A few years ago, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV show came up, and I mentioned having a pair of MFU pyjamas. At the time I could not find any mention of them on-line at all.
While working on the Aurora kits articles, I decided to have another look, and this time I found a few crumbs of information.
Back in the 1960s I had a pair of children's MFU pyjamas. They were white, and covered with pale blue MFU globe logos; and other items related to the show - which were printed mainly in blue, yellow, and black as I recall.
They came with a greenish plastic U.N.C.L.E. badge, printed with black. The badge had a clip on the back to attach to your pyjama pocket, and glowed in the dark.
I can not remember if I had number 2 (Illya Kuryakin) or number 11 (Napoleon Solo). The clip broke off decades ago, but I should still have the badge somewhere, sitting in a box [pictured is from Worthpoint].
I could not find any photos of the pyjamas, but did locate a couple of photos of the fabric. I am not sure if these are exactly the same as the ones I had, but they are certainly similar.
According to the descriptions, the fabric was used by a company called Model to make pyjamas, and it appears there were at least two colour variations - blue (which I had), and red. Mine were normal, long-sleeve and long-leg winter pyjamas.
The badge was triangular, and matched the badges worn by U.N.C.L.E. personnel when they were inside U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. According to the description accompanying the only photos I could find, these were dated 1965 on the back, but I do not know the manufacturer.
Given the level of import restrictions in force in New Zealand in the 1960s, I doubt my pyjamas were imported. They are more likely to have been made locally under licence, but I have no way of confirming this.
Anyone else have them?
Four photographs from Worthpoint.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
I bet they were comfy Paul!
ReplyDeleteI loved those pyjamas - my favourite pair ever.
ReplyDeleteAmazing bit of licensing nostalgia!
ReplyDelete