May 2018

There were 4 posts published in May 2018 (this is page 1 of 1).

Papa Captain – sailor’s warning

We first see Papa Captain # 20141 in the 1982 Schleich catalogue wearing red trousers, white jacket with gold buttons, a white cap with a red trim and black brim. He is holding a gold telescope to his eye. Also in the same year Papa Captain was produced out of Hong Kong and was sold in the USA by Wallace Berrie. 

In the catalogues there are no versions of the Papa Captain with white trousers and a navy blue jacket with yellow buttons and holding a yellow telescope or a Papa Captain with red trousers with a navy blue jacket with gold buttons and holding a gold telescope. Both of these Papa Captain’s are considered quite rare and can often be found to be repaints.

When considering adding these rare Papa Captain’s to your collection there are a couple of things to keep an eye open for before making your purchase.

  1. The navy blue jacket, should be painted both on the inside and outside.
  2. The navy blue paint is dull not shiny
  3. If holding a yellow telescope, the navy blue jacket should have yellow buttons
  4. The markings are W.Germany Schleich S © Peyo 1981

 

Papa Captain has also be used as a promotional smurf by different companies in it’s time. Two of these companies used the more common version of Papa Captain, the one with the red trousers and white jacket. The first one was used to promote the German bank – Merkur and has the MB emblem (a balanced scale with wings and the letters M and B stamped in black ink on the back of the head. The second one was used to promote the diary company Petit Gervais – and has Petit Gervais CE printed in white under the feet.

The other company that used Papa Captain was OMO, that produced washing powder. In 1983 OMO produced little mini blue smurfs that came free inside a box of washing powder. A total of 16 were produced and each one has the markings OMO © 1983 Peyo.

Papa Captain was sold by Schleich between 1982 to 1994 and then in 1998 to 1999.  During this time different gold paint was used for the telescope and the buttons on the white jacket. I have at least one that was made in Hong Kong that has more of a bronze coloured telescope and tarnished coloured buttons, making them look green in colour. 

Papa Captain is also commonly referred to as Sea Captain and is worth adding to your collection. If you are looking to add the rarer version of Papa Captain, the ones with the navy blue jacket to your collection and would like a second opinion first – just let me know – happy to help

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

 

 

Bride & Groom Smurfs

If someone had asked me what I would do at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding to make it different to previous royal weddings, I would advise them to add a Bride & Groom Smurfs on the top of their wedding cake so the whole world could see.

In 1992 Schleich released, eight new smurfs which included Bride and Groom. All these smurfs were made in Germany. The Bride Smurfette, #40412 can be found holding her bouquet of pink flowers, wearing a white wedding dress with pink flowers around her hat. The Groom, #40213 can be foundwearing a blue bow tie, red flower on his chest and a white top hat. 

Both were sold by Schleich from 1992 right through to 2014 and didn’t change much during this time. Some collectors questioned why the Groom was not wearing a pink flower and bow tie to match with Smurfette’s flowers. But overall both Bride and Groom are still very popular with collectors, especially those about to be married. 

In 2013, Schleich released Bride & Groom, #20746 which was one of the first times Schleich combined two figurines. The Groom is wearing a black top hat and tails and is carrying his bashful Bride who is wearing a long white wedding gown. This was part of the 2013 Celebration theme series and was sold up until 2016.

The last Bride and Groom smurfs released by Schleich was in 2017 as part of the Occasion theme series. In my opinion these are the most disappointing ones, as they are seriously lacking any cuteness or personality. The Groom, #20796 looks like he is sleep walking which is a never good sign especially when your wedding day is meant to be one of the biggest days of your life. It was displayed in the catalogues wearing a black top hat tails but was actually sold wearing a grey top hat and tails and the Bride, #20799 just looks bored. 

So if you are looking to get some smurfs to be displayed  on your wedding cake, stick to the Bride and Groom produced back in 1992, I highly recommend them as people just adore them. Well, at least from my experience they did. 

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

 

Eurovision for Smurfs

While we all enjoy the weird and wonderful at this’s year’s Eurovison from Portugal, I wanted to share with you a picture that I was recently sent. It is a picture of the album cover of Friends released by the American performer Chick Corea in 1978.


What makes this picture extra special is the portrayal of a smurf band. Trumpet, Drummer, Guitarist and an extra special smurf playing the piano – Lute. (without his lute).

In 1998 Schleich released the 40th Anniversary Rock Band, to coincide with the smurfs 40th annivery (1958 to 1998). Inluded in the set was Drummer Smurf and Drums, Keyboard Smurf and Keyboard, Bass Guitar Smurf, Lead Guitar Smurf and Singer Smurf with Microphone. The set also includes the stage, speakers and a 40th Anniversary Banner. Each band member was wearing silver trousers and different coloured fluro tops. Very Eurovision!

To complement this, Schleich also released Anniversary Display #40400 in 1998. This display box set included the new playset Drummer #40623, the new Super Smurf Keyboarder #40250 and three regular smurfs, Lead Guitar #20449, Bass Guitar #20450 and Lead Singer #20451. 

By 2002 Schleich had changed their tune and released 12 set Marching Band. This was the first time Schleich would base all their new smurfs on a particular theme. Up until then they had only released a pair of smurfs on a particular theme; for example Caveman and Cavewoman. 

The Marching Band smurfs were made up of twelve smurfs each wearing a red jacket with gold frogging, navy blue trousers with a gold stripe except for Smurfette who was wearing a navy blue skirt and their white smurf hat’s included a navy blue peak. As the Marching Band smurfs were only sold by Schleich in 2002 and 2003 these smurfs are highly collectible.

One of the biggest and most extraordinary music hits was ‘The Smurf Song’ performed by Father Abraham in 1978. This simple (annoying) song ended up making number 1 on the music charts in 16 countries. More recently Andre Rieu has also been performing ‘The Smurf Song’ at his concerts with Father Abraham, much to the bemusement of his audience. 

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

Smurf Referee

They are there to make sure everyone is playing within the rules of the game. The sports referee is someone I have always admire as not only do they have to deal with the players but also their fans.

Over the years Schleich has been producing smurfs there have been at least three different sports referees. These include: #20191 Brainy Referee released in 1985, #20472 Referee released in 2001 and most recently #20809 Football Smurf Referee in 2018.

Today I just wanted to concentrate on one, Brainy Referee as in my opinion this is the most interesting one out of the three. Not only because of it’s markings but also on the different bases that can be found. By knowing something about each of the different bases used can help you roughly determine when it was released. 

When Brainy Referee was first made in Hong Kong around 1984, the figurine was glued to the base and not attached to the base with a plug like the others. The oval shaped base used appeared to be half the thickness of the standard base. It is thought that this base was only produced like this for a short period of time as it was deemed unstable.

This was later changed to a thicker base with a grass pattern oval base. If you are lucky enough to have both, you can clearly see this when inspecting both bases. 

There was also a Hong Kong version of Brainy Referee that was released that had no markings except for a cavity number. This is typically found with a more green mound base. 

In Europe, a smooth light green oval base was used and duller paint colours were used. Markings can be found on both the figurine and the base: W.Germany Schleich S © 84 Peyo. 

Brainy Referee was sold by Schleich between 1985 to 1989 and then again from 1993 to 1996, so it is possible to find it with a CE marking. There was also version made in China that was sold with the French magazine Je Collectionne les Schtroumpfs. This magazine was sold between 2004 to 2006.

I hope this has helped resolve some of the unknowns of Brainy Referee that you may have come across. By having a little bit of information about your smurfs, will not only help your collection grow but also allow you to have an appreciation of those who make the smurfs. 

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B