Are you fan of King Smurf?

The King Smurf appeared both in the comics and in the television cartoon series. In the comics he was referred to as the Smurf who in Papa’s Smurf absence competed against Brainy for leadership of the village. However in the television cartoon it was Brainy who in Papa’s Smurf absence decided to make himself King of the village. Natuarally things didn’t go quite to plan both in the comic or television cartoon version.

The King Smurf was the second comic book adventure of the Smurfs written and drawn by Peyo and Yvan Delporte as co-writer. It was first published by Dupuis in French in 1965. Due to the popularity of the comics, this may explain why King Smurf was one of the first figurines produced by Bully in 1974.

King Smurf made by Bully.

King Smurf was made by Bully between 1974 through to 1979. Wearing a yellow a yellow hat with a crown and trousers along with a royal red gown while holding a red mushroom sceptre. During the period Bully made King they changed the mould at least a couple of times.

King Smurf made by Schleich

When Schleich started to produce Smurfs again in 1980, the King Smurf continued to be made until 1994. During this time very little changes were to mould but more to do with the paintwork. A good example of this is the back of the red gown where black paint dots were replaced with stripes. Also on the King Smurfs painted by Bully they always have the neck painted blue. On the newer Smurfs painted by Schleich they never painted the neck blue. Schleich reintroduced the King Smurf in 1998 and 1999.

King Smurf made by Wallace Berrie

The King Smurf was also made in Hong Kong for Wallace Berrie. The odd thing is that I cannot locate the King Smurf in any old Wallace Berrie toy catalogues. I also don’t recall the King Smurf growing up in Australia, as BP tended to sell the Emperor Smurf instead.

In places like the UK, the Emperor with the white hat and gold crown, was known as King, when it was first released in 1979 by National Bemzole. This was changed in 1981 to Emperor upon the release of the Bully King figurine. By 1982 the Emperor had a face lift and was sold with a gold hat, with a yellow crown.

So are you fan of the King Smurf that appears in the comics, tv cartoon series or the figurine? For me, I just adore the figurine because of his expression on his face while trying to look regal.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

http://www.toydreamer.com.au

40th Anniversary McDonald’s Sport Themed Smurfs

McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys are not the same as they used to be made. One only has to look at the Smurfs made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Smurfs in 1998.

In the Summer of 1998 the McDonald’s Corporation in Germany teamed up with I.M.P.S (Brussels) – www.smurf.com to release eight sports themed Smurfs. These were completely new moulds, made out of China. Each figurine had the ‘M’ embossed onto their back of their head. A smaller black printed ‘M’ was also added onto the front of the figurine. The Smurfs are also painted in bright shiny colours.

The promotion took place in Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Series 1 consisted of four Smurfs which included Skateboarder, Inline Skater, Inline Skater Smurfette and Snowboarder. Series 2 consisted of Basketball Smurf, Basketball Smurfette, Baseball Pitcher and Baseball batter.

Skateboarder – Series 1

Riding a yellow skateboard, with his baseball cap turned sideways and wearing green protective gloves.

Inline Skater – Series 1

Wearing orange skates with yellow blades, with corresponding orange shorts and yellow gloves. Can be displayed standing on his skates or on his hands.

Inline Skater Smurfette – Series 1

Smurfette looks more tentive than her skating companion. Wearing yellow skates with orange blades. Orange shorts with white top.

Snowboarder – Series 1

Standing next his yellow snowboard, while wearing wrap around sunglasses, orange shoes, green pants and an orange jacket.

Basketball Smurf – Series 2

Dribbling the basketball in his left hand, while wearing a white with blue edging basketball shorts and singlet top.

Basketball Smurfette – Series 2

Dribbling the basketball in her right hand, Smurfette is wearing a white with an orange edging basketball shorts and singlet.

Baseball Pitcher – Series 2

Pitching the baseball in his left hand, while his right hand has a baseball glove on. Wearing orange baseball pants with a white shirt.

Baseball Batter – Series 2

Wearing orange pants, yellow short sleved top and green under top. Has the bat lifted ready to strike the ball.

In 2007 a series fake sports themed Smurfs tuned up on eBay. These were made out of a very hard pvc material and had average paintwork. But the most interesting thing is that they included a Schleich tag. The original Sports themed Smurfs were never made by Schleich.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

In case you have noticed we have updated the site, to show all posts. So what better way to spend some time away from reality by visting our website http://www.smurfs.com.au

25th Anniversary McDonalds Smurfs

I rediscovered Smurfs as an adult back in 2001. It was the colourful bunch of Smurfs produced for McDonald’s in 1996. The occastion was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of McDonald’s in the Netherlands and Germany. In my opinion, these Smurfs are a great introduction to rediscovering and collecting Smurfs again.

