[Smurfysmurf]

I got my parcel from Karen today.

I was so excited that it arrived today of all days, when I was home and was able to sign for it. I could not wait to get back into the house, but nooooooo the mail lady had to talk with me about a bigger mail box...and kept talking and talking.....

Anyway, when I finally got back into the house, I opened my other packages first (five more arrived, one was unrelated to smurfs.....) I saved the best for last...... the package with the Smurf Katalog

the Second picture shows the goodies Karen sent my way. I am really very excited about the Katalog (I had no idea how thick it is) and the disco smurfette, for which I have been looking for a long time.....

The first picture shows in content of another parcel with the fake #1grad...... Now, I can tell that it is a fake, the color is darker, the smurf looks a bit different and the paper is glued to the smurf (actually it's coming off) Oh well, I take it as a lesson learned and enjoy it....

and thanks to Rachel's website, I now know what those individual numbers underneath the smurfs mean....

the other packages have smurfs in it that I already have, so unless they are a different variation you will soon see them on ebay.......(gotta earn money to buy more smurfs)

[Guest]

You're welcome, Maureen. That Gargamel sure does look annoyed at Smurfette for having a good time under his nose!

[Rachel]

Hi Maureen, no wonder you are happy.

I know you are going to find the katalog so useful, you will hardly be able to put it down at first.

[Smurfysmurf]

Oh yes, I had to force myself to put it in my book shelf (of course the one next to the computer for when I am surfing ebay), so that I would go outside with the dogs....

It is very interesting,... now I have an easier time understanding how you all can tell if a smurf is a fake or not.... I already examined some of mine very carefully....

[SA Smurfette]

Oh yes, I had to force myself to put it in my book shelf (of course the one next to the computer for when I am surfing ebay),

Mine is in the top draw of my computer desk
You need it within arms reach when surfing ebay
It's had plenty of use, looking a bit worn now

Well done on your smurfy arrivals

[Smurfysmurf]

Ok, I've done my studying, so here come the questions....

The one digit numbers on the smurfs that show what mold they come from.... do they also determine the worth of the smurf, like a first edition book? You know the first mold of this particular smurf??? Or are they not important at all?

Also the add ons to the smurfs..... I guess, I am still having a hard time with those... I saw in the book the so called Werbe Schluempfe and I saw Fanta, the light bulb and so on... I always thought they were mere add ons but since they are in the book, I guess they aren't fakes???? So, how do you determine, which ones are legitimate add on and which ones aren't?

And it seems to me that the new generation smurfs are made of different materials.. is that correct?? They seem either more shinier or duller than the older ones.

sorry about all these questions......I'll be good soon, I promise, right now I am just more interested in getting true smurfs and not fakes, so I try to be careful, especially since I am now getting to the stage where I want to buy individual smurfs and no longer the big lots, like I have been doing.........

[Syd Smurf]

First of all congratulations Maureen on buying Der Schlumpf Katalog or as we like to call it the DSK for short. I learnt a lot when I first bought mine so I understand how you feel at the moment. I also bought one from Karen which arrived super quick and I couldn't wait to get stuck into the book. Mine is also fairly worn by now and is probably about to fall apart so I may have to call Karen and organise another DSK to keep in nice condition.

I will have a go at trying to answer your questions and I am sure others will join in and fill in anything that I have missed or haven't explained properly or accurately.

The one digit numbers on the smurfs that show what mold they come from.... do they also determine the worth of the smurf, like a first edition book? You know the first mold of this particular smurf??? Or are they not important at all?

The mold numbers don't really mean anything to collectors. They are more something that is being used by the manufactures. I have heard that once people finished the basic collection that they then attempted to try and collect all of the "1" markings but I tend to think this isn't really worth worrying about. The numbers won't increase the value of any smurf as no one really cares enough about them to worry about it. You would think that a first edition of something might be worth more but it's possible that they use different numbered molds all of the time and possibly at the same time so therefore they may not necessarily be the first edition anyway. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the mold numbers as virtually no one else does.

Also the add ons to the smurfs..... I guess, I am still having a hard time with those... I saw in the book the so called Werbe Schluempfe and I saw Fanta, the light bulb and so on... I always thought they were mere add ons but since they are in the book, I guess they aren't fakes???? So, how do you determine, which ones are legitimate add on and which ones aren't?

This is a hard one to answer. There are a lot of mini items like Coke bottles and cereal packets that are fakes so before bidding or when you see something like these then compare the items with those seen in the DSK. It won't take long for you to see the difference between the fake ones and the real ones. Of course it seems that a lot of add ons are being produced as well these days so it will also be hard to tell which ones are authentic or not especially in the future I believe....I guess buying from a seller that you trust or asking an opinion from someone you trust might be a good way to go.

Beware though that some of the variations in the DSK are fakes and others are unproven to be authentic. I have most of the variations by now but there are some that I haven't come across and others that I believe are fakes.

The actual Astro with the blue shirt pictured in the DSK belonged to a forum member here from the UK named Martin. He has admitted that this one is a fake (repainted). Whether these ever existed or not is probably something that will be debated by many collectors. However it is widely agreed upon at this forum that certain variations you see in the DSK do not exist but it is still probably the best guide out there and it wouldn't be a bad idea to start a topic on this forum with items from the DSK that people here believe are fakes or never existed as it would make an interesting debate and I am sure we could all learn more about some of the smurfs in the book.

And it seems to me that the new generation smurfs are made of different materials.. is that correct?? They seem either more shinier or duller than the older ones.

