first aid smurfs

There are 2 posts tagged first aid smurfs (this is page 1 of 1).

First Aid Smurf

I like to collect different colour variations of Smurfs. In the beginning, this was more accidental than intentional. I was just fascinated and still am in collecting Smurfs painted or made in different countries. One of the best examples is First Aid Smurf #20054.

In the beginning, I only knew of the First Aid Smurf carrying a white case with a medical cross. This variant was made in Hong Kong and sold by BP Australia in the early 1980s.

Colour variations of First Aid

It wasn’t until I started to collect Smurfs as an adult that I discovered Schleich their version of First Aid Smurf. Their first version of First Aid Smurf was with a brown case without a medical cross. Then a brown case with a medical cross. Around 1984 probably around 1984 possibly earlier, Schleich started to paint the case yellow.

Schleich was very proud to show us that each Smurf was individually hand painted. One only has to look at their 1984 catalogue and the lovely photos to get a glimpse of the process. http://forum.bluecavern.com/viewtopic.php?t=12765

I always thought that Schleich was more adventurous when painting their Smurfs. There appears to be more colour variations by Schleich compared to Wallace Berrie. Was this intentional or accidental?

Some of the many variations of First Aid Smurf

Not surprisingly First Aid Smurf has also been used for different promotions. The colour of the case on these ones also vary in colour and can be fun to collect. Then there is also the hand painted fakes…. endless fun depending on what you like to collect.

Keep on Smurfin
Kath B

Malteser Smurfs – a good cause

If you’re looking for something that adds another dimension to your smurf collection, how about collecting promotional smurfs that were produced for a charity organisation.

In 2003, a new promotional smurf was produced by Schleich for Malteser Hilfsdienst (Maltese Aid Service) in Germany to celebrate their 50 year anniversary. The Malteser Hilfsdienst is an emergency service from Malta which has activities world wide. The promotional smurf was based on the regular First Aid Smurf, Ref#20054.

promo20054aThe Malteser Smurf is wearing red pants and a white shirt that displays the Malteser Hilfsdienst logo. The smurf is carries a silver case, which also displays the Malteser Hilfsdienst logo and the word Malteser written in black text.  The logo is a red shield with white cross in the middle. The smurf has the markings under the case – Made in China Schleich S Germany Peyo (c) 78 CE. A blue paint dot is also found under the smurf’s foot.

 

In July 2003, Schleich produced one run of 5,000 pieces, the smallest run they would produce for a promo at that time. They were shipped to Maltese in August 2003, and distribution began in September 2003. 3000 of the 5000 smurfs were distributed throughout the 600 Maltese departments.  The remaining 2000 were to be sold through a distributor or official Maltese model cars to raise funds for Malteser Hilfsdienst.

promo20054b

Following the huge success of the first Maltese promo smurf, Malteser Hilfsdienst released four more smurf figures the following year in 2004. This set included Techno smurf Ref# 20437, Nurse Smurfette Ref# 20139, First Aid German Red Cross and Die Johanniter Ref# 20054.

At it’s peak Schleich was producing a large variety of promotional smurfs. The number of promotional smurfs that have been produced since 2000 may have become less frequent but are still highly important especially if they are raising the profile of a charity organisation such as Malteser Hilfsdienst.

Keep on Smurfin

Kath B