The Catalog was originally meant to be for our own personal use. We found out pretty fast that for "fair" collecting, swapping, buying and selling of our little blue friends an open reference book was absolutely necessary. This is already the 3rd generation of the "Schlumpf Katalog", it is meant to be an open and innovative reference book for "beginners" as well as for "experts". Since "Smurfing" became very attractive and more and more collectors found the thrill of this collecting field, a lot of questions came up : What smurfs do exist? What color and mold variations are known? Which are the rare figurines? How high is the value of the figurines? What do the smurfs look like? We feel our smurf catalog can answer all these questions. We don't claim our catalog to be 100% correct and final. Even though we work very intensively at the little gnomes, always new variations, rumors or information come up. This is the thrill of collecting smurfs - everybody can be the "discoverer" of an unknown smurf or variation. Ever since the release of out first black and white catalog we received a lot of enthusiastic encouragement. The first "Smoerfers" smurf catalog in color (1997/98) already helped "smurf-lovers" from all over the world with their "hunt" for missing figurines and gives a guideline for swapping and trading smurfs. Since the "smurf-scene" has changed quite a bit since 1996, it really was about time for an updated, new and improved "Smurf Catalog 2000". Besides the updates of the prices, a lot of variations were discovered, the promo smurf, smurf-a-grams and "raw material smurfs" sections were heavily extended. The "Smurf Catalog 2000" now has almost twice as many pictures then the last catalog on over 270 pages. Nevertheless we managed to hold the price to make this book affordable even for "beginners". Our concern to have produced a catalog just for "experts" vanishes by leaving through this catalog and the fun you have by looking at the hundreds of "blue-faces". We wish you a lot fun with this catalog! How Do I Read The Smurf Catalog? We tried to include as much information about each figurine as possible. To be able to read this information at "one sight" you will have to get used to some rules and ways of displays: The Article Number (e.g. 2.0125) We took the article numbers of the Schleich company to obtain a standardized numbering. Those numberings caught on very well in the "collectors scene" for trading, wanted list, etc. The Letters (e.g. W) Those letters are supposed to help to see if there is a "special" variation of a certain smurf available: M Miniature Figurine like the original, but only about 2 cm (3/4 of an inch) tall. U Original Smurf This is the first "variation" of the smurf. W Advertising / Promo This variation was used for advertising purposes. P Figurine on Base This figurine is on a base, cloverleaf, etc. R Raw material This figurine is unicolored and not painted X Special Smurf This figurine is part of an article (stamp, music box, etc.) The "W" - Promo smurfs are pictured in a separate chapter. The promo smurfs sector is one of the most difficult ones for "smurf-researchers" - all the time, so far unknown smurfs appear. Even today smurfs are still used for advertising purposes (e.g. Mc Donald's 1998). These editions are always limited, so the smurf collector should get his/her "sample" as fast as possible, before the become expensive. We were able to picture most of the known figurines, but in case the same "logo" was used on different figurines we only pictured some figurines as "representatives". The Numberings (e.g. Nr.6) The numberings of the different variations can also be used for a better communication of trading, offerings, wanted lists, etc. This way it is possible to offer a smurf without having to use a detailed description of the smurf, e.g. Smurf 2.0098-3, without any misunderstandings. The Variations THE controversy subject of all "Smurfologists". How do I define a variation of a figurine? Some collectors already have 1500 different smurfs and are still looking for new, slightly differences ("light pink" and "very light pink"). In this catalog we only mentioned variations that are obvious. Different markings only help to clearly identify a variation. Figurines that have the same shape and color but different markings are not considered to be a new variations (Sonstige). Over the years sometimes two or even more completely different molds of a smurf were produced (e.g. two completely different shaped "sitting smurfs"). The Blue Printed Variations For example: 5 Material rot, blau bemalt Sonstige 5,00 2,50 One variant of a smurf is always printed in bold, blue letters. This always is the most common and least expensive variant of the smurf. This information is useful for collectors who want to have "one" variant of each smurf before they start looking for all the others. The prices used in the "table of contents" apply to these prices. The markings (e.g. Schleich S W. Germany) A big help to identify the different variations are the markings (often underneath the feet). In this catalog we shortened the markings to keep it simpler - for example if a smurf is marked "Peyo Schleich S 1994 Made in Portugal" we only wrote "Made in Portugal". If figurines are identical in color and shape, different markings were not mentioned (Sonstige). * Often a variation ("keinere Form" = "smaller mold / shape") exists that has no markings ("ohne*"). Those variations often differ in color and shape from the original figurine. Those figurines (aka "comics non toxico") were probably produced in the Spanish speaking areas without any licensing. The Timelines for example: * * * * 69 70 71 72 * * 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Those timelines show in which years a smurf was officially available in the sales range - but it will have to be mentioned that some figurines that were in the official sales range were not or only in very small quantities available in some stores. The years in which the smurf was not officially available, are not mentioned in the time lines. The first year of a timeline is the year in which the smurf was first released (the birthday). Smurfs that have no years entries in the timeline are smurfs that were never officially in the sales range, they were only available in foreign countries. (MushroomVillage.com note: as per the SCCI (Smurf Collector's Club Intl.), this statement is completely incorrect. The authors of the German catalog do not know the time lines for all the figurines that were produced by Wallace Berrie for the U.S. Market. The true production timelines for every manufacturer of every figure is available from the SCCI. See the "Smurf Clubs" link for info on joining the SCCI.) Any years markings on smurfs are not the years in which they were produced, those are the years of the first issue. (MushroomVillage.com note: This is not completely true. When a tool has to be replaced it will have the year it was replaced. You will find numerous figurines with different years on the bottom. For example 20001 Papa Smurf was issued in 1969 yet there are figurines with other dates like 1980! This is as per Suzanne Lipschitz, founder of the Smurf Collectors Club Intl.) The Condition Most of the older smurfs that are offered on flea markets are used - they show signs of wear, are dirty, have paint rubs or they are slightly damaged. Mint smurfs show no signs of wear, they still have their original "shine". They are in perfect condition, they have "all the parts" or they are still in their original box. The Price (e.g. 9.00) The prices in this catalog are in "DM" and "Euro". They only apply for absolutely mint figurines. Prices always depend on the condition a smurf is in. For example: A slightly used smurf with minor paint rubs usually is worth about 60% to 70% less than the catalog price. The collection check For example: Sammlungs- Check O Collectors can check the circles of the smurfs they already have in their collection. This way you'll always know which figurines still have to be "hunted". Also, this collection check helps avoiding to buy smurfs that are already in the collection. What are prices needed for? To make a "collectors-market" work, some kind of unit to express the value of a certain item is needed. The fist step usually looks something like this: "I'll give you three of the red ones for one of the yellow ones". Obviously the yellow one must "rarer" than the red one and therefore be more expensive. But how does a collector who doesn't have a red one get hold of the yellow one that he is still missing?? He has to pay for it. If the amount that the collector is willing to pay is identical with the amount the owner of the yellow one is asking for, a price for the yellow one is established. "this is no fun anymore" some collectors say, because they fear that they will no longer be able to find any real bargains on flea markets if everybody knows about the figurine's values. Actually quite often sellers on flea markets and toy fairs demand way too high prices for more or less "worthless" figurines, because they fear to sell a real rare smurf for too less. Also "flea market quality" figurines are usually worth no more than 5 DM ($2.80), which can be quite frustrating for smurf dealers. In our opinion it is only possible to do some fair business if everybody involved has the same kind of information available. By putting prices on figurines, some of the "forgotten" smurfs that have been stored away in the basement or attic over the years will suddenly show up and be offered. This way collectors will be able to get smurfs they have been "hunting" for years on flea markets and they will be willing to pay "a little more" for their "object of affection". How are prices set ? Since the "smurf collectors