 This is a promotional Smurf produced by Schleich Germany for the German organization "Malteser Hilfsdienst" (Maltese Aid Service), which is similar to the Red Cross in Germany. Peter Neubauer (a Malteser volunteer) commissioned these Smurfs on behalf of Malteser to commemorate their 50th Anniversary. They are official Schleich promos - copyright Studio Peyo and licensed by IMPS (Brussells).
It is a color variation of Schleich #20054 First Aid. The figurine is wearing red pants (the usual figurine is wearing white pants) and carrying a silver case (in previously released variations of this mold, the case has been dark or light brown, white, yellow and green). The Malteser Hilfsdienst emblem is printed on the Smurf's chest. The emblem is a red shield with white cross in the middle. On his chest, "Malteser" is printed at its top. The emblem is also printed on the side of the case along with the text "Malteser" in large black print to the right of the emblem. The piece is marked China, and bears a blue paint dot which signifies that it was made using the "new" PVC formula, used since October 2000, when the "old" formulation was banned from use in the European Union.
In July 2003, Schleich Germany produced one run of 5,000 pieces, the smallest run they would produce for a promo at that time. They were injected and painted in China. They were shipped to Malteser in August 2003, and distribution began in September 2003. 3,000 of the 5,000 Smurfs are to be distributed through the 600 Malteser departments - given to children in ambulances, for example. The remaining 2,000 are to be sold through a distributor of official Malteser model cars to raise funds for Malteser Hilfsdienst. MushroomVillage.com acquired 150 of these for sale to its members and distributed them with an informational postcard.
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