Well, I will be honest I was not expecting Schleich to re-release their Halloween Smurfs in 2016. Was this Schleich offering us a trick or treat this Halloween? My feelings it was unexpected treat.
Back in 2006 Schleich released their eight Halloween themed smurfs. This included Dracula, Ghost, Werewolf, Mummy, Grim Reaper, Frankenstein, Witch 2 and Pumpkin. (Schleich reference numbers 20541 to 20548). The markings to be found was: Made in Germany Schleich S Germany Peyo © 2005 Ce
At the time there was a real mixed response by collectors, some loved them and some disliked them as in their eyes they did not look like smurfs. This may be one of the reasons why they were only sold by Schleich for two years.
Around 2010 fake smurfs were starting to be found of the Halloween set. Generally fakes can be easily dismissed by collectors but on this occasion the Halloween set become highly collectible due to the fact that the pirate copy of the smurfs had mispelt China on the markings. The marking was made with – Made in Chian instead of Made in Germany.
So it would be interesting to know the reasons of why Schleich decided to reproduce the Halloween smurfs. Perhaps this is part of new change of direction for the smurfs, to be released to celebrate special events throughout the year. This started with the announcement of the Olympic Smurfs being re-released this year in August when Rio hosted the Olympic Games.
For someone who is passionate about collecting smurfs based on their markings this could be the beginning of exciting times for collecting smurfs. The new set of Halloween Smurfs can be found with the markings: Made in Germany Schleich S Am Limes 69 D-73527 Schw. Gmund Peyo © 2005 CE with time stamp.
So what will be the next event that Schleich will celebrate. Let’s hope it is Christmas.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B