scene" is only just developing, the prices will probably fluctuate strongly in the next few years. A lot of figurines will show up in larger quantities than there are today. Other figurines will increase in value due to higher demands caused by more and more collectors. Other collectors items like Swatch watches or Kinder Surprise toys have shown that collectors who completed their collections at the beginning of the "Collecting-Boom" always did best (and sometimes made enormous profits). The rule for the setting of the prices in this catalog is: The more difficult it is to find a smurf, the more expensive he is. Smurfs that have only been available for a short time, Smurfs that were only produced in small quantities, Smurfs that were only available abroad, Smurfs that didn't fulfill safety regulations and were therefore only available for a shot time, Smurfs that are very rare in a special variation (promo smurfs, old molds, anniversary smurfs, Bundesliga smurfs, etc.) are expensive, Smurfs that were available in large quantities over many years and that can be found at every flea market are cheap, Smurfs of the current Schleich company line up can be purchased in may toy stores for 5 DM (approximately US$ 2.80) each. The prices in the catalog only apply for MINT smurfs. Out of 10 figurines offered to a collector only one is in mint condition, like it's just from the stores. All other figurines show minor or major wear: They might have some paint rubs, be dirty, smaller parts are "chewed on", have cracks or are bent. These figurines can be called "used" or "played with". Since a collector who spends more than 5 DM for a smurf naturally wants the smurf to be in the best condition possible, the "used" figurines can only be priced at a fraction of the prices of mint figurines. In reality, the condition and the price of a smurf lies somewhere between "used" and "mint". Smurfs that were sold in boxes (e.g. Super Smurfs) can only be called mint if they still are in these original boxes. If a Super Smurfs has no longer it's original box, they are priced about 25% - 30% under the catalog price. Smurfs in very bad conditions (missing parts, extremely dirty ones, etc.) are almost worthless to collectors. Which smurfs can be purchased in stores? The Schleich company will always offer a range 100 smurfs. Every year about five to eight new smurfs are released, and about the same number of older smurfs are re-released. The re-released smurfs usually differ in color and / or shape from the original versions. For sure they will have different markings than the original ones (e.g. not "W. Germany", but "Germany" and the "CE" label). If this will be continued - and let's just suppose every smurf will be re-released, it will take more than 80 years until all the smurfs are re-released in a "new version". But a lot of smurfs will not be re-released, because the mold was damaged or does no longer exist, the mold does not fulfill new safety standards (e.g. small parts that can be swallowed), the figurine doesn't sell very well, the figurine's licensing does no longer exist (e.g. promo smurfs, Bundesliga smurfs, etc.) the figurine's "theme" is unattractive for most customers (Halloween, Football, Baseball, Graduation, etc.) It has also shown that original versions of a smurf only became valuable due to the re-release of a "new" version (e.g. Easter smurfs, etc.). With other collective items it was noticeable that a re-production of the originals did not lessen the original's value, often they even increased in value (e.g. Mickey Mouse Comics from the 50's). On the other hand, each year about 10 figurines are taken out of the Schleich range !!! So it's up to you to speculate if or when a figurine will be re-released or is takes from the store shelves. The market Like no other collective items, the "smurf collecting" is an international phenomenon. More and more smurf-fans from New Zealand to Finland communicate with each other, share information and buy and sell these lovely blue goblins. This is how regionally differences are compensated. This means that the market prices no longer just apply to the German market, but are evolving by internationally demands. By this, larger quantities of smurfs that used to be rare in Germany suddenly appear, which lessens the prices (e.g. the green St. Patrick smurf). On the other hand, some smurfs that could relatively easily be found here in Germany are strongly wanted abroad, which made the prices go up (e.g. Golf smurf, Astro smurf). Unfortunately the "smurf collecting" also brought up some smurf dealers with criminal intentions who are selling counterfeits. These are mostly the rare American smurfs like the "praying smurf", "praying smurfette", "#1 graduate smurf" and the "Smurf riding a candy cane". These counterfeits can be distinguished from the originals, they usually have paler colors, rough seams or inaccurate