[Pitufo]

I have been thinking today about fake repainted smurfs...What do you think it would happen if one day, for example 10th of January 2009, Schleich publish a complete list with all the colour variations they really made???Do you think many many rare variations some collectors think they are original but very rare would dissapear of our "licensed" collection??????

Well, I have not bought last two years many rare coloured variations, because I don´t like o risk my "scarce" money and spend it in dubious smurfs...But it is true that I have some pieces in my collection that I usually take in my hands and say: are you (with those colours) really from Schleich factory???Or did you stop in an unexcrupulous seller´s house before arriving to your new home?????

WHAT DO YOU THINK??????????

[bwalters]

Thats a good thought, but I doubt if Schelich themselves even knows all the diffrent color variations they have made. What I mean is the inspectors look to see if the shirt is red not that one is rosey red and the one down the line is candy apple red. They even miss some that didn't get painted at all on some parts. I think so many of them are flying by them that they can't catch them all. I am going to guess that they are sent off after being molded to diffrent places to be painted and when they come back there are so many that they can't take a good look at them all.

[Max]

I agree with you, Pitufo.
Forget about Schleich's list...
Perhaps it's easier that those fake smurfs one day speak and tell the truth about themselves!

Max

[Pitufo]

Thats a good thought, but I doubt if Schelich themselves even knows all the diffrent color variations they have made. What I mean is the inspectors look to see if the shirt is red not that one is rosey red and the one down the line is candy apple red. They even miss some that didn't get painted at all on some parts. I think so many of them are flying by them that they can't catch them all. I am going to guess that they are sent off after being molded to diffrent places to be painted and when they come back there are so many that they can't take a good look at them all.

Well, I am not talking about small differences in painture...I am talikng for example about hammer smurf in yellow colour, some captains with rare colours, majorette, yellow umbrella etc etc...I think if Schleich is a serious enterprise, they will have a file with all the smurfs they have made. For example in their files they can have red scarf and yellow scarf, but they can´t have a blue scarf smurf...

I agree with you, Pitufo.
Forget about Schleich's list...
Perhaps it's easier that those fake smurfs one day speak and tell the truth about themselves!

Max

Hi, Max...We say in Spain that "Hope is the last thing to be lost", so who knows...And don´t worry: I will let you know if my smurfs one day speak...I am specially interested in three of them to speak

[Smurfysmurf]

I agree with Bill in that I don't think Schleich even knows or kept a record other than their yearly catalogs.

In a way we know (but we may not want to acknowledge it) when we go by the different Schleich catalogues and look what color variations are in there. Since Schleich never considered smurfs to be anything but a toy, I very much doubt that they would have gone into the trouble of creating rare color variations, but since the smurfs are hand-painted there is no telling if some of the painters "played" with the colors. Would these be considered Schleich color variations because they might have been done by painters paid by Schleich?

I, personally, am for facts, and that's why I want proof for rare color variations..like a Schleich catalog or another trusted source like the SCCI newsletters (Suzanne had a very good relationship with Schleich and was able to confirm some rarer smurfs but not all of them thru her contact at Schleich). I've had the same question with Promo smurfs..i.e. the cola smurf and also the I heart N.Y smurf. The cola smurf was confirmed in one of the letters as a very rare official Schleich product, the N.Y. was not, which is why I personally do not believe the N.Y. smurf was ever officially licensed. The same goes for the yellow hammer and yellow umbrella..and some other color variations, which are just too easy to paint yourself, and even so called test versions (I know a lot of collectors disagree with me and this stance, but that's ok )

Joaquin, just out of curiosity...which three would you really like to start talking?

[Pitufo]

Hi, Maureen!!!!I agree in some of your words. 100% agree thta Suzanne made a great job, and I have spent some of my best smurfy moments reading SCCI. But this is a reason more to doubt about smurfs: if some of the colour variations were real, i am sure Suzanne would have confirmed more of them...

And what you say about "painters": ok, I agree the smurfs are handpainted and some painters can play with different colours. For example: a painter who lives in X street nr XX in a village near the factory received a box with 200 majorette smurfettes, and he had to paint a pink dress. He could decide to paint the stock all in golden, or even in purple, but he couldn´t decide to paint all the box in beige colour...If he did, he was not doing well his job, and hat is dangerous. If he decided to paint only one in beige, the probability that smurfette finish ina collectors home is small, and it is even less probable that 20 apinters decided to do the same mix of colours. He could decide not to paint the eyes, or the tails, or to paint each boot in different colors, but that would be a small and not appreciated difference. I suppose someone checks the job the painters did

Some catalogues have really lovely colour variations, ant Schleich is obblied to own that catalogues. Perhaps teh final chosen colour could be different than the one in the smurfs were sold, but that fact must be registered in any file...

