Blue Cavern

OK! Time for one of those boring historylessons again!!??

For many of us the years around 1977/1978 are a bit confusing since both Bully and Schleich made smurfs that year. Also the fact that Bully made Schleichsmurfs is even more confusing, right!! And it is not easy to understand what happened if you don´t see the whole picture with all the facts on the table, so here are the facts and therefore also the most probably historyscenario!!

In 1977 Schleich did not use the articlenumbers they have today. The articlenumbers are a very important piece when figuring out the history, which you may understand later.

The gardenplayset Schleich sold in 1977 had the Schleich emblem on the box and also a ordernumber, bestell-nr. We have to remember that the articlenumbers are not for us, the consumers( buyers), but is used between Schleich and the dealers selling these. Therefore they only get the articlenumbers when they are available for the dealers to order from Schleich and sell in toystores. Therefore also a lot of smurfs can be made earlier than shown in catalogues but then used for promos, giveaways etc, and not getting a articlenumber.

In 1977 Schleich used articlenumber 591 for the playset. This box was made in 2 versions, one german and one french. This also explains why only german and french is used when telling it can be bought in brown or green. As you see on my german playset brown is marked( X beside the pricesticker) and the set is also brown.

German: Geschlumpfe für Schlümpfe
French: Accessories Schtroumpfs

No number on those boxes because because no other playset existed.

The first garden playset made for National was also made without a number 1 on the box. Then with a NationalBenzole-articlenumber on the box. This however was made in 1978, my guess is that it was among the first accessorie made for National together with the house.

The reason I show these pictures are that when these boxes were made Schleich did not yet use the articlenumbers we see today.

In 1977 Bully sold all the smurfs Schleich had made before 1974 and had done so since 1975.

They numbered those 1010/501 to 1010/527 starting with Papa, normal etc.

If you look how these were numbered by Bully it is exactly the same order that Schleich have them in today in their articlenumberserie, right!!

So the facts in 1977 are that Schleich used other numbers for their smurfs and that Bully sold all the old Schleichsmurfs.

In 1978 Herman Schneider makes changes and stops with the emblem and starts with the new articlenumbers as we can see on posters from 1978 and on box from that time.

In 1978 Bully did not sell the Schleichsmurfs anymore.

In the same time Schleich starts with the new articlenumberserie, EXACTLY in the same order as Bully had them numbered.

This is because this is the year Schleich gets all their old molds back from Bully. So actually the order the smurfs are numbered in were "invented" by Bully!!

Schleich had them numbered different, with different numbers when they sold them in 1965-1974.

There is also one more very important thing confirming this. Smurfette!!

Bully sold her with number 500. The other ones with number 501-527.

So she had number 0 last and did not have any number when copying the Bullyorder. Therefore they added her last among the smurfs Schleich had then. So therefore we can say that Schleich got their molds back when they had 33 own smurfs made and in 1978.

I think you all understand that if Schleich had used there own articlumber-serie used before 1977 when making the new articlenumbers Smurfette would have had a lower number since Schleich most certainly had a number for her used before all the other smurfs they made after 1971.

So because of the exact same order as Bully had them numbered and that they placed Smurfette last tells us Schleich got the molds back in 1978 and started with their new articlenumbers then also. And of course the facts that the new articlenumbers were added to the boxes from 1978, on posters, in catalogues etc!!

So when starting selling the smurfs in UK they yet did not have the new models they started making in 1978.

As you see here they tell us that we can start with these and there is more to come. Also in the beginning when only having the house, gardenfurnitures and a few smurfs, it just like on the BP posters says the smurfs are only possible to get at National Stations.

One intresting thing is that the spy, just like in the Schleichbook, has a red inside of the cape!!??

And if you look at this picture from 1978 one of our UK members have shown here they in march 1979 had added all smurfs from 20031-20041( except the doctor) and all the 6 supersmurfs Schleich had then and the petrolpump. So basicly all new were added all the time.

I think Peyo let Schleich start with smurfs again in 1977 because of the National and BP connections they had. When then also Stuart Ross came in 1977/78 and wanted to sell smurfs in US, Peyo then wanted Schleich to be the sole worldwide manufacturer??

I think in Uk they then added them in approximatly the same order as they were made in Germany. I have saved ads picturing doctor, flute, tennis, cardplayer, telephone, tailor etc. With some exeptions I would guess most of them were sold at National.

One thing that also tells us that the petrol attendant was also first only used as a promo for national is the placing in the articlenumbers. Schleich had this very early in 79 as seen on the national ad, but it was given an articlenumber when added in the german catalogue.

And also this. The icehockeyplayer and the bicycle( racer) as we also has seen in ads by National was not part of the oilympics-stadium. They were added before.

If you look at the oilympicsstadium you can see the ones that should be there. Except I have to ask Dyar to remove the wreath-smurf and put the UK torchbearer on the pedistal instead. I think he should be there?? Is that correct Steve??? Goes very well with the feet-markings!!

