In the early 1990s new child safety laws forced the discontinuation of a number of smurfs that were made with separate, removable, parts. These include Hot Dog smurf, Papa with Pizza, Smurfette with Ice cream, Hamburger smurf, Heart smurf, Gargamel with net, Surprise Cone smurfs and many others.
Today I just wanted to talk to you about Hot Dog smurf first sold by Wallace Berrie in 1983. Wearing his customary white trousers and hat, while holding out in front of him with both hands a large hot dog bun, with a red hot dog and mustard. Wallace Berrie only sold Hot Dog smurf for two years 1983 and 1984.
Hot Dog smurf was also sold by Schleich in Europe but only for two years; 1984 to 1986. This was made in West Germany and also in Portugal.
If you like to collect smurfs based on their markings, be mindful that with Hot Dog smurf the markings are on the body of the smurf and not under their feet. So as far as I am aware it can be found with the following markings:
- Made in Hong Kong W. Berrie Co © 1983 Peyo
- Made in Portugal Schleich S © 1982 Peyo
- W.Germany Schleich S © 1982 Peyo
There appears to be very little difference between the Wallace Berrie and Schleich ones except for the colour of the hot dog bun. The Hong Kong made ones tend to have a lighter hot dog bun compared to the Schleich ones which are a darker brown colour. You may also have a hot dog that has more mustard depending if the painter liked mustard or not.
I am always curious to see how smurfs were made when they included a seperate or removable parts. Hot Dog smurf was no exception to this, as I always thought that the hot dog bun was glued to the smurf’s hands until I received this one. In this picture you can clearly see that the hot dog bun is connected by a piece of mould on the smurf that is inserted into the bottom of the hot dog bun. It’s almost like the smurf has an extra finger. This smurf has W.Germany Schleich S © Peyo 1982 markings.
I have also been able to find a Hot Dog smurf with a Schleich CE label/tag written in Italian. This is thought to be released around 1986 when Schleich had a large surplus of smurfs. The other smurfs I have seen with an Italian Schleich CE label/tag include Smurfette with Ice cream, Skipping Rope and Plumber. No doubt there are others out there.
All this hard work is making me hungry, must be time for a snack. Please feel free to share anything you like regarding the Hot Dog smurf.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B
I like hot dog smurf a lot. It is his huge smile as he looks down at his food that is so appealing. But I am always puzzled by him because aren’t smurfs supposed to be vegetarians? Or is that an incorrect assumption that I’ve made? I also gound it interesting what you mention about how the hot dog is placed. I, too, thought it was glue. I’m glad you mention that the mold looks like his finger, because at first I could not figure out what you meant. Great, informative post!