I never really watched the cartoon series that was on television back in the 1980’s. Even now I haven’t really sought them out to watch. Most people find this quite surprising considering I like to collect Smurf figurines. So imagine my surprise when I found out about the story behind the making of Puppy.
In 1987 Schleich declared bankruptcy but somehow managed to release eight new Smurfs. One of these was Puppy #20405. In the Smurf Collector’s Club International (SCCI) newsletter issue 7 it goes into detail how Peyo had not approved some of the colours on the figurines. It goes onto to say that the SCCI wrote to Peyo voicing their objections and opinions.
One of their objections was to do with the figurine Puppy. “Puppy’s ears on the cartoon are different in colour. Also his body appears to be greyish and not brown like the figurine”. What’s interesting to note that Peyo wrote back to the SCCI to confirm modifications would be made. Two years later, Puppy was produced in grey.
Upon reading this, I knew I had look out for Puppy brown or grey I didn’t care. But luckily for me my first Puppy was a brown mould. Soon after that I had two grey moulds with different markings. I also knew it was in my best interest to learn more about the origins of Puppy.
What to look out for with Puppy
When looking to add Puppy to your collections, there are a couple of things to take of note.
Firstly, the markings are found on Puppy’s stomach and not on his feet.
Secondly, Schleich and Applause both produced versions of Puppy. Both produced brown and grey moulds.
Lastly in 2011 a board game included Puppy with a very light brown mould. Some say only 250 board games included this version of Puppy. In spite of that I was able to find one in The Netherlands in 2019.
I guess it just goes to show that behind every Smurf there is a story.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B