Blue Cavern

Hi,

I recieved the book about the Schleichhistory today and they tell us this story. I took some pictures for you to see.

I have not finished reading this yet.

Get back then.

Thank you, Andre

This confirms a few things....one of them..there was a family quarrell between Bully and Schleich which directly afffected the production and distribution history of the smurfs (interesting titbit for an old gossip like me )

It also explains the old and numerous BP promotional items that appear from time to time in Britain and Holland.

Does the book have any pictures? I admit I wasn't too interested in it at first, but it does sound interesting now

Yes, many pictures.

But not so many of smurfs. It is about the companyhistory and has many pictures how they make molds, paint, employees etc. It has a picture of Hugo Victor Maia ( portugal factory).

It aso tells us about the courtorder, that Schleich made smurfs in South america( now confirmed), when they changed the logotype etc. Many intresting things. Also why they got in financial troubles. But not so much in details unfortunatly.

Everything is going very well with what we have discovered so far.

It also says that Schleich made houses for the smurfs before 1973. This must be the old houses I have shown before in other threads.

The emblem also stopped in the year we already have figured out from the markingthreads. 1977/78.

When I read this it seems that the smurfs Schleich made in southamerica ( minimodels and Hering) must have been made between 1980 and 1985.

They definatly was made before the financial problems 1986.

My guess they started around 1982??

This is very nice to read! and 1982 is very likely!

Lia

LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF THIS READ. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ANDRE

Andre,
did you order the book via the Schleich website?

Also, you said they mentioned the South American Factory (very nice to have this confirmed now)..is there any mention of a factory in Spain?

No maureen

They don't mention any spanish factory but it is not that detailed.
Many things they don't mention. It is telling the story about the ups and downs, the success and problems and why this happened. This is also why the smurfs are in it. They played à big part of the history then. And because they had to find other toys also beside the smurfs, they lost à LOT of money in failure of these toys, like S-point.

Thanks for sharing, André. I decided to order the book by tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing, André. I decided to order the book by tomorrow.

No problem Dom!

But there are still questions!!

We all try to seek answers to how the PVC smurfs came alive. Who can blame us for that, right??

The first PVC smurfs seems to be the Dupius Smurfs. I don´t know much about them. But it is said they were sold before the Schleichsmurfs.

According to the Schleich-historybook the first Schleichsmurfs were the BP-give aways made 1965. But at the same time many collectors think the Schleichsmurfs were give aways by Kelloggs in the beginning. In the Belgiqe version of Journal de Tintin in 1965 to 1967 many of these ads were shown. I don´t know if it was just comic-strip promotions, like the Kwatta promotion in 1964, or they actually had PVC-smurfs as give aways already in 1965/66/67. Maybe someone knows this??

Peyo must have approved that BP could use the smurfs as give aways and then if BP asked Schleich, maybe Peyo used these later in 1966 as give aways in cornflakes also?? Who knows?? But I am pretty sure that Schleich would not make something up; like that they got a request from BP in 1965 to make the first Schleichsmurfs??

So before I get more information Schleich made the first smurfs for BP as give aways!!

But off course I have no idea how the first Dupuis smurfs were made and why?

quote " I don´t know if it was just comic-strip promotions, like the Kwatta promotion in 1964, or they actually had PVC-smurfs as give aways already in 1965/66/67. Maybe someone knows this?? "

according to this box, there were smurfs in the boxes

Thanks for the picture Lia,

I will contact Schleich and ask about the differences in these stories.

They most certainly have information regarding this, especially since they wrote that the first smurfs were made for BP.

One of the persons editing the Schleich-book is Paul Kraut. And I believe his father Paul Kraut senior worked at Schleich when they had to deal with the financial problems in 1987.

Asking Schleich is the best André!
If they gave, for instance, free smurfs at BP petrolstations in 1965, I doubt if they were dupuis,because I never saw any of them in Holland.
They are rare and if one manage to find them, it`s in Belgium or (sometimes) France. ( but perhaps these are from the kelloggsboxes??)
It`s time to know now!!

Lia

I have sent an email to Schleich and asked if the information they gave in the book is 100% correct and let´s hope they answer.

