Schleich Smurfs are the standard PVC Smurf figures: the German toy maker produced them under license from 1965 until its final six figures in 2025, a sixty-year run and the longest single thread in the hobby. That span is also the problem: a Schleich-marked figure can be a 1960s original, a 1980s Hong Kong casting or a 2000s re-run, all from one mold. The wider world of Smurf figures is on the home page.
Who makes Schleich Smurfs, and who owns the Smurfs?
Schleich was founded in Stuttgart in 1935 by Friedrich Schleich and is now based in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Collector references agree it was the second company to make Smurf figures, after the comic's publisher Dupuis, starting in 1965.
The Smurfs belong to the family of Peyo, the Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford. Licensing runs through IMPS (International Merchandising Promotions and Services), headed by his daughter Véronique Culliford. Schleich was a licensee, never the owner, which is why "Peyo" sits on every genuine figure beside the maker mark.
The arrangement ended with the 2025 range. Collectors expected the license to expire at the end of 2025, and in February 2026 the trade publication Licensing International reported that Schleich had parted with the property.
Schleich Smurf timeline by decade
1965 to 1969: the first eleven figures
The line opened in 1965 with Normal, Gold and Convict Smurf. Spy, Angry and Drummer followed in 1966, and 1969 added Moon, Winter, Brainy, Guitar and Papa Smurf. These earliest castings are sparsely marked. The Brainy Smurf and Papa Smurf pages cover the 1969 molds that stayed in production for decades.
1970s: Bully, Super Smurfs and the first export factories
Bully, the trading name of Bullyland in Spraitbach, made its own Smurfs from 1973 to 1980. Its sculptor Irmingard Hieber worked from Peyo's art rather than Schleich's molds, so a Bully Astro Smurf and a Schleich Astro Smurf are different figures of the same idea. In 1978 Schleich launched the Super Smurfs, boxed figures with accessories such as a sled or a tricycle, and began Hong Kong production for non-European markets. By the end of the decade its figures were reaching Britain through the National petrol promotion and the United States through Wallace Berrie.
1980s: the boom, the new factories and the crash
The Hanna-Barbera cartoon made the Smurfs a US phenomenon, distributed by Wallace Berrie and Co. of California. Its figures came from Schleich molds and often carry "W. Berrie Co." or "W.B. Co." beside the Schleich mark; later ones may read "Applause", the name the company adopted in 1986. Schleich opened a hand-painting factory in Oporto, Portugal, fed with raw castings from its plant at Herlikofen near Schwäbisch Gmünd, and a Sri Lankan factory near Colombo airport around 1982. Collectors citing Schleich's anniversary history say demand collapsed after 1985. The Hong Kong factory closed after 1985, with a short move to Macau and later production in China.
1990s and 2000s: fewer new poses, more re-runs
Figures made after German reunification are marked "Germany" rather than "W. Germany", and CE marking became compulsory around 1990 to 1991. Schleich kept adding a small group of figures most years; only 1991 and 1998 passed without a new regular figure. From 2003 each year's additions followed a theme, listed in the table further down, ending with the Zodiac Smurfs of 2010.
2011 to 2017: the movie era
The 2011 film brought a Schleich movie series numbered from 20730 (Movie Clumsy, Dreamy Smurfette, Movie Gutsy, Movie Grouchy, Movie Brainy) and five Decade Display sets that remade classic molds with modern paint. An Olympic series followed in 2012. For The Smurfs 2 in 2013 Schleich made Movie Papa Smurf, Movie Smurfette, Movie Vanity and the new character Vexy, from 20754. Office, Jungle and Lucky Smurfs filled 2015 to 2017. Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) had no Schleich series we can document; its figures came from Jakks Pacific.