The modern smurfs are definately different. Infact I have several smurfs that were produced in 2005 that used different paint to the same smurfs that were produced in 2004. The skin has become lighter and more of a matte blue paint rather than shiny and even some of the colours have slightly changed. This Referee from my site is a good example:

http://www.geocities.com/sgtpapas/zvar20472referee.html

Although it doesn't show up well in the pic the cards the Refs are holding are actually quite different but more obvious is the blue paint on the skin and even the paint used on the jumpers. After realising this I went out and bought all of the older smurfs that were produced in the 2005 range and found them all to be slightly different. Another obvious one was the Scuba Diver that went from a green to a yellow:

http://www.geocities.com/sgtpapas/zvar2 ... diver.html

and the Marching Band Smurfs that went from a dull brass colour to a bright gold

http://www.geocities.com/sgtpapas/zvar2 ... umpet.html

Another difference was that the 2005 smurfs were the first ones produced for a long time without any paint dots. I guess this means that paint dots are now finished with and will relate only to smurfs produced in the period before 2005...although I am not sure off hand which year they started....probably in the 1990s somewhere. I am sure I coudl research this and get pretty close to which year they did start.

I hope that helps a bit and I hope someone else can contribute to what I said or debate anything I said as it will be all good for everyone to learn more.

Dyar

[Guest]

The paint dots started in 1978 for smurfs sold in the UK, I remember the change. My dad bought me smurfs in early 1978 which didn't have paint dots, and then later in 1978 they did have mustard coloured paint dots. I also remember the moulds seemed to get larger, but whether that was just a coincidence and a quirk of my memory I am not sure.

[Syd Smurf]

Thanks K....I had no idea the paint dots went back that far. I know a lot of the smurfs produced after that time still didn't have paint dots consistently until the early 90s.....was this just initially a UK thing do you think?

Dyar

[Guest]

Well in the UK the paint dots came in after the scare over the lead paint as far as my personal memories are concerned, but I don't know what the situation was for the rest of the world.

[steveparkes]

all my smurfs had mustard paint dots in the 70s

[Smurfysmurf]

thanks guys for your help, especially Dyar's detailed explanations.... It really helps a lot....

[Guest]

My ones that didn't have paint dots were ones like Astro, Sunbather, Gardener and Brainy, it seemed like it was all the smaller smurfs. Ones that did have paint dots were Skateboarder Super, Hiker, Footballer, etc.

[Rachel]

Hi Maureen, great questions.

I am in full agreement with Dyar on all the points, just to add though, regarding mold numbers, these aren't really important but it is worth noting that there are a few slight variations in mold shapes so what I have started doing is if I notice a difference in the mold and the mold number I have been adding this to Blue Imps. This isn't the greatest example (as I still have many pages to update) but here is an example:

http://www.blueimps.com/z20418var.html

The added items such as the Fanta Bottle and the Phillips bulb in the DSK are Promo smurfs and have been commissioned by the company. Many of these smurfs are very rare and command high prices and this is where you have to be careful because unfortunately there are people out there who will try and fake these smurfs.

Also, as mentioned, although the DSK is a very good source of information we must remember 2 things about it. Firstly it is a dealers guide and it's purpose is to sell smurfs and secondly, the smurfs in it are part of a (or a few) private collection(s) and therefore it isn't the definitive guide. We know that variations exist out there that aren't included and it has been interesting to see the additions to it as new editions are released. There are other flaws as well such as "testversions" or "prototypes" mentioned that we KNOW are infact just other products such as the Kwak items.

When you see every collector at a smurf fair clutching their "bible" you realise just how much of an influence these katalogs have had over the years. Although I have a great respect for the author as I am sure many a collector has been helped (and encouraged) by referring to their DSK, I am hoping with so many websites showing different collections and perspectives of the hobby available on the internet, in the future far more information will be available to cross reference against the katalog.

And it seems to me that the new generation smurfs are made of different materials.. is that correct?? They seem either more shinier or duller than the older ones.

There have been quite a few differences in materials over the years. Some of the older smurfs vary quite considerably especially in the Bully figures. More recently there was a change in materials, about four years ago (2001 figures I think) where because of a change in the law a newer PVC formular was introduced and this is when the blue dot was introduced, although the blue dot has since been phased out again. They seem to be experimenting quite a lot over the last few years as the paint finishes and material used seem to changed a fair bit.



Have you started ticking the smurfs that you already have yet?

[Guest]

Have you started ticking the smurfs that you already have yet?

I read that as

Have you started tickling the smurfs that you already have yet?

and had some wonderful visions of Maureen tickling all her new smurfs!

[Syd Smurf]

Syd likes to be tickled.....not by me though

[eggie smurf]

Syd likes to be tickled.....not by me though

Oooh!

[Smurfysmurf]

I read that as

Quote:
Have you started tickling the smurfs that you already have yet?


and had some wonderful visions of Maureen tickling all her new smurfs

I found some smurfs to be pretty ticklish upon careful examination............

and believe me some were very carfully examined.......

I haven't made any marks in the book yet..... I think I read somewhere that Karen wrote the DSK is the Bible for smurfs collectors and I don't know about you, but at first I usually don't mark my new Bibles but once I start..........

[Syd Smurf]

I haven't marked the DSK....I translated it into English over about 4 weeks and then printed it out (poor printer nearly had a break down) with tick boxes which I find better as it keeps the DSK in better condition and used far less than it would be.

Also I found that a lot of the variations I have are not listed in the guide so I wouldn't have enough room on each page to add the other markings I have come across...so it's easier to just add it to my own DSK (Dyar's Smurf Katalog ) without destroying the original source.

Dyar

[Guest]

I scribble all over mine! In fact I have two on the go because I always lose one! I'm a very untidy person!!