Super Toy Con Exclusive Smurftrooper Resin Figure by Greg Aronowitz of BarnYardFX

DKE Toys is heading to Super Toy Con in Las Vegas this weekend and bringing with them some killer exclusive resin figures! This includes the next piece in Greg Aronowitz’s (of BarnYardFX) popular Star Smurf Series, which mashes-up The Smurfs with Star Wars. The Smurftrooper is the 5th in what Greg hopes to be a recreation of every vintage action figure as a little blue guy.

Each piece is sculpted, molded, cast, painted, and packaged by hand – a true one of a kind piece of art! Collectors can purchase this 2” tall carded figure at the DKE Toys Super Toy Con 2016 booth for $70. The Smurftrooper is limited to just 50 pieces and comes signed and numbered by the artist.

SDCC 16 Exclusive Princess Smurfette Organa Resin Figure by Greg Aronowitz of BarnYardFX

Artist, producer, director, designer, visual effects artist Greg Aronowitz from BarnYardFX has followed up last year's sold out DesignerCon exclusives with another piece in his ongoing series of Star Wars x Smurf resin figure mash-ups! It looks like the force is strong in the San Diego Comic-Con 2016 Exclusive Princess Smurfette Organa resin figure! This hand cast and hand painted 2” carded figure is limited to just 50 pieces, comes signed and numbered by the artist, and can be purchased at the DKE Toys SDCC booth #5045 for $55 each.

SDCC 16 Exclusive Obi-Smurf-Kenobi Resin Figure by Greg Aronowitz of BarnYardFX

Artist, producer, director, designer, visual effects artist Greg Aronowitz from BarnYardFX has followed up last year's sold out DesignerCon exclusives with another piece in his ongoing series of Star Wars x Smurf resin figure mash-ups! It looks like the force is strong in the San Diego Comic-Con 2016 Exclusive Obi-Smurf-Kenobi resin figure! This hand cast and hand painted 2” carded figure is limited to just 50 pieces, comes signed and numbered by the artist, and can be purchased at the DKE Toys SDCC booth #5045 for $55 each.

DCon Exclusive Star Wars x The Smurfs “Star Smurfs” Resin Figures by BarndYardFX

One of The Blot’s #1 wants from Designer Con 2015 are these production quality Star Smurfs resin figures by Greg Aronowitz of BarndYardFX!!! Combining Peyo’s classic 2” Smurfs PVC figures with the beloved characters of the Star Wars universe, Star Smurfs are basically the coolest thing ever!

To kick off this epic new kitbashed bootleg toy line, Aronowitz is releasing two Designer Con 2015 exclusives: Smurf Vader and Luke Smurfwalker. Each Star Smurfs figure is limited to just 50 pieces, comes packaged on a full color blister card and will retail for $55 at the DKE Toys DCon booth #812. The Blot is seriously obsessed with these figures, and I can’t wait to see what Greg has in store for this epic new line of figures!

The Smurfs Movie First Look and Teaser Trailer

Fans reaction to the upcoming “live action” The Smurfs movie has been all over the map, but I think it’s safe to say reaction has definitely skewed towards the negative. I’m still holding out hope The Smurfs will be a cute kids movie, but I’ve got a feeling it’ll include some inappropriate crass moments totally disgracing the legacy of Peyo’s greatest creations.


In the photo above you can see the world’s first every look at the Smurfs in all their CGI glory. Papa Smurf and his two generic Smurf companions actually looks pretty good, but I’ll need to see more before making any final judgments. You can see a little more of the three Smurfs above in the film’s first teaser trailer below. It’s cute, but nothing special.



The Smurfs in 3D is scheduled to debut in theaters sometime during the summer of 2011.

The Smurfs Motion Picture First Look - Hank Azaria as Gargamel

When The Blot first heard Sony Pictures was making a live action Smurfs movie my first instinct was to cringe. This couldn’t possibly be a good idea, right? A CGI The Smurfs movie could be ok, but when you turn it into a live action/CGI animated film I start to worry. One thing the movie’s producers did right was cast Hank Azaria as the villain Gargamel. At first I didn’t understand the casting decision, but just look at the photo below! Azaria has been perfectly transformed into one of the most dastardly villains of my childhood.


