Summer is here, and for most of us that means being confronted with hot, humid nights with little sleep or looking for ways to try to keep out of the heat and stay cool. Allow me to introduce to you Thirsty Smurf, a smurf that is a little different to most.

When Thirsty Smurf was first made it only had a © Peyo marking on the arm and W.Germany on the inside of the foot. There are different versions of the bottles, painted yellow straws or unpainted straws to be found. What is strange is that it was never sold by National Petrol in the UK back in early 1980’s. Not really sure why this was. Unless UK authorities thought that it did not meet their toy safety standards. 

Thirsty Smurf was also one of the few smurfs that was made in Hong Kong but never sold by Wallace Berrie in the USA. Thirsty Smurf was sold in Australia, typically with an orange bottle and yellow painted straw. I also tend to find this version has a lighter orange bottle compared to the German made version. 

I have a feeling that BP Australia started selling this around 1982 as it was shown in the BP Getaway Guide Summer 82, selling for just 99 cents! Imagine if you could buy smurfs in 2017 for just 99 cents, how cool and refreshing that would that be. 

Thirsty has also be made as a Promo Smurf for various companies. This may explain why it was never made with a Schleich marking in Europe. Some of these include a Thirsty Smurf holding a Coca Cola shaped bottle, Fanta Smurf with a light brown bottle and WIWA FIT. These are considered extremely rare. I should emphasis the words extremely rare.

One of the more accessible Promo Smurfs using Thirsty was produced by Staatl Fachingen in around 1990. This version holds a green narrow bottle with the words Staatl Fachingen printed in blue on the bottle. This company is based in Germany and sells mineral water. 

I also came across a version of Thirsty holding a bottle without a straw. It is like the mould never had a straw as it is completely smooth across the top of the bottle. This version is very special to me, as I feel it is one that has somehow got through the quality control checks. 

Keep On Smurfin 

Kath B