Someone asked me about the Tennis Smurf and what colour should the racquet be. Before I could answer their question, I had to first find out which Tennis Smurf were they talking about as both Schleich and Bully produced their own Tennis Smurfs. So here goes:
Bully first produced their Tennis Smurf in 1977 as a one piece mould. This was only made like this for a very short time and is one of many smurfs on my ‘most wanted list’. Dressed in a white shirt and shorts with their tennis racquet in their right hand and a tennis ball in the left hand. They then changed the mould so it had a yellow plastic removable racquet. These can be found in may different shades of yellow.
I should also mention that it is also possible to find this Tennis Smurf with Schleich markings. This is because in 1984 blocked the original Bully marking and added it with their Schleich marking on the arm. If you are lucky enough you may also come across one made in Sri Lanka by Schleich. This Tennis Smurf has the reference number 20093 and is a little harder to in Australia than the other Tennis Smurf.
Schleich first produced their Tennis Smurf in 1978/79 also as a one piece mould. This was only made a for a short period like this and was later changed to a red plastic removable racquet. Dressed in a white shirt and shorts with a yellow sweatband on his right wrist. This Tennis Smurf was very popular in Australia and can still be easy to find with or without the racquet. This Tennis Smurf has the reference number 20049.
Regarding the tennis racquets the ones with the small holes are Schleich made and the ones with the larger holes are Bully made. It is also quite possible to find both of the Tennis Smurfs with different coloured racquets. So the Bully Tennis Smurf should come with a yellow racquet and the Schleich Tennis Smurf with a red racquet. But hey, it allows you to add colour and variety to your collection without detracting from the smurfs.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B