20019 Archives

I was so excited when I first collected Flower Smurf. Up until then, I had only found a Flower Smurf without its flower. Like many Smurfs from the early 1970s, Flower Smurf is simple in design with a touch of colour. The colour is the Smurf’s flower that sits in the corner of its mouth.

The other standout feature of the early Smurfs us they were hand-painted, compared to Smurfs made today. It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t collect Smurfs that adding eyebrows to a figurine can make a big difference. For example, early Flower Smurfs had no eyebrows like many Smurfs produced in the early 1970’s. It is hard to know if Bully or Schleich painters added the eyebrows.

Another point of difference was the flower. In Germany (then known as West Germany) the flower was attached to pin that was inserted into the side of the Smurf’s mouth. Whereas in Hong Kong, a nylon flower was glued to the side of the mouth.

Different coloured flowers

Do you think the different flowers found with Flower Smurf are genuine? To be honest I am not sure because the catalogues only showed a red flower. However some of the collector’s guide books show different coloured flowers. And what about red plastic flower often referred to as a ‘test version?’

Markings

I like to list the markings on my Smurfs because I find it easier to compare them with each other.

W.Germany Schleich emblem Peyo
W.Germany Peyo (emblem removed by Bully)
Made in Hong Kong Schleich S Peyo 1972
Made in Portugal Peyo (emblem removed)
Made in Portugal Peyo 1972 (no reference to Schleich in the markings)

Finally did you know that Flower Smurf was one of nine Smurfs first sold by BP Australia in 1979? No wonder why there are so many Flower Smurfs in Australia missing their flowers. If their original owners were like me, the flower probably ended up at the bottom of the sand pit.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy Flower Smurf as much as I do. What do you of Flower Smurf? Do you think it has the same appeal today as it did back in the 1970’s?

There is a lot to like about Flower Smurf, especially as we are head into Spring. Like a lot of the early smurfs produced by Schleich, Flower Smurf (Ref# 20019) is a simple designed mould available with different coloured flowers. The hard thing to know is how many were sold genuinely sold by Schleich and Bully especially as the flower can be removed and replaced with a different coloured flower.

What makes Flower Smurf extra special to me is that it was one of the first smurfs released by BP Australia in September 1979. In the beginning BP Australia released ten different smurfs and by the end of 1979 a total of sixteen smurfs were available. This probably explains why it is also not unusual to find Flower Smurf without its flower as anymore.

Like a lot of smurfs made in Germany and Hong Kong at the same time, there are little points of differences one should be aware of. The mould used in Germany and later on in Hong Kong appears to be the same. Both have Flower Smurf standing with his eyes closed, with one hand raised in front of him and the other behind his back with a flower attached to the corner it’s mouth.

When Flower Smurf was first made in Germany, a lot were made without eyebrows. This was quite common for a number of smurfs produced by Schleich before 1974.

The big difference between the two countries, was the material used for the flower. For example the German version used a felt/cotton like material that has generally deteriorated over the years and the Hong Kong version used a nylon like material.

The flower used on the German version appears to have a flower stem that has been pinned into the mould itself. This would make it easy to lose the flower. The Hong Kong version which is most commonly found in Australia has the flower glued to the mould.

If you are lucky enough there are test versions of Flower Smurf to be found. These are generally sold with a plastic flower in it’s mouth. The tricky thing about these ones nobody really knows their authenticity.

Arghhh….. the joys of collecting smurfs in Spring!

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B