markings, but a lot of these counterfeits were sold for high prices to credulous collectors. The collector's fear of these counterfeits resulted in decreasing demands and therefore in lower prices, but the originals are still rare. The "black sheep" among these smurf dealers even offer some self painted smurfs as rare color variations just to lure collectors into buying them. Expensive figurines and variations that can not be found in this catalog should only be bought from a trustworthy dealer who can prove it's genuineness. Due to increasing numbers of collectors, a lot of so far pretty much "unnoticed" figurines turn out to become harder to find (e.g. #2.0020, #2.0006, #2.0032, etc.) Also, a lot of collectors have almost completed their collections and are now especially looking for mold and color variations, which makes some prices go up. This also makes collecting the "raw material" and Smurf-a-grams more attractive. The collecting of the promo smurf is still THE most attractive area for smurf collectors. Due to very small editions of these smurfs (200 - 5000 pieces) in comparison to an enormous number of collectors who what to have these "treasures" the prices will go up all the time. Peyo And The Smurfs The father of the smurfs Pierre Culliford, who is better known under his artist name Peyo, was born in June of 1928 in Brussels. His mother was Belgian and loved the fine arts, his father was an Englishman, born and raised in Belgium. In 1945 while Peyo was studying at the Academy of Fine Arts, the 17 years old Peyo had a part-time job at an animation studio. One year later he already worked as an illustrator, wrote and drew comic strips, which he signed with Peyo - the short form of his first name Pierrot. Even as a child he already was an enthusiastic story teller, his passion became his profession. In 1946 he created the medieval world of Pagen John, followed by the adventures of the young Indian Pied-Tendre and the "jokes" of the cheeky cat Poussy. In 1952 the young artist decided to work as a professional cartoonist and quit has former job. The smurfs first appeared as "side characters" in the story "The Flute with the Six Holes". Back then they still looked like starving little gnomes. The story with these blue gnomes was such a success that Peyo decided to make them the main characters of a story. These fable creatures were called "Stroumpf". Peyo came up with this name while being on vacation with his friend Franquin. They came up with the idea to replace every verb or noun they couldn't think of with "stroumpf" which means something like "something, thing". This was the birthday of one of the loveliest smurf characteristics - the (schtroumpf) smurf language. From now on, the triumphant advance of the smurfs couldn't be stopped. In many countries children grew up with the smurf comics (in Germany smurfs first appeared in the mid sixties in the "Fix & Foxi" comics), the lovely smurf figurines disported in every children's room, from candy wrappings to bike bells, everywhere smurfs were smiling at you. The "Smurf-Boom" started in Germany with "Vader Abraham's" hit song "The Smurfsong" back in 1977. The 250 cartoons, produced by the American Hanna-Barbera Studios (The Flintstones, etc.) that were televised worldwide and the feature film "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute" finally made the smurfs "Stars", they could easily be mentioned in one sentence with Mickey Mouse or Snoopy. A prove of smurfs still being up-to-date is the #1 Techno smash hit "Schlumpfen-Cowboy-Joe". After Peyo's death in December 1992 his son continued his father's lifework. Only one year before Peyo opened up the "Walibi-Schlumpf" theme park, his legacy to all smurf fans. Who collects smurfs? Smurfs are THE classics among comic figurines. With a variety of over 370 different, very lovely designed and hand painted figurines, the little rubber-dwarfs make fascinating collectors items. Since 1965 several million of these lovable plastic gnomes were sold on all continents of the world by the German companies "Bully" and "Schleich". The "Smurf" is known in the Lebanon as well as a cap-driver from Lima has a "PITUFFO" glued to his dashboard. Smurfs are international - collectors can swap them with like-minded in many counties. More and more collectors of the "Kinder Surprise Eggs Figurines" (approx. 50000) become interested in the "easy to grasp" field of "smurf collecting". In thousands of attics or former children's rooms more or less larger collections of smurfs are only waiting to be completed. Besides, "Smufing" became very popular, it is "hip" to be a "Smurfer" or "Smurfetter". This catalog is supposed to support all these tendencies, to bring smurf fans all the joy of "hunting" for the little blue guys and the discovery of the "world of smurfs". Back to Translations Page

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