While I’m still not sold on this film, Azaria does look the part. You can check out more photos of Hank Azaria as Gargamel here. I just hope my favorite three apples tall little blue Smurfs translate well to the silver screen. I’d hate to have the Smurfs ruined for a new generation. The Smurfs will be in 3D and is scheduled to premiere in theaters next summer (August 3, 2011).

Threadless - The Smurfs Inspired T-Shirt “It’s A Hard Life”

These past two weeks Threadless has produced some killer pop culture themed tees, and “It’s A Hard Life” continues that trend! This smurfy design takes a very unique look at Papa Smurf’s life by detailing his clan’s many struggles in the form of a highly detailed body tattoo. I’ve got to say, this is one version of Papa Smurf I never thought I’d see.

It’s A Hard Life by Alex Solis

I think my favorite part of the design is either the dead Azrael on Papa’s lower back or the P-A-P-A finger tattoos on his left hand. This is definitely not your parent’s Smurfs! As a reminder, the Threadless 10th Anniversary Sale is still going on and all t-shirts are on sale for just $10!

You can purchase this Smurfs inspired “It’s A Hard Life” at Threadless.com on sale for $10 (normally it retails for $18). The shirt comes in both guys and girls styles, sizes S-2XL.

Cartoon Canvases by kaNO

The four pieces of original artwork that make up the Cartoon Canvas Series were created by kaNO for the Street Tribes show he did with Jesse Hernandez earlier this year. Each painting features an iconic cartoon character painted in kaNO’s classic style. The Cartoon Canvas Series includes Papa Smurf, Popeye, Marvin the Martian and Mickey Mouse.



As kaNO explained, “I wanted to do something fun for this set of canvases, so I decided to paint 4 of my favorite cartoon characters. I wanted to see if I could recreate these characters from memory while adding a subtle twist.”



Each piece is entirely painted in acrylics on a 10 inch x 10 inch stretched canvas, and all four are available for purchase right now at The kaNO shop for $300 each.

The Smurfs Turn 50!

And The Blot feels smurfing old! Well, not anywhere near as old as The Smurfs, but you get the point. I can’t believe those little blue guys and three girls (Smurfette, Sassette Smurf and Granny Smurf) have been around that long. My knowledge of them only began in the 80’s when Hanna-Barbera first started producing the cartoon. I always knew they were the creation of Belgian cartoonist Peyo, but to find out they were first produced in a Belgian comics magazine back in 1958 blew me away. As a comics fan I had heard that Belgians love their comics and that their country has a rich comic book/cartoon history, and now the rest of the world will find out too as The Smurfs start a year long tour to celebration their 50th Anniversary. Over the course of the next year, a Smurfs exhibit will be touring 20 European cities. (link) I found this informative video on The Smurfs’ 50th Anniversary tour here.


Along with the European tour, The Smurfs “will mark 50 years with a series of new comic adventures, statuettes, an exhibition at Brussels' cartoon museum, a set of commemorative stamps and, in a reflection of changing times, more females in their mushroom cottage village.” (link) A deal has also been struck with Paramount Pictures for the creation of a full length computer-animated 3-D style motion picture. (link) Hopefully my two favorite non-Smurf characters, Johan and Peewit, will be included in the new movie. IMPS, the company that holds the rights to all things Smurfs, is also hoping to strike a deal for a new series of Smurf cartoons for the silver screen “to add to the 272 that Hanna-Barbera made in the 1980s.” (link) Did you know that “one million Smurf DVDs were sold last year alone?” (link) What a staggering number.

The Smurfs are also joining forces with “UNICEF to promote children's rights and education worldwide.” (link) So for all you closet Smurfaholics out there, you can be bid on some special 50th anniversary items and the proceeds from the auction of the Celebrity Smurfs and the sales of the Smurf statues will go to UNICEF to help “improve the everyday lives of children all around the world.” (link)

I guess it’s time for The Blot to bust out his Smurf collection that’s been collecting dust for the past 20 years the next time I go to my mother’s house so I can appropriately celebrate The Smurfs’ 50th Anniversary.

You can check out the official Smurfs website here.


There is also an official Smurfs’ 50th Birthday website – Happy Smurf Day.com

To find out more about The Smurf’s 2008 anniversary celebration you can check out these four great online articles: here, here, here and here.