Blue Cavern

Hi again,

recently I got a lot from UK with the mustard dot super-skier I was looking for, to use on my National display from march 1979. As I told you I wanted to use smurfs from around that time then and I am pretty sure they used mustard dot smurfs then.

But Tommo pointed out a interesting fact that he got early variations of some smurfs as a child. He is off course 100% correct.

This is from that thread:
"2.0006. Brainy with red glasses
2.0024: Lantern with red lantern
2.0031: Postman with holly on letter
2.0035: Soccer with red ball, orange shirt
2.0036: Hangglider with painted patches on wings
2.0041: Hiker with yellow flower

I'm thinking that my dad must have got most of the smurfs between 1978 and 1981 with a couple from 1982. Do you think with some of the colour variations that they only did them for a very short while in each country? For example, would the hiker only have had the yellow flower for 1978 and then a change of colour to red in 1979? Same with the Hangglider: patches painted in 1978, unpainted 1979? I was thinking about the lantern smurf (2.0024) which was released in 1977?, the reason I have the red version from my childhood is because my dad got the later colour variation release (red) in 1978 onwards, and not the original yellow one from when it was first released in 1977? "

Here is the lot I got. One of these interesting historylots I like.

And as many sellers he told me that he get these as a child.

In this case I also think it seems correct.

I sorted them out in order so it is easier to understand.

The first 2 rows are smurfs without dots sold pre october 1978 and most likely among the first ones. Like Tommo wrote, brainy with red glasses and the Striker with red ball. Also at this time the red latern, hangglider with painted patches were sold, hiker with yellow flower. All these are variations made before the dotsystem started. The postman with holly letter though was made for the first time for christmas 1979 I think. Since it always have a yellow dot??

On the third row you have the singer with yellow dot.

Forth row mustard dot-smurf but smurfs also available in early 1979 and the king could have been sold before the dotsystem??? Tha Hangglider seems to have been sold earlier.

The last row are smurfs made slightly after the poster from March 1979 were made.

On this poster you see that the hangglider and hiker with yellowflower can be dated to 1978 when the first 2 supersmurfs were sold.

The doctor, tennis and flute you can find on posters like these and were sold in 1979 when the dots were used.

There is another interesting thing with these smurfs. Do you remember I told you about the dots on the singer and the thinker in the national display thread?

They have different yellow dots.

And why would they use different dots on some smurfs?? Maybe it just a mistake on a few smurfs???

But this was not a mistake.

Many thinkers if not all with yellowdots have this lightyellow dot. All of these are also Schleichmarked. So they are not the first ones made which had no Schleichmarking.

Same with the singers.

And some of the Hikers also have the yellow dots.

So my guess is that when they started with the dots most of the smurfs were painted in Victor Mayas new factory in Portugal and then got a mustard dot and also the matte blue paint used.

But the thinker and the singer were never painted in Portugal. Still the UK market required a dot on these smurfs. So the only logical answer to this is that the yellow dot is smurfs painted in Germany!!? That would also explain why these do not have the matte portugal paint.

Regarding the hiker the first ones were painted in Germany when they started with the dotsystem but later they were painted in portugal and can be found with the mustard dot.

If you wonder about the circle dots, they are just dots where the centre has been worn off, since the dots sometimes becomes like a bubble.

What do you think?

Another interesting thing is the Smurfette Schleich made and tested in around 1978. You can see her in the Schleichcatalogue from 1979. I got that one in this lot also.

So maybe in this case we have a new dot-marking??? For Germany??

Maybe Tommo and other UK-collectors could help me with if it seems correct or not??

Do you think with some of the colour variations that they only did them for a very short while in each country? For example, would the hiker only have had the yellow flower for 1978 and then a change of colour to red in 1979? Same with the Hangglider: patches painted in 1978, unpainted 1979? I was thinking about the lantern smurf (2.0024) which was released in 1977?, the reason I have the red version from my childhood is because my dad got the later colour variation release (red) in 1978 onwards, and not the original yellow one from when it was first released in 1977? "

Yes, this makes perfect sense with these variation being considered very rare in some countries (i.e. the US) but not that rare in other countries (i.e. UK)

Thank you for showing the difference in the dots..I will have to correct this on my website, as I always considered the mustard dot as a yellow one..but I can clearly see the difference now.

I don't have any with the "real" yellow dots so I wasn't aware of the difference until now

Another thing regarding the Striker. It seems the red ball was a early variation.

The Striker with white shirt and with black shorts and the one with orange shirt and white shorts are also early variations. Those 2 also don´t have the dot on the shirt. and they also have no yearmarking or schleichmarking. But since they have the mustard dots they probably were first made late 1978 or early 1979?? Could as said before represent Germany and Holland which were big european national teams in world cup 1978 in Argentina??

The seller confirmed that his dad got all smurfs for him at the petrolstations in UK when he filled up his car. He was around 12 then. So around 1978-1979. At this time he says everyone at his school was "smurf mad".

If this is true also the new Schleich smurfette was available in the UK for a short while!!

Hi Andre, I have a question in relation to these early smurfs with a yellow paint dot. I have purchased Hiker Smurfs from an EBay seller in the UK and they have yellow circle on the foot, like your photo though the W marking looks like it was added after the other markings Schleich emblem, Germany, cavity number and the Peyo signature. Is this the same as yours?

I also believe that these paint dots never had the centre painted, it is like two painted circles. I will post a photo later, to clarify this theory.

Cheers
Kath

Yes Kath,

They are probably the same. Those smurf were most likely sold in the UK but not painted in Portugal. I think they were painted in Germany.

Thank you for clarifying this. I have attached the photo anyway.

It looks like I will have to update my records again due to this recent discovery.

Cheers
Kath

Hi Kath,

It is hard to see on the picture but the hiker can be found with both yellow and mustard dot. So compare with a mustard dot to see if it is light yellow or not. In the nationaldisplay-thread you can see a picture of both hikers together. I have 3 of those yellowdot hikers and actually all have a circlemarking!! One of them have orange jacket!!

I've had a busy couple of days, but I shall have a look over mine tonight.

Oh boy, I highly appreciate your researches, Andre!!! I never realised that there was such a difference, but thanks to you I realised that I have to call my former yellow dots, mustard dots.

Hi Andre,

I've just had a look and I only have the Thinker and the Singer with the yellow dot. Good to see that there is a Hiker with a yellow dot... another one for the list I did always wonder with the yellow and the mustard dots, I just thought that they had run out of mustard paint in the factory and used yellow instead

I found a striker with the yellow dot also.

And I think I have to agree with what other collectors here have said before. It is a circle. I thought the middle had been worn off, but on this smurf I see clearly it is a circle.

The marking goes well with the theory before, that it could have been germanmade smurfs for markets requiring the dots like UK. These ones were most likely only used for a short time in the beginning before they were replaced by Portugalpainted mustard dot strikers??