I was miffed and why anyone would want to buy a repaint or fake smurf. Then I started to realise the importance of collecting these kind of smurfs. It allowed me to build on my knowledge on collecting. In the beginning it began with just reading and observing other smurf collections online. Then I started to collect some, as there is no replacement for handling and observing a smurf up close.

So when I saw this fake of Majorette wearing a green outfit I could not resist I just had to buy her. For me, I could quite clearly see that it was fake because of the shape and feel of the mould along with the dodgy paintwork.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

Jokey Smurf and his present

Jokey Smurf is one of the most recognisable smurfs, whether it be from the comics, cartoon shows, figurines or more recently in the smurf movies, Jokey Smurf is best known for giving an exploding present to an unsuspecting smurf.

This is where your childhood memories can play a bit of a role with your smurf collecting habits. Depending who you ask is this could be a good or bad thing. Good in the sense that it brings back happy memories of growing up with the smurfs or bad as you will go to extreme measures to collect particular smurfs.

For me, I never grew up reading the comics or watching the cartoon shows. I had a soft toy called Smurfee that was loved to death but generally my interest stems from collecting smurfs with different markings. Jokey or Present as it is generally referred in the collecting guides is one with many different markings.

Present Smurf was first produced by Bully in 1975. This early version is found with hand etched Bully © Peyo markings under the feet and unpainted eyebrows. Like a lot of early smurfs made by Bully they made out of softer pvc material.

For those of you interested in different colour variations, the Bully marked Present Smurf are found with an orange ribbon wrapped around a white gift box.

In 1983 Wallace Berrie started making their version of Present Smurf made out of Hong Kong and called him Jokey with Present. This version can be found with a red ribbon wrapped around a white gift box.

Around 1988 Schleich changed the colour of the present to yellow with a red ribbon. As this was only sold like this for four years, this smurf is highly sought after by collectors. Like all highly sought after smurfs, my advise is to watch out for repaints! If you are lucky to find one, make sure that it has the markings West Germany Schleich S © Peyo 1975 and a black paint dot under it’s feet. It should also have a small Ce marking on it’s back.

In 1996 McDonalds in Germany and the Netherlands released the McDonald’s 25th Anniversary Smurfs to celebrate 25 years of McDonalds operating in those countries. As part of this special release – Happy Anniversary Smurfs, Present was made with a yellow present and a red ribbon. Like the others released as part of the promotion each one has the letter ‘M’ embossed on the back of the head.

When one starts thinking of the classic smurfs, Jokey is one that is always thrown up in the discussion. But for some reason they decide to make Grouchy instead. I am sure they have their reasons, but I would like to see a new version of Present Smurf made as I always have a soft spot for a prankster.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

Drummer Smurf Discovery

There is no better feeling than making a smurf discovery that you didn’t realise you had. Or when you are out looking for smurfs to add to your collection. When I first started collecting I would often find Drummer Smurf in a squatting like position with red and white drumsticks playing a red drum.

So imagine my surprise when I came across a Drummer with yellow drumsticks. At first I thought that it was not that unusual to find colour variations within a particular smurf. But there was something about this Drummer looked different to my other Drummers. So as habit, I picked up the smurf to look underneath for it’s markings and discovered it was a two piece mould with no markings under the drum.

Had I just come across a smurf that looked genuine to the eye but was actually a fake because it was a two piece mould that shared no markings under the drum. Surely not. The PVC material felt so real and not like a grotesque hard home made ones.

I then suddenly recalled reading about some early smurfs made by Schleich were made out of two moulds. Once again I picked up the smurf to have a closer inspection and found a © Peyo marking on the arm. Slowly my breathing started to return to normal and collector’s instinct started to kick in. It was at that point I knew I had to have this smurf.

When I arrived home, I found one of my existing Drummer’s and started to examine the difference between the two versions. Sometimes it is not until you can closely compare two smurfs together that you really notice smaller differences between them.

#20009 Yellow Drumsticks version. Considered rare by Toy Dreamer

The Drummer with red and white drumsticks appears to be squatting behind his drum. You could almost see his knees are hugging the drum. The figure and drum are an one piece mould.

The Drummer with yellow drumsticks appears to be almost standing behind his drum. The drum is a seperate piece to the figure. If you look at this Drummer from a side on view you can actually see how the drum slots into the smurf.

Schleich first made Drummer back in 1966 as a two piece mould with yellow drumsticks. At some stage between 1966 and 1972 Schleich started making Drummer as one piece mould, still with yellow drumsticks. It wasn’t until around 1977 that the Drummer was sold with red and white drumsticks.

If you have a passion for smurfs sold in Australia, Drummer was one of the first ten smurfs sold by BP Australia back in 1979. This is also one of the reasons why Drummer is still easily found today, as they can be easily found in someone’s stashed away childhood collections.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

Trumpet playing smurfs

It’s easy to get confused when collecting smurfs, especially when there are two smurfs that share the same name. Even though there are two smurfs that play the trumpet, both smurfs are distinctly different – thank goodness.

The first trumpet smurf was produced by the manufacturer Bully in 1974 and is generally referred to as Trumpet Player. Like a lot of early smurfs produced by Bully these can be found with only © Peyo marking on the arm or with Bully © Peyo hand etched markings under the feet.

Another lovely quality feature about these early Bully smurfs is that they were made out of a softer PVC material. If you ever get the chance try squeezing one in your fingers and then try squeezing a Schleich made smurf and you will feel the difference.

The Schleich version is often referred to as Trumpeter and is one to keep an eye out for especially if you like to collect smurfs based on their markings. This smurf has the mould year as 1974 but was not sold until 1978 by Schleich. It also has no © Peyo marking instead it has large C in a circle.

The first version was produced with reddish orange pants and playing a yellow trumpet. Shortly afterwards Schleich changed the pants to white and also started adding the © Peyo marking to the smurf. When I first came across the Trumpeter with reddish orange pants I thought that the previous had painted the pants himself. But after a little research I found that this was a genuine version produced by Schleich.

The Trumpeter version sold in Australia was made Hong Kong and can be found playing a mustard coloured trumpet. This version can be found with © 1974 Peyo diagonally on his trousers and Schleich S on his arm. Later the markings were moved to under the feet, more than likely when Wallace Berrie started selling Trumpeter in the USA around 1981.

There are big differences between this 2.0072 Trumpet Player Smurf and 2.0047 Trumpeter Smurf to be aware of when searching for these smurfs. Trumpet Player is standing with his feet together and his eyes are wide open and Trumpeter is in more a walking stance and has his eyes closed!

In my opinion both trumpet playing smurfs are worth collecting because they are quite different from each other.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B