I really want to find special variations, and I am sure many of them are existing...what I would like to know is if all the variations considered as variations are real

SORRY if I am imagining too much today. I am abit bored

[Smurfysmurf]

I am sometimes wondering if those rare color variations started in a private lab and with time became very much sought after..so much that others started to create the same ones (with newer paint and for money).

I am also wondering if the HongKong fakes that have appeared in recent years, will one day become accepted as genuine smurfs from Schleich because Schleich has never come out saying they are not licensed. What I mean is...in five years..will we be ready to accept the Halloween, Indian, anniversary sets "made in China" as real variations?

I am not saying that the rare color variations aren't genuine, but I am wondering why they never appeared in any official Schleich catalogs (not the privately released catalogs from private sellers or collectors)

I am having a lazy day, too, Joaquin and you got me to thinking which is always dangerous

[Guest]

One general thing for color variations.

They are painted in homework. So the painters did sometimes no painting, halfpainted or totally different paintings on the smurfs.
So Schleich cannot know it except with color proof say this real or a fake.
Ferrero did in that way you send the figure to them and they check authenticity and you get a certificate and no other way would be possible with Schleich smurfs...

look at this hairdresser .. this is not a fake.. but I'm sure it is an unique piece

[Pitufo]

I agree with you both: it is really hard to know. I know Schliech can´t follow all the smurfs that have been made in their factoires. You know there are many raw (unpainted) smurfs. If I take a hairdresser smurf and I paint it with the same colours than your Tine (by the way...really lovely smurf, CONGRATULATIONSS!!!!), which is the difference?????The country were the smurf has been painted????Yours in Germany, and mine in Spain?????I am not discussing about this: there are many painters, and for that reason many different smurfs with colours the painters liked to use...What I am discussing is about well known colours variations of smurfs...did all of them appear in Schelich catalogues???Did Schelich really order to their painters to use that mix of colours????

- all different kind of flowers of 20019
- green and white torchbearer 20030
- red shoes smufette 20034
- blue trousers 20064
- diffeent colours of kicker 20068
- different clours of 20076 etc etc etc etc

These are the kinds of smurfs I am talking about. It is a thread we have discussed before, and of course I am not telling they are all fakes...I only say: whta would you say if suddenly Schelich says: we never ordered to our painters to use that "concrete" colour for that "concrete" smurf????

GREETINGS

[Smurfysmurf]

Quite frankly, Joaquin...I wouldn't be shocked or surprised

[Guest]

I'm on the complete other side. The most of them were really produced and really maybe only 3 or 4 standing in the DSK are really fakes...

The blue pants are 100% existing, blue tooth tube is genuine, even the unbelievable mechanic with red eyes and red mouth is real for sure...
The problems are the fakers and everyone is right to be careful and not spending a lot of money to this...

But I will not say anything more here because people will believe or will not

[Pitufo]

Sorry if someone don´t understand what I mean...Perhpas it is because of my english. ..Of course I am not doubting about the originality of all the rare variations of DSK. Perhpas many of the smurfs on the pics at DSK are not overpainted and the colours are the original colours the painter used for them...What I mean is that probably those rare smurfs were not produced in mass. If Schelich made 1000000 of mechanic in green and 2000 in orange, this last one is a rare piece...But if a painter decided to paint 4 smurfs from his box in purple with black dots...THIS IS A VERY VERY VERY NICE SMURF TO OWN, IT IS A REAL SMURF, NOBODY REPAINTED IT TO EARN MONEY and I would probably try to pay a big amount for it...but it is not a variation. IT IS JUST A VERY LOVELY AND PERHAPS A VERY EXPENSIVE SMURF

And finally...I agree: each one is free for spending his/her money

[Gerda]

I keep thinking of the two blue soccer smurfs (2,454) that Karen found in her order coming straight from Schleich, clearly those two smurfs where ones that someone who works for the company just decided they got tired of painting it red and black and went for blue and white. I know she sold one of them not too long ago and seeing how much money that little guy went for i'm sure someone out there got the idea to paint there own, So I think that is how some of these smurfs become a rare only one or two are out there to everyone with a paint brush can own. Schleich is not the best buisness in the records and history department so I doubt we would ever get any information out of them. They either don't keep records of the items they make or they keep it clasified until the end of time.

