These smurfs were made after 1975 but so far we don´t know exactly when.
Could
actually have been made in the 80s also but most likely because of the old
mold of
naughty and the figurines used, the Dupuis union smurfs were sold or
given away
between 1975 and 1980. Probably together with a smurf comic in
some way.They are
clearly made to look like the Schleich- and Bullymolds,but
because of the material
and paintjob they were most likely made by another
company.
These smurfs seems to have been used mainly in Belgium. So for me I am pretty
sure the
marking means like this: Peyo( creator of the smurfs) & Ed. Dupuis
( editor of the comics,
Editions Dupuis SA in Belgium) had these figurines made
together.One reason for the marking could be that Dupuis in this case used the
already existing smurfs with Peyo marking, which Bully were making then. The
other smurfmolds Dupuis used in their promotions were new molds not used by
Peyo before.
I believe these are licenced smurfs but later also used with erased markings unlicensed.
One
reason telling us they most likely are licensed are the marking. It would be a very
very strange
marking to put on a smurf if it was made as a fake. Most fakes just copy
the older marking or
have no marking at all. Another thing telling us they were licensed
in the beginning is the fact that they erased the marking later. There is no point in
erasing the marking if they were fakes from the beginning, right?The smurfs with erased
markings were painted orange for some
reason. Could be because they lost the license
to make smurfs but still used the smurfmolds
with erased markings, but painted them
different not to look like smurfs??? Just guessing.:)
The only thing we know is that they are very hard to find so probably only painted
like this
for a very short time.
Regarding the years. Because of the Naughty smurf Bully made 1974 and the fact that
the drummer is painted with yellow sticks and black drum, like Schleich and Bully did
before 1976, I believe these were made around 1975 and the orange with erased
markings just after this in around 1977.
A collector from Belgium says that you got these smurfs when you bought Kraft
Cheese in the 70s. My guess would be that it was around the time the movie
was shown and before Schleich started making smurfs again so around 1976.
If this is true they were licensed give-aways.