[YouTube] The Smurfs Toys (1970s/80s)

https://youtu.be/JcnJ9xrCiIY

Belgian Pierre "Peyo" Culliford created The Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs) in 1958 for his Johann and Peewit comic strip. In 1959 The Smurfs received their own series and would later become quite popular in North America thanks to the cartoon that debuted on NBC in 1981 and aired more than 250 episodes over the course of eight seasons. The toy figurines from Schleich began production in 1969 and from what I can gather, new figures were only created through 1981 but must have been manufactured for longer to be sold in the U.S. Smurf toys returned in 1992 and have been produced every year since as The Smurfs franchise continues to thrive with new cartoons, movies, video games, etc.

I've got a variety of the standard figurines from the 1970s/80s that are typically about two inches tall. Many of the characters are performing some type of action or dressed in a unique way to indicate their role, such as a cowboy, superhero, or cook. A few are also riders/drivers of some sort and are supposed to be attached to a horse, car, or bicycle, though I've only been able to find horses in my collection. In the photos I included duplicates to show different angles of a few figures.

Not all of the characters are Smurfs either as there are a few humans and a cat but they are only slightly taller than the Smurfs when they should tower over them. Gargamel and his cat Azrael are the antagonists that are always causing trouble for Smurfs. Sadly, my Azrael hasn't made it through the decades unscathed as a family dog chewed on it, damaging the legs and tail. The Smurfs' friends Johann and Peewit also received the toy treatment.

There were a few accessories available at the time as well, of which I own the main house and a pack of items that included a bench, table, stools, and cart. There was also a small house with a green roof and a windmill, plus some smaller items like a wishing well, boat, and gate. Unfortunately, the house I have is a bit warped so I cannot get the door on and I broke the base when trying to bend it back into shape. I'm also missing the window item and a few small accessories from the aforementioned pack.

Of course, any popular cartoon in the early '80s received a multitude of branded products beyond plastic toys, such as books, stickers, school supplies, plush, board games, jigsaw puzzles, Shrinky Dinks, Colorforms, and plenty of other items.

In the video I mentioned visiting the Facebook page's activity album for pages from the coloring book. You can still do that, however, I decided to post all of the same pages here too.

Licensed Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles and board games were something my family enjoyed quite a bit in the late '70s and into the late '80s. Unfortunately, due to them being predominately cardboard, many of them haven't held up after being stored in a basement for a long time. I've been getting rid of many board games over the past year, largely tossing them because they smell or the boxes and boards have mildew stains, though I've also sold a few, and am donating a bunch. This month I'm looking at the jigsaw puzzles and decided to do this post to have record of the items featuring licensed characters before they are gone forever. I put them on the floor to snap photos, sometimes more than one in a single photo, and I only put one puzzle together but then the box photos are exactly what the puzzles look like. You'll notice most of these are from Milton Bradley and of the ones that still have a price tag on them, none cost more than $1.98. 

The Muppets was a popular show in my youth and here are six puzzles based on that property.

My family watched the Peanuts specials quite a bit too though I've only got two puzzles for that one.

The Smurfs were a favorite of my sister's and I watched the cartoon as well. There is one good-sized puzzle and a couple average ones.

Here are three from Whitman that have nice artwork featuring Daffy Duck, Donald Duck, and Bullwinkle Moose. 

I'm going to group a bunch of random stuff into this next group. There is Magilla Gorilla, Garfield, Heckle and Jeckle, The Devil & Daniel Mouse, Family Circus, and Mork & Mindy.

I've got G.I. Joe puzzles too; was there any doubt? This is a set of four puzzles that can be combined to form one large puzzle. It was the first Joe puzzle series released and then there was another set of four later that I don't have.

Masters of the Universe is probably the largest puzzle I've got here with one side being 33 inches long. It's also the only one that has an image on the back of the box.

Last up are two WWF puzzles, one that is still sealed and the other is the one I put together this week. Unfortunately, I'm missing one piece so it is incomplete. The reason I built this one was for the old WWF post that I'm updating with these images.

While I've got to get rid of most of these, I'm definitely keeping the G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe puzzles regardless if they smell or not.