Car Driver

There are 2 posts tagged Car Driver (this is page 1 of 1).

Prototype Smurfs

It’s always fascinating to see some smurfs that were painted one way in a catalogue and for any number of reasons was never actually sold like this. What I would like to know is do these smurfs actually exist? To give you some idea of what I am talking about, I have added pictures from particular Schleich catalogues. These catalogues can be found on the Blue Cavern Forum site and is well worth a visit if you love your smurf history. 

Fancy car with gold steering wheel

In the 1979 Schleich Dealer’s catalogue we see the Car Driver, #40210 with a gold coloured steering wheel. In Europe Car Driver was typically found with a yellow steering wheel and in Australia & USA it was commonly found with a brown steering wheel. The wheels also look a little different in the picture. In the same catalogue there is a picture of the Cyclist, #40501 where the spokes are painted white and the tyres are painted black. Once again this was later sold with grey tyres. More recently I have seen a picture of a Cyclist with black tyres but I could not tell from the picture if this was genuine or not. 

#20105 Scot – brown pipes on bagpipes

In 1979 Bully lost the rights to produce smurfs and by 1980 Schleich was starting to show both Bully and Schleich made smurfs in their catalogue.   Little changed with the Bully smurfs pictured in 1980 Schleich catalogue to what was actually released except for Scot, #20105 which was pictured with brown bagpipes and sold with yellow bagpipes instead. What is a mystery with this smurf, was it Bully or Schleich who changed the colour of the bagpipes. To complicate things, Schleich never changed the Bully markings on Scot between 1980 to 1984 due to some legal agreement made between Bully and Schleich.  

1988 Schleich Dealer’s Catalogue

In the 1988 Schleich Dealer’s catalogue, the Foreman #20229 had a white hard helmet which was later changed to orange. It is also interesting to see that Hula Smurfette and Fitness were only hand drawn sketches. By 1989 the actual figurines appeared in the Schleich catalogue. It should also be noted at this point that in 1988 and 1991 there were no new smurfs produced by Schleich. 

Even in 2017 Groom Smurf, #20796 was originally pictured wearing a black suit and top hat. So imagine my surprise when I received mine wearing a grey suit and top hat. My guess is that they decided to change the colour of the suit so Groom Smurf would not be confused with Bride & Groom, #20746 released in 2013. I think I prefer the Groom wearing a black suit.

Then there is always the infamous Christmas Bell Ringer shown in 1984 Schleich catalogue or the Fireman with the red hose in the 1992 Schleich catalogue……….

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B

 

Super Smurfs Cars

After receiving such a positive response from my previous piece on Super Smurf Papa Smurf Teacher it made me think of other Super Smurfs that sometimes can be found mixed up. Smurf in Car also known as Car Driver is one that can be easily found with the wrong smurf figurine if you are not careful. 

This was one of the first Super Smurfs sold in Australia by BP Australia and was commonly made in Hong Kong and can be found with a red car and brown steering wheel. The markings are found underneath the front of the vehicle and the figurine is generally found with a dark yellow helmet. 

In Europe, Car Driver was made both in West Germany and then also in Portugal. Once again a red car was used but this one has yellow steering wheel. The same kind of figurine was used wearing white pants and a yellow helmet. I do not think they ever produced one with a brown or black steering wheel on this version. It was first sold around 1979 by Schleich. 

In 1990 Applause tried to relaunch the smurfs to the USA and introduced the Roll- A-Long Line of Super Smurfs. Though the same figurine was used, this time the car was bright orange with a bright green steering wheel. Sadly these were only sold for a short time and are now highly collectible. 

Between 1991 to 1993 Schleich produced a new yellow car with  a black steering wheel. For some reason Schleich decided to use the figurine that was originally produced for the Tricycle Super Smurf where it has racing goggles resting on his white hat. Then later on for Log Car produced around 1983. 

Every now and then you may find the Car Driver with a smurf wearing a green helmet. This is incorrect as this smurf belongs to Go Cart. 

So as you can see it is quite easy to mix up the smurfs and their vehicles whether it be a red or yellow car or go cart. 

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B