Last Updated: 9h October, 2008
W Germany Schleich S
This Dragon figure is not really a Smurf figure, but Smurf collectors worldwide have adopted him into their collections as Fafnir the dragon, who appeared as a friend of Johan & Pewit in the Belgian comic strips as well as the American Smurf cartoons. This bendy dragon figure is actually from a toyline called Crazy Friends, which features other bendy animal figures such as a monkey, a cow , and also a bird. These Crazy Friends figures were produced by Schleich in 1991, and since then, this dragon has become a very sought after item by Smurfers who want to add a Fafnir figure to their own collections.
There are a few different types of Crazy Friends dragon figures available. The first one is the normal Crazy Friends green dragon figure that does not have the "Hoechst" logo on the side. Surprinsingly, this original figure has become even harder to find than the one pictured above.
The 2nd version of this dragon is the one pictured above with the "Hoechst" print on the side of the figure. This version is actually a promo figure for Hoechst AG, which was a German chemical company up until 1999 when they merged with Rh�ne-Poulenc S.A. to form a new comapny called Aventis. This is the version that is most commonly seen for sale on Ebay or other places where people buy & sell figurines. Despite being the most common version, these figures can still fetch for over $100.
The 3rd version of this dragon features red tips instead of the regular light green ones. This is easily the most sought after Crazy Friends dragon and by far the rarest of all 3 variations. However, since this red one has become so hard to find, it's common for fakers to repaint the lighter green tips with a little red paint to try and dupe buyers into spending hundreds of dollars more. Personally, I have never seen any real evidence that a red variation was officially released by Schleich, and therefore remain a little doubtful over its authenticity at this stage.
Schleich has yet to produce many popular characters that appeared in the Smurf stories, so there has been a longing by many collectors to see the day when all of these secondary figures will be produced. Until then, many Smurf collectors will continue to add this non-Smurf figure dragon to their collections, at least until IMPS/Schleich produce a real Fafnir in the future......although most doubt that this will ever happen.
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