To me it looks like the feetmarkings tells us the torchbearer should be here??? But I can´t read what is written under every smurf-name!

The ather feetmarkings goes very well with the actual super-smurfs!

Then there are a couple of questions.

If they stopped selling smurfs in UK after the olympics in 1980. Why did they continue making the supersmurf-boxes with the large red SMURF all the way until 1982???

My guess for this is that these boxes were made all the way until BP stopped selling smurfs. Because the large red Smurf was also used on the wappings in South Africa and also on the BP-posters in Australia.
Anyway we know the last UK-box was for the airplane?? Do anyone have any ideas about those boxes?? Sold in UK?? I belive I got both the airplane and the schooldesk from a UK auction in those boxes???

And then we have the torchbearer and the coin. Those Schleich sold already in 1977. For me those are typical Olympic releases, at least the torch. ??? And one more thing regarding the torch. It says in the SCCI letters it was made for the 1980 olympics. But then why it is already shown on a poster from 1978 with that emblem??? So it was used very early with that emblem, and that also explains why it is the old torchbearer and not the large one, I mean if both the UK and the belgian was made for the same olympics it seems they would have used the same mold??? So for me the torch with belgian emblem is older, but then of course used in 1980! Maybe the belgian olympic team started using this smurf as a mascot already in 1977/78 when preparing for the olympics???

And actually the torch is called olympiaschlumpf on the poster from 1978, when wearing the emblem!!

And the same in the 1979 catalogue.

As we talked about before they changed the name to torchbearer in the Schleichcatalogue 1983. I wonder if that was the same time they started blocking the rings on the superboxes??

Anyway the intresting thing with the torch and the coin is that they were given articlenumbers by Schleich already in 1977, which means they were sold already in 1977/78 by Schleich. Maybe BP sold them in Holland or they were sold in Belgium???

The torchbearer makes kind of sense if you consider the ones with the emblems promos ...but the coin smurf surprises me for some reason

What I mean is that Schleich apparently produced smurfs even during the years when they did not have a license (because Bully did)..and they got by with it by making those promos or semi-promos, but I was never aware that the coin smurf would have falling into this category as well.

If they didn't have the license to sell smurfs during the Bully years...did they keep smurfs like the coin one "hidden" until they got the license back?

The torchbearer makes kind of sense if you consider the ones with the emblems promos ...but the coin smurf surprises me for some reason

What I mean is that Schleich apparently produced smurfs even during the years when they did not have a license (because Bully did)..and they got by with it by making those promos or semi-promos, but I was never aware that the coin smurf would have falling into this category as well.

If they didn't have the license to sell smurfs during the Bully years...did they keep smurfs like the coin one "hidden" until they got the license back?

You are missing a big thing Maureen!

Both had the license at the same time!!

As you know Bully had the license all the way to the end of 1979 before loosing it completly to Schleich.

Schleich got the license back already in 1977. They did not have to make any promos then! Just normal smurfs approved by Peyo as also Bully had to do. The only difference was that Bully had the rights for Germany, Canada and the scandinavian countries.

So already in 1977 Peyo gave the license to Schleich for making smurfs. Probably because of the BP-owned promotion and their connections since the past with that company. If Schleich did not have the license at the same time as Bully they would not have been able to make any smurfs until 1980, right!!

Schleich made a lot of smurfs but they were not sold in the countries where Bully still had the rights, eventhough Peyo tried to take the license away from Bully already in 1978 also for those countries.

But if Schleich wanted to sell in Germany they had to make promos!!! Off course also those approved by Peyo, as all smurfs!

It was like this for collectors who do not know this. I did not know it 2 years ago either!!

And all is confirmed in the Schleichbook released by Schleich one year ago.

Schleich made smurfs from 1965-1974.

In 1973 on of the employees working for Schleich, Klaus Volkmar, left the company and started his own firm, Bully. He also then got the rights for the smurfs from peyo and Schleich was not allowed to make then anymore.

But in 1977 Schleich was allowed to make smurfs again but not for germany, Canada etc. After hard legal battles Schleich got the license back for also those countries in 1980. So from the 1st of January in 1980 they had the worldwide license. All is written in the Schleichbook.

Also you can notice that National only sold Schleichsmurfs. Same with BP. But after 1980 the court order desided that also all molds that Bully had was given to schleich. So after 1980 Schleich sold all smurfs even the ones Bully made before 1980!! Confusing??? That´s only part of it. Because Schleich was not allowed to put their marking on those smurfs and therefore Schleich sold smurfs marked Bully all the way to 1984 before they were allowed to add the marking on the Bullymolds for the ones sold in germany. Also the fact that Bully in the beginning of their era between 1975 and 1977 sold the smurfs Schleich had made before 1973 without marking them with Bully. But they on the other hand removed the Schleichemblem!!

A funny story when thinking about it, right!!