The promotion took place in the Netherlands and Germany in September 1996. Series 1 took place in the first two weeks of the month and series 2 in the second half of the month. Due to the high demand both series 1 and 2 sold out both the end date. I guess we will never know how many were actually produced.

Each Smurf is loosely based on an existing figurine and can be easily identified by the McDonald’s M embossed into the back of the head. It should also be noted that Schleich did not produce the figurines. So the only marking to be found is 96 © Peyo on the Smurf.

To help identify the Smurfs, I have created a quick reference tool for you.

McDonald’s Guitarist

The mould is #20023 Guitarist.
Bright orange guitar with yellow strings

McDonald’s Cheerleader

The mould is #20149 Cheerleader
Bright orange pom pom’s white dress with gold dots to match her gold boots. The Cheerlaeder stands on a round green base.

McDonald’s Majorette

The mould is #20188 Majorette.
Wearing a bright orange outfit with a matching baton. Along with gold boots, feather in the hat and top of the baton. Standing on an oval shaped grass effect base.

McDonald’s Jester

The mould is based on #20090 Jester.
Orange clown outfit with yellow buttons while holding a yellow and orange candy cane. For gold stars on the back of the head.

McDonald’s Present

The mould is based on #20086 Present.
Carrying a bright yellow square present with an orange ribbon and bow.

McDonald’s Cake

The mould is based on #20100 Cake.
Bright orange cake with white frosting on a yellow plate.

McDonald’s Waiter

The mould is based on #20162 Waiter.
The Waiter is carrying a McDonald’s thickshake on a bright orange tray. On the thick shake container is a yellow McDonald’s symbol.

McDonald’s Baker

The mould is based on #20113 Baker.
This is a one piece mould. On the baker’s paddle is a round loaf of bread with white seeds on top. The Smurf is also wearing a white apron.

McDonald’s Big Mac Smurf

The mould is based on #20160 Apple.
Considered one of the most collectible Smurfs out of the 25th anniversary Smurfs. The Smurf is holding onto a Big Mac hamburger in front of him.

McDonald’s 25th Anniversary Smurf

This Smurf was especially made for the promotion and it is not based on any other existing Smurf. The Smurf is standing with his leg crossed over, leaning against a bright orange 25 with the McDonald’s ‘golden arches’ on top.

Tennis Player Smurf #20049

Like many of you, I have a ‘Most Wanted’ List of Smurfs that appears to never shrink in size but to only grow in size. The one piece mould Tennis Player was one of the early ones added to the list and still remains to be found.

The Tennis Player was first made in 1979 by Schleich. In the beginning it was produced as a one piece mould with an orangey red tennis racquet with a yellow tennis ball attached. It is also the one that is shown in the Schleich catalogue between 1979 to 1984. Though I don’t believe it was ever made this long as otherwise there would be hundreds of these out there.

Typically you will find the Tennis Player with a red plastic removable racquet. Due to the popularity it was made in W.Germany, Portugal, Hong Kong and also in China. Tennis Player was produced between 1979 to 2000.

BP Australia also sold Tennis Player in 1980. It is unclear exactly when it was sold but it can be found on Collecting Smurfs is Smurfy poster that appeared in the TV Week in June 1980. Tennis Player was also sold in New Zealand by BP.

Coloured variations

Over the years, I have seen the Tennis Player with different coloured shirts and shorts. Now I am no expert but I don’t believe these were actually produced like this and are genuine. The coloured shirts definetly adds colour to the Smurf but the price tag also associated with them is just crazy. Beware of ‘rare’ coloured variations!

This also brings me to the coloured variations that can be found with the tennis racquet. From my understanding the Tennis Player was only sold with a red plastic tennis racquet. The racquet produced by Schleich has smaller holes compared to the Bully ones with larger holes. So if you happen to find a Tennis Player with a yellow, white or some other coloured tennis racquet, it is more than likely this is from another Bully figurine.

Tennis Player can also be complemented when on display with two other tennis themed Smurfs. Tennis Player #20093 produced by Bully and Tennis Smurfette #20135 produced by Schleich.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B