2020 to 2025: the final series
Schleich issued a short series each year from 2020 to 2023: Gargamel with net and Azrael in 2020, Baby, Chef and Handy in 2021, and in 2022 Blossom, a character from The Lost Village and the 2021 television series. It also made the 2022 McDonald's Happy Meal Smurfs for Germany and Austria. Nothing new appeared in 2024. On January 26, 2025 the final six were announced: Best Friend Smurf 20845, Cutie Smurf 20846, Supersmurf 20847, Smurf-fu Smurfette 20848, Pizza Smurf 20849 and Gamer Smurf 20850, sold mostly through Schleich's online store. The July 2025 musical film from Paramount and Nickelodeon had no Schleich tie-in figures.
| Period | Typical Schleich marks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 to about 1972 | "Peyo" on the arm or nothing at all | Few marks, soft matte paint |
| 1970s to 1989 | "W. Germany"; "Hong Kong"; "Portugal"; "Sri Lanka"; W. Berrie or Applause on US stock | Paint dots from late 1978; CE mark optional |
| 1990 to 2010 | "Germany" with a CE mark; "Macau" or "China" on some | Old molds re-run; no new figure in 1991 or 1998 |
| 2011 to 2025 | "Schleich", "Germany" or another current factory country, CE | Movie series, Decade sets, final six in 2025 |
How to read a Schleich stamp in thirty seconds
The foot of a Schleich Smurf carries up to six things: the Peyo copyright, the maker mark (the round Schleich emblem with its stick figure, or SCHLEICH in capitals), a country, a mold year, a single-digit cavity number and sometimes a paint dot. The year is the year the mold was cut, so it only sets the earliest possible date. A dot shows where the figure was painted: red for Sri Lanka, yellow for Portugal, green for Tunisia. The full walkthrough is on our vintage Smurf figures page.
Schleich catalog numbers explained
Every Schleich Smurf has a five-digit article number, and the first digit gives the product type. Regular figures run from 20001 to 20850, the last number issued in 2025. Super Smurfs begin at 40201, the 1978 Sled Super Smurf. Schleich's catalogs printed the numbers with a dot after the first digit, so 2.0533 and 20533 are the same Papa Smurf. In the 2000s catalogs the 4 prefix also covered playsets (4.06xx, 4.07xx) and buildings such as Gargamel's castle (4.90xx).
The number identifies the pose, not the run. The 20033 Clown Smurf was cast in Hong Kong, Portugal and West Germany under one number.
Vintage Schleich or modern re-release?
Because Schleich re-ran old molds for decades, a figure stamped with a 1970s year can be a 1990s or 2000s product. Four checks settle it:
- Country wording. "W. Germany" places a figure before reunification; "Germany" after. The Boxer Smurf 20419 carries a 1980 mold year but was sold from 1993 to 2000 and exists with both markings.
- CE mark. Voluntary before about 1990, compulsory afterwards. A 1970s mold year with a CE mark points to a later run.
- Catalog reintroductions. Schleich brought back retired numbers for a year or two, for example 20064 Toothbrush and 20104 Pirate in 2004, and the 2011 Decade Display sets remade 1970s figures such as the Chef, with a plain brown spoon instead of the original red sauce.
- Paint and country. Later European runs are cleaner and brighter, and a 2007 figure is marked "Germany", never Hong Kong.
For the few Schleich castings whose early version carries a real premium, such as the ball-attached Tennis Smurf or the red-sauce Chef, see our rare Smurfs guide.
Schleich vs Bully vs other makers
Dupuis made the first figurines in 1959, Schleich began in 1965, and Bully worked alongside it from 1973 to 1980. A Bully figure is stamped "Bully" with "West Germany" and the Peyo copyright, and because it comes from a different sculpt the pose or paint usually differs; the Bully Lion Tamer has a yellow whip where Schleich painted brown. Wallace Berrie and Applause figures are Schleich molds with an added distributor mark. No Peyo mark, rough seams or an odd color scheme points to an unlicensed Spanish, Polish, Mexican or Chinese copy. IMPS named Jazwares master toy partner in October 2020, so new Smurf toys from 2022 onwards carry no Schleich mark.
