Blue Cavern

Hi,

I manage to find a rare playsetbox from the US I did not have earlier.

But then I also noticed an intresting thing regarding the other playsetboxes.

I hope Benny won´t kill me now since he probably have to add more boxes to his wanted list??

If you have read my pages about the boxhistory in the US you see that there is a rare snail-carriage-variation of that box. It has not smurf written first as it normaly has.

So only snail carriage playset on one and smurf snail carriage playset on the other.

The intresting thing here is the marking. Both were made for W Berrie but one box is made in Germany and one in Hongkong.

Also one contains german parts and one hongkong-parts.

Among those boxes I got I also then noticed that the well playset-box also was marked W germany and contained german parts.

I have showed that earlier with hongkong-markings on box.

Since before I knew that the garden, fence, gate and mushroom playsets were sold with german parts in the US, but not the other.

OK, I have to make changes on my website. Just smaller additions I hope??

So that gives us this story.

When these were sold in the US in 1981 all playsets probably contained parts from Germany and also were packed in Germany.

So probably all playsets on this picture can be found with a german-made box and german parts inside.

I have fence, gate, well and snail carriage like that.

Most likely also Garden, Mushroom and boat were made in Germany also in 1981??

In spring 1982 fence, gate and mushroom were removed from the W Berrie-catalogue.

I have the mushroom with hongkong-marking on the box, but I think it always contained german parts anyway??

Fence and gate I have never seen with hongkong-marking on the box??

Anyway.

All the playsets sold from 1982 and later were made in Hongkong.

Garden, Boat, well, snail carriage and forklift.

I have all of those so I know that.

Also I wanted to update you regarding these 2 very rare boxes.

These were the 2 first variations of the boxes for playset 2 and 3 and are larger comapred to the later ones. First I thought they just were folded different so it was the same box.

But that is not possible since then the smaller side-parts would not fit. They have large sides also and is definatly a variation.

And gerda has one of them on her website.

Gerda checked her boat boxes for me( many thanks ) and the boat-playset-box made for W berrie but missing the smurfword on the front was also printed in W Germany.

So both those 2 rare boxes were only used a short while in 1981 before they started making smurf-accessories in Hongkong in late 1981 or in 1982.

Hi Andre

Seems i still have a long way to go about the boxes !!

Thanks for the info Andre.

Tintin

No problems Frank,

and you know I can´t figure the history out without other collectors help.

Lia also managed to get the boatbox Gerda has, so we know a few of these exists.

Regarding the Boat and snail carriage boxes, I only think those 2 came without the word smurf on the front. I think that was a misstake by Schleich on only those boxes??? All these playsets were also sold by BP already in 1980, so that could also be a reason putting english on the front, on these sets made in Germany???

If anyone has a W berrie box of the gardenset or mushroom set which has printed in W Germany on it I would love to see that!!