gerda

[Smurfysmurf]

. If Schelich made 1000000 of mechanic in green and 2000 in orange, this last one is a rare piece...But if a painter decided to paint 4 smurfs from his box in purple with black dots...THIS IS A VERY VERY VERY NICE SMURF TO OWN, IT IS A REAL SMURF, NOBODY REPAINTED IT TO EARN MONEY and I would probably try to pay a big amount for it...but it is not a variation. IT IS JUST A VERY LOVELY AND PERHAPS A VERY EXPENSIVE SMURF

And finally...I agree: each one is free for spending his/her money

I agree with that statement, Joaquin. The question really is if a painter hired by Schleich decides to paint a few smurfs a different color is that smurf a genuine release from Schleich or not ...

For me it's not....To be a genuine Schleich product it has to be licensed by Schleich which in that case has not happened.

Is it a nice smurf to be own...most certainly...is it a rare item...most certainly because all of them have probably something in common

They are old and painted by Schleich workers...and weren't made for profit (back then)

If I saw a smurf like that would I be willing to spend a lot of money on it...if I was 100% sure it's an original (maybe that's a better expression than "genuine Schleich smurf" or rare color variation), yes I would.

It's like with the SCCI smurfs...only spend a lot of money on them if you are 100% sure that it's genuine. I don't consider them variations or promo smurfs, but special smurfs, and maybe we should but the beige majorette, the blue pants toothbrush and others mentioned into the same category

Tine, do you have a picture of that mechanic? I have never seen or even heard of that one

[Simon X]

This is a very interesting and long discussion; great topic! But a very difficult topic, as well...

At first, I'd like to show the following e-mail from Schleich on Ösi-Schlumpf's website (it's German; the site has been updated in the last days by the way!):
http://www.interfool.at/schluuumpf/schleich.html
You can read that it is quite unprobably that Schleich would publish such a list, because they say they would destroy the smurf collecting and the fun of discussing about paint variations etc. They even call these discussions "amusing"...

But talking about the question "When is a smurf original/authentic?"...For me it is important whether this smurf was sold in a shop/store. If there were five torch bearers with green trousers made and sold in shops beside many other Schleich smurfs, they are (very expensive) variations for me. For example I got my orange/blue Jogger smurf in a shop some years ago. In these times it was one of my favourite smurfs and I was just happy to have found him in a shop where you can find many other smurfs, but not in rarer variations.
But promo smurfs and the Internet make this "shop"-thing quite complicated...
I wonder whether some smurfs were really painted in the home of some Schleich painters? You can see the following picture in a Schleich catalogue. I think there you get an impression how smurfs were painted...Do you think she could have used green colours, too?

[Pitufo]

Hi, Simon!!!!It is always nice to know your opinion...When I began this thread, I did it with a joke

What do you think it would happen if one day, for example 10th of January 2009, Schleich publish a complete list with all the colour variations they really made???

I know it is only an hypothesis... I know Schleich will never publish the list (as we can see at osi site)...it was only a different way to ask you all about what you think about all the "rare" versions???????

[Pitufo]

And talking about Ösi-Schlumpf's website...What a pity this wonderful site is not in english!!!!

[Smurfysmurf]

At first, I'd like to show the following e-mail from Schleich on Ösi-Schlumpf's website (it's German; the site has been updated in the last days by the way!):
http://www.interfool.at/schluuumpf/schleich.html
You can read that it is quite unprobably that Schleich would publish such a list, because they say they would destroy the smurf collecting and the fun of discussing about paint variations etc. They even call these discussions "amusing"...

Very interesting new pages on the site

A fascinating theory of his that Schleich may "secretly" re-release rarer smurfs without telling anybody about it. That certainly would explain why some semi-rare smurfs suddenly appear in larger numbers and in mint condition

Thanks for telling us about the updates, Simon...it was also interesting to read about his experiment to create smurfs..and his theory of the "jello" smurfs. That would also explain why they appeared everywhere all of a sudden in all forms and colors.

[bwalters]

Kind of makes you wonder if someone misunderstood Schelich's instructions on the baby with blocks Smurfs. But it became so popular that they just continued it on porpose. What would you do if all the Baby's with block from 5 painters came out with Yellow,Green and Red. And the other 20 painters came out with Yellow, Green and Blue. Scrap those 100 Smurfs or just take the chance that no one will notice. If I was Schleich I would let them go. If they were imperfect I would pull them but if they were just painted wrong from my instructions. I would sell them.