The credits in the Schleichbook tells us that most of the images and information in this book is from the Schleich company archives.

But off course when Ulrich Gohl made this research dates could be wrong and things could have been missed, so everything is possible.

I think we will be able to find this out sooner or later!!

My personal guess is that the first smurfs were created for BP...but Kellogs also got the same idea, and Schleich sold them some as well.

A lot of collectors were children back then (if they were even born) so they would remember the smurfs found in the Kellogs boxes instead of any smurfs giving out at a gas station when their parents got gas (if they had a car back then..lots of people didnt')

This would not necessarily be in the book, if the book only gives an overview of the history and wanted to tell the story of who gave out the first smurfs.

Will be interesting to find out if you get an answer...but I am with Lia and think they published the correct information. It wouldn't look good if they got their own history wrong

Here is my question?

Schleich claimes they gave out the first promotion smurfs in conjunction with BP. If this is correct then why is it that the first Smurf (PAPA) that i got 31 years ago from BP in South Africa has no Schleich markings on it??? Not the old stick figure or the printed word.

Here is my question?

Schleich claimes they gave out the first promotion smurfs in conjunction with BP. If this is correct then why is it that the first Smurf (PAPA) that i got 31 years ago from BP in South Africa has no Schleich markings on it??? Not the old stick figure or the printed word.

That is a very good question pierre!!

But how do you know this is a Schleichsmurf?? If it was 31 years ago it don´t have to be that way.

The first papa is the one with the hand held higher. Maybe the one without markings was made by Bully. But this don´t go with south africa?? HMMM .

Could you send a picture of this one? Is it the blue material varaition you see on many webpages?

Great that you ask questions and tell us if something seems wrong Pierre!!

The first papa according to me is the one with old schleichemblem and hand held high!! But at the same time the blue papa without markings is a bit of a mystery since the material is a bit odd!!

BUT!!! and this is important Pierre! According to the DSK the first papa was made in 1969!! And are NOT among the smurfs made in the beginning???

So the papa question is a bit odd for me eventhough intresting since you said you got it in south africa. This mold was made 1969 and are not among the first unless the strange blue variation has something to do with this???

Hi Andre

Thank you for this.

DONT laugh at my papa lol. His ''old'' but yet his my most prised possetion i have. He was given to me b my late father when i was five years old. My first and has travelled all over with me in my life time.
He was given out at the local BP Petrol station. I can remember him coming in a plastic bag with a soft cardboard fold over top. The exacte place of the BP Petrol station was in Lansdown, Rondebosch East, Cape Town, South Africa. ( It was up the road from us)
They also had a smurf party there where they had a huge dressed up smurf (Man in Costum) with a huge display of the smurfs. My sister still has old photos of this. When i go to SA in Jan i will sure to get this.

About the markings, all it says is PEYO copyright and w germany. 4

I also have a gold smurf from the same time. The gold smurf has no peyo markings just w germany 4.

Once again thank you for your help.

PS. Pick and Pay Hypermarket in Port elizabeth South Africa, in the early eightys also promoted Smurfs over easter.

Hi again Pierre,

the marking you have is the marking used later.

Schleich made this marking around 1970 and it is not the first mold. The mold you have has the hand held lower.

When Schleich stopped and Bully got these molds from Peyo they removed the emblem. As you see on your smurfs it has a circle ( on other foot) where the emblem was when Schleich made it.

Bully sold this for awhile between 1975 to around 1978/79. Then Schleich started selling this and got the mold back in around 1978. But as said before they never added the emblem back on these molds and they never marked them Schleich until later in the mid 80s.

So the one you have was sold by Schleich in South Africa starting around 1979!! Bully removed the emblem but the one you have was made by Schleich!!

Pierre,

is it softer material if you have a new papa with same marking to compare with?

When Schleich got the license back from Peyo in around 1978 and they started selling them outside Germany ( because of the Bully lawissue with Peyo until end of 1979). It seems they spread them to many countries before 1980 when they got the license back for Germany. Probably BP and other petrol firms had a lot to do with this because they were very international and had stations all over the world.

I don´t remember when National got into BP, but National, Shell and BP joined together already in 1959 and probably therefore also the smurfs was give aways for these companies??