Blue Cavern

Hi,

I am working on the history of the markings. To be able to see what really happend we have to check all the older smurfs together.

This is a picture of all smurfmarkings used just before Schleich stopped marking smurfs( with emblem) and the exact same markings with removed emblem used by Bully when they started selling them.

Some of these are not that common. For example I don´t have the Brainy Schleich used before giving the molds to Bully.

Papa, Brainy, Angry etc was changed late and are harder to find.

Among the first 12 on the picture they made changes and added the new emblem.

For example astro, mechanic, laughing also was changed.

All these had the old variation of the emblem in the beginning.

The first smurfs Schleich made did not have the markings under the feets. They had them visible on arms, legs etc.. And those also did not have the emblem. In around 1969 Schleich added the emblem on those also and also moved the marking on some. Probably because this was around the time they stopped using them only for promotions and also started selling them in toystores.

But in 1972 they also wanted to remove the markings on the arms, as some of them still had. Like on Normal( and gold( same mold)), Papa, Angry, Brainy, Drummer etc.. All of these was changed before Schleich lost the license and can be found without markings on the arms and with emblem.

But one mold they did not manage to change completly. Probably because this was the last one they changed??? My guess is that the prisoner also would have been changed and added the new emblem if Schleich had only made them a bit longer. ??

Hi Andre

You are giving me a lot of work again............. i never noticed old or new Schleich emblem markings. Now i have to go thru my collection again

Tintin

So the prisoner is the only smurf of the old smurfs which can be found with peyo on the arm and removed emblem.

BUT only in 2 cavities!!

Schleich was probably on their way changing this but made a mistake??

They removed the peyo on the arm in cavities 1 and 4. But cavities 2 and 3 still had the peyo on the arm.

When they removed the peyo on the arm on the other molds they added this under the feets instead. I guess this most likely was the intention on this also, but they did not do that.

So in cavities 1 and 4 prisoners no Peyo marking was used.

I think this is the only smurf where you can find the old peyo on the arm marking made after 1974???

Hi Andre

You are giving me a lot of work again............. i never noticed old or new Schleich emblem markings. Now i have to go thru my collection again

Tintin

That is good since you like smurfs!!

Almost all of these smurfs have the old emblemmarking. I have never seen the poet with that though. And then they only added the new emblemmarking on the ones they made changes on like Papa, Normal, Astro, Brainy, Gold, Angry, not the spy( this mold was changed when they still used the old emblem), Drummer.

Laughing and Mechanic was also added the new marking. Could have been that their intention was to change it on all molds???

All mechanics with the old emblem don´t have a cavitynumber. So could be a reason for changing that mold??? As you see on the picture with all the cavities 1 to 4 on the new emblemmold the emblem was placed on a different place. Always on the front of the foot.

So they made a new mold for the mechanic. The older one also have larger feets.

As you see on these cavity3 molds of emblemmolds they are different. Both on Astro and Laughing.

I don´t have the cavity 3 astro with the new emblem, so you have to imaging the emblem on that one. I have many other astros with the new emblem. The older emblem I only can find this number 3 at the moment so I could not take a picture of both emblemvariations and the same cavity.

There is actually one funny thing with the laughing emblems. As you see here they first added the new emblem on the old mold before moving Peyo and W germany to the same foot!! So here it is easy to follow the order of the markings. The cavity 2 to the right can have emblem also. I showed the number 2 cavity with removed emblem so you can see that it was a change and not a difference between cavities.

Regarding the colours on the one with removed emblems on the first picture. I am not sure if those were the ones used by Bully or used by Schleich when they got them back in 1977/78.

Some of them I am pretty sure of because of Bully pictures on the posters. Like red lute, red pompom on sleepwalker, no shirt mechanic, red white pants sunbather, etc.

But variations like red inside of the cape, black robe judge etc. on smurfs with removed emblem are harder to tell if Schleich painted them like that when they got them back or if Bully painted them the short time they had the molds. But they are 100% genuine varitions.

My guess is that black robe judge, red shoes smurfette, red inside of the cape, red gum angry, red zipper astro, yellow hanky crying, red fether poet where all variations painted by Bully. Some of these could also later have been used by Schleich??

But for example, different colours on pants on sunbather, shirts on mechanic and gymnast etc was things Schleich started with when they got the molds back.??

One thing to check for when trying to date the smurfs are the softness on the smurfs. Basicly all smurfs made before 1977 are quite soft.

Bully also started painting the judge robe red, drummersticks red, etc. which Schleich continued with.

I think all changes had to be approved by Peyo, so they stuck with the changes approved. Or maybe sometimes peyo told them to make changes in colours he wanted??

In other case like the red inside of the cape I think they only painted the outside since it was easier, like we have seen in other cases.

Hi Andre

Thanks again for the info.............

Yes i love smurfs and it's great to find new variations.
But there is still a lot of work on my file, and now knowing i have to redo a lot ................mmmmmmmm

Tintin

One more intresting thing about these is that it seems that Schleich started with cavitynumbers around 1969/70. Probably in this case also when they desided to make more smurfs and sell in stores after the success with the promotions.??

So both Mechanic and Lute was made with old emblem and without cavitynumbers. I think also all the ones made before 1969 can be found without cavitynumbers.

Hi Andre

Thanks again for the info.............

Yes i love smurfs and it's great to find new variations.
But there is still a lot of work on my file, and now knowing i have to redo a lot ................mmmmmmmm

Tintin

It is only 23 smurfs Frank!!

Maybe when I get to the next smurfs after these with their history, you will have to redo your file again?? That is a good reason for you to check them all again!

In this case I think after checking the markings closely, information in Schleichbook, etc., the most likely history is this.

Between 1965-1969, these were used as promos and had no marking or only peyo marking. Maybe Schleich started adding markings in the late 60s?? But anyway they did not make many smurfs in the beginning.

Between 1969-1972, Schleich started selling these in toystores and made A LOT more smurfs, now with emblem markings. During these years they also made some changes in some of the molds. Also started with cavitynumbers. Maybe only used one cavity before 1969??

Between 1972-1974, they started with the new emblem, so the changes made from 1972 got the new emblem in the molds. It seems they also tried to put all markings under the feets not visible on all the smurfs and I think they managed to do that on all smurfs except on 2 cavities of the prisoner.

One more very intresting thing I think is correct is this.

Klaus Volkmar left the comapny and started Bully in 1973. But there is one intresting thing here. When reading the schleichbook and comparing with markings and posters: Bully got the rights for the smurfs and started selling them in 1974. But it says in the Schleichbook that Schleich stopped making smurfs from 1975. That would explain why Bully got these in 1975 and started selling them then and not from the start.

So Schleich manufactured smurfs also 1974 and I guess that some of the molds they did not release was made then like the Schleich trumpeter( 20047). Strange that Bully did not get that one also??? Or maybe Schleich continued with that mold when they started with promos again in 1976/77.

This could also explain the unmarked and only peyomarked smurfs.

Schleich used unmarked and only peyo marked smurfs in the beginning when making them as promos.

It could have been the same for Bully.

Maybe all smurfs made before they got the license from Schleich were used as promos as the Waldbaurs. ??? Anyway it is only the smurfs made before 1975 when they got the molds from Schleich that also can be found unmarked or only peyomarked. So it could be that Bully started marking these with their companyname, just like Schleich did, when they got the rights to also sell them in toystores?? And got the molds from Schleich also.

If you check the poster from 1974 by Bully before they got the Schleichmolds. Only these can be found unmarked or with only peyomarking!!