Annual additions and deletions to the Schleich range
Collector sources describe about one hundred regular figures on sale at any time until around 2000 and roughly half that from 2001, with new poses added each January and others withdrawn at the previous December 31. This table keeps the catalog years confirmed from the original Kitty's Cavern lists.
| Catalog year | Theme and new numbers | Examples withdrawn after the previous December | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | New Generation, 20517 to 20524 | 20438 Mobile Phone, 20472 Referee, Super Smurfs 40254 to 40260 | |
 | |||
| 2004 | Soccer, 20525 to 20532, plus four reintroduced numbers | The twelve-figure Marching Band, 20479 to 20496 | |
| 2005 | Classics, 20533 to 20540 | 20424 Papa Thinking, 20521 Cyber, school playsets | |
| 2006 | Halloween, 20541 to 20548 | 20104 Pirate, 20517 Hippy, 20519 Hip-Hop, 20520 Techno, 20523 Show-off | |
| 2007 | Native American, 20549 to 20556 | 20037 Doctor, 20064 Toothbrush, 20130 Graduate, 20532 President | |
| 2025 | Final six, 20845 to 20850 | Whole line ended with the license | |
Figures that lasted one or two catalog cycles, such as the 2003 Cyber Smurf, are scarcer than their neighbors, and a withdrawn number is unavailable rather than retired, because Schleich brought molds back whenever a theme suited them.
What Schleich Smurfs are worth
Schleich made Smurfs in the hundreds of millions, so most sit in the common tier. Value climbs with an early casting of a mold that was later re-run, a short catalog life, or a paint or market variant. A sparsely marked 1960s figure in clean paint fetches several times a 1980s casting of the same pose; the 1980s casting beats a 1990s "Germany" re-run; and a boxed Super Smurf with its accessory is worth multiples of the same figure loose. The 2025 final six sold out at Schleich and dealers call them the last set, but they are too new to call rare. The regular figures with the highest confirmed prices are on our most valuable vintage Smurfs page, and every sold range on this site follows the price method.
What the Schleich checklist on this page shows
The figure checklist below comes from our photographed collection, not a catalog, so it grows as figures are checked. Each row gives the Schleich article number, pose name, mold year, country and maker marks as photographed, any paint dot and variant, then a dated sold range once enough single-figure sales exist. To search by character instead, use the Smurf character names index; the Clumsy and Gargamel and Azrael pages list every Schleich version of those molds.
Documented figures and values
Sources
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- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleich
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smurfs_merchandising
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smurfs
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullyland
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applause_(toy_company)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Smurfs_characters
- https://smurfs.fandom.com/wiki/Schleich
- https://licensinginternational.org/?p=83443
- https://licensinginternational.org/?p=44220
- https://www.smurfs.com.au/smurfs/2025-new-smurfs-from-schleich/
- https://www.smurfs.com.au/category/smurf-figures/
- https://www.smurfs.com.au/random-smurf-thoughts/smurf-review-20845-best-friends-smurf/
- https://www.arnesblueheaven.com/smurf/2025-schleich-smurf-set-6/
- https://blueimps.com/smurf_markings.html
- https://blueimps.com/smurf_faq.html
- https://forum.bluecavern.com/viewtopic.php?p=175072
- https://bluebuddies.com/smurf_figurines/schleich_smurfs.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/smurf_figurines/bully_smurfs.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/smurf_figurines/wallace_berrie_smurfs.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/smurf_figurines/what_is_my_smurf_worth.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/smurf_figurines/smurf_figurines_by_country.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/smurf_figurines/smurf_figurine_basics.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/Smurfs_Super_Smurfs.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/Smurfs_Regular_Smurfs-394.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/Smurfs_Regular_Smurfs-418.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/Smurfs_Regular_Smurfs-493.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/Smurfs_Regular_Smurfs-499.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/Smurfs_Regular_Smurfs-505.htm
- https://bluebuddies.com/Smurfs_McDonalds_Schleich_Smurfs_2022.htm
- https://www.worldcollectorsnet.com/?p=570
- https://web.archive.org/web/2012/http://www.kittyscavern.com/smurf_deletions_additions.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/2012/http://www.kittyscavern.com/smurfdistributorshistory.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/2012/http://www.kittyscavern.com/smurfssrilankahongkong.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/2012/http://www.kittyscavern.com/smurfs_info.htm
Editorial draft · Last reviewed 2026-11-04