Hunting for another Hunter Smurf

The Hunter Smurf aims to shoot his silver gun when a yellow bird lands on the end of the gun. This is possibly the most comical figurine ever released.

This Smurf constantly brings a smile on my face. The confusion in his eyes says so much, without saying anything. I also like how the position of the head can vary depending on the mould. This is a very clever trick used by the makers that should have been used more.

Hunter Smurf #20106 was made between 1979 to 1989. It was first made by Bully, right at the end of their tenure. By 1980 Bully had lost the licence to make and sell Smurfs to Schleich.

As part of the agreement, Schleich was not able to remove the Bully markings from the figurines until around 1984. Hunter Smurf can be found with both Bully and Schleich markings.

In 1982 Hunter Smurf was also being produced out of Hong Kong. It was then sold by BP New Zealand and Wallace Berrie for the USA. It looks like the same mould was used in Hong Kong and Europe. But true to this period, the Hunter Smurf painted in Hong Kong is found with darker colours.

Sadly the Smurfs being produced in 2020, appear to lack imagination. Some of 2020 Smurfs have recycled ideas from past Smurfs. A Smurf hugging a bottle or a Smurf with a medal. However this is what makes Hunter Smurf so distinctive, possibly even quirky. There is no other Smurf like this or ever will be.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

Party Pigs Ice Hockey Smurfs

It’s funny how things happen. In 1999 a special limited edition pair of Ice Hockey Smurfs were released in Canada. The story goes that the Ice Hockey Smurfs were distributed by Party Pigs, the Canadian division of Schleich. Approximately 2000 were thought to have been made until they were pulled by Schleich as they were not properly licensed.

Ice Hockey Player 1

This Smurf is made out of blue pvc material. Is wearing a white helmet, with white and black uniform and red details. Initially given article number 20458 by Party Pigs.

Ice Hockey Player 2

This Smurf is made out of blue pvc material. Is wearing a navy blue helmet, with red and navy blue uniform and white details. Initially given article number 20459 by Party Pigs.

In the Smurf Collector’s Club International Newsletter Issue #54 they make mention of the special release. However, there is no mention in future newsletters of the special release being pulled.

It’s hard to resist these Ice Hockey Smurfs even if you know nothing about the sport. I was to lucky enough to buy mine as a pair over ten years ago. But as time goes on, the pair of Ice Hockey Smurfs are getting harder to find.

Watch out for coloured ice hockey sticks

What most people don’t realise is that the Ice Hockey Smurfs were never actually sold like this. The coloured sticks were made for Sniks and feature the puck on the right hand of the stick. The Ice Hockey Smurfs were only ever made with a brown stick with the puck on the left hand side.

Do you know something about the Party Pigs Ice Hockey Smurfs, let us know?

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

P.S I’d love to hear your thoughts. We would like to hear your comments, qiestions and opinions – please contact us by using the Comments field.

Early Prisoner Smurf

Today, I want to share with you a very special Prisoner Smurf, #20010.

In 1965 Schleich received an unexpected order from BP for small, blue plastic figurines that BP was planning to give away for free. The Smurfs were characters from the Johan and Peewit stories created by Peyo. Back then the Smurfs played only a minor role in the stories. As a result, the promotion surprised both Schleich and BP.

In the beginning Schleich only used the one mould when they started to produce the Smurfs. The same mould was painted in three ways – Normal, Gold and Prisoner.

My own experience

I am lucky enough to have in my collection, the Prisoner Smurf. If you look closely enough at the picture, you can see the outline of a smile. The black stripes are also noticeably different compared to other Prisoners. For example this one only has three stripes on his hat, whereas typically you will find four. It also has less stripes on his trousers compared to the other Prisoners I have.

These early Smurfs typically come with no markings at all or just with a © Peyo marking on the back of the arm. This may have something to do with the Smurfs being given away as promotional give aways.

When I purchased this Prisoner Smurf, I had no idea of its history but I knew it was special. It didn’t bother me, that it wasn’t in mint condition as I don’t think any of my Smurfs are considered in mint condition. Smurfs were made to be toys and to be played with.

I love the background history of my Prisoner Smurf. For me, this is enough to make him extra special for me. A Smurf does not need to be exspensive to be loved by its owner.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

Smurf Drum Playset

In my opinion, this playset was created with adult collectors in mind. The Smurf Drum Playset #40623 was first released in 1998 by Schleich which also coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Smurfs. It was made right though to 2009, with little if any changes made to the playset.

However, it is often overshadowed by the 40th anniversary Smurf band, which is a shame as this is a great display piece in its own right. That’s once you have mastered and worked out how to put all the pieces of the drum kit come together.

The Drum playeset includes a 7 piece drum kit. Including a Drummer Smurf, a single cymbal, two cymbals, drum kit, microphone, snare drum, stool, foot pedal and a black circle base.

The Drummer is wearing an apricot colour singlet, purple pants and white shoes. On his right wrist appears to be a brown studded wristband. The figurine is in a sitting position to allow it to sit on the stool. In each hand is a lemon coloured drumstick.

During the time it was produced by Schleich it was sold in two different boxes. The first box has a Smurf head in the top right hand corner with a dancing smurfs pattern. A picture of the playset is on the top and on the both sides. The second box has Peyo Creations in the the top right hand corner with a dancing smurfs pattern box. The second box was only available for less than a year.

It should be noted that though the boxes were changed, there was no changes made to the actual playset.

Final thoughts

For those new to collecting, I highly recommend adding this playset to your collection for it’s bright colours and disposition. It may not be suitable for little children due to the little pieces of drum kit but don’t let that stop you. Especially if you are an adult like me and love displaying your smurf collection.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

Fact: Schleich never released a playset with the article number 40622.