Len Deighton, Novelist, RIP

Hi Woodsy

I expect you have already seen this, but I just spotted a news item on the death of writer Len Deighton (18th February 1929- 15th March 2026), aged 97. You have mentioned him so often, and I even have his cookbook, as well as a couple of the films based on his novels.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

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Woodsy adds:

Thanks Paul, It's a great shame. I associate Len Deighton with my late Dad really, so it feels doubly sad, as it was his taste in novels. Deighton stood in his bookcase alongside Sixties writers Alistair McClean, John le Carre and Jack Higgins. My Dad was in the Navy in WWII and enjoyed his post-war spies in particular, which rubbed off on me during the Sixties spy craze and I still have the spy bug.

I haven't read any of Len Deighton's books myself, which I ought to rectify, if anything, to see what my Dad liked so much. The titles are part of spy book culture now, like Funeral in Berlin.

Several became famous Michael Caine movies, him playing the tough bespectacled Harry Palmer in Billion Dollar Brain, Funeral in Berlin and The Ipcress File, perhaps the most well-known. 

Here's Funeral in Berlin on VHS, given the Caine cover treatment.

The Ipcress File even made it to the toy factory and became a Milton Bradley board game. Now as collectable as Harry Palmers specs it's one I've never seen in the flesh ( not to be confused with the Odessa File game, which I have owned).

Have you any Len Deighton or Harry Palmer books and things?

Moonbase Mailbag

The Moonbase Mailbag has been unusually full this month, but, what with my Grandparenting duties and the subsequent rotten cold, I been distracted I'm afraid.

I shall empty the bag forthwith and post it's contents on MC this weekend.

Woodsy

The Post Room 📬

Saturday Morning Boxing Club: The Moonship Tester

 I've often lamented the fact that my three Moonships remain unboxed:

The white C21 Moonship, The blue Ahi Super Rocket Plane and the tinplate Chinese Moonship.

They have remained without properly-made boxes for decades, so I thought maybe it's time to sort it out, Moonbase style.

Having tried before to make boxes for two of them back in 2009, I remembered that the source material is crucial. The better the source the better the box.

There is no better Moonship box source than our friend Arto in Helsinki Base. With a collection second to none Arto kindly agreed to photograph all the sides of the C21 and Chinese ships and send them to the project's art department, namely Wotan Bill.

The Ahi ship is still the elusive box of the three, still the only known picture being a tiny one in a book and only part of it. Thankfully it's in colour, but more on that later.

Once the art dept had worked his magic the copies were then sent to me at MoonBase on both thin paper and thin card for cutting and construction.

Setting to yesterday I attempted a first dry run of the Century 21 box using the thin card graphics. 

I learnt a lot doing this test piece. The card needs to be much thicker, the joints pr-scored, better glue and a thicker window film that creases.

So here's test run box 1, the Century 21 Toys Moonship.

A joint effort (thanks Arto and Bill), we hope you like it.

Watch this space - ship!

Hot Wheels Optimus Prime

Hi Woodsy

In 2024 Hot Wheels released a model of Optimus Prime from Transformers in a series called Mattel Creations Collaboratory. One of their premium lines.

In 2025 Optimus Prime appeared in the Mainline Screen Time sub-series. This being much cheaper than the previous model.

Red metal cab, blue plastic chassis, and chromed underside and grille. Black plastic exhausts, silver stripes, and opaque windows.

The model was part of the 2025 range, but the copyright date is 2024. A model for Transformers fans to look out for.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

What's for Tea?

It's a Friday night Blighty classic here, egg, sausage and chips, salt and vinegar and hot sweet tea! Ah, the good life! Now, where's my Beano comic to read with it!

What are you having for tea readers?  or whichever meal it is where you are on the globe?

🫖

Moto-Cross by Exitoy: Cor!

 I picked this up in Selby yesterday. It's a gorgeously boxed Moto Cross game/ toy by Exitoys of Czechoslovakia.

I fell in love with with box art on sight, harming back to those fabulous boxes on games and toys back in the Sixties.

Inside is a lovely card track with parts, one of which looks like joystick. It's magnetic so I guess the parts move round the track. 

Fir a diver I was chuffed to pick up something original, in good nick and with gorgeous artwork. I just need to get that pesky Charity price tag off now.

You ever seen anything like this? 

Pyro American Indian Series by Paul Adams

As a follow-up to Rob's fabulous Chief yesterday, this is a re-post from 2023 by Paul A 

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Pyro made a total of nine Paint-by-Numbers kits in the 1960s. All were re-issues of existing kits, with the addition of paints, a brush, and revised painting instructions.

Following on from their Paint-by-Number Bird kits, released in 1963, there was a Western Figure Series. Comprising six kits: three Cowboys, and three Indians. These came out in 1965.

All the Western kits are usually dated 1958, but it seems they may have come out in two batches, with the Indians appearing first.

The American Indian Series (the name appears on both the box ends and the instruction sheets) comprised three models, all 10 inches high. They were large and well detailed, and had a US retail price of 98 cents.

The kits were moulded in a mid-brown plastic - perhaps chosen as a suitable 'flesh' colour ? Each figure stood on a small base, in the same colour as the rest of the kit.

All the kits had a detailed painting of the figure, with a suitable background, on the box top. Oddly, the Pyro name did not appear on the box lid, only on the sides and ends.

The side of the boxes and the instruction sheets show the three Indian figures, with no mention of the Cowboys - yet the Cowboy boxes show all six figures. Now this is just a guess on my part, but this seems to suggest that the Indians appeared first, with the Cowboys not being released until later.

The 1959 Pyro catalogue lists all six kits, now called the American Western Series.

VINTAGE 1959 PYRO MODEL KIT CATALOG | #127337122 (worthpoint.com)

270-.98 Indian Warrior - carrying bow, spear, and knife

271-.98 Indian Chief - standing, arms crossed, wearing a headdress

272-.98 Indian Medicine Man - wearing a horned headdress, and carrying a rattle and drum

Built examples.

VTG 1950's PYRO Plastic Indian Chief Model parts pieces.. 3 PC LOT and.......... | #3881854922 (worthpoint.com)

This trio of kits was also released in Britain by Kleeware, although I have only found examples of the Warrior and Medicine Man. Again, the side of the box shows only the three Indian figures.

In 1965 the figures were re-released as Paint-by-Numbers models, and were given new numbers. The box art had the detailed background deleted, leaving just the figure against a plain white background. Despite the inclusion of paints and a brush, the price had increased by only 2 cents, to $1.00.

C281-100 Indian Chief

C282-100 Indian Medicine Man

C283-100 Indian Warrior

All came with an identical palette of paints - black, white, yellow, red, and blue; all supplied in solid cake form. The paints were of a new type, which were water soluble. This was not mentioned on the box tops, but it was heavily promoted on the sides of the boxes.

All the Western kits were now moulded in the same light brown plastic, which was lighter than that previously used for the Indian kits.

The Paint-by-Numbers kits lasted until 1967, by which time the price had increased to $1.50. As far as I am aware they have not been re-issued since.

All 12 photographs from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

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Originally posted as part of a longer Pyro series of posts by Paul on MC in 2023. 

Click on the Pyro label for more.

Abba: For The Record

I sort of knew Century 21 Publishing had a hand in some Abba music books in the UK, so when I saw a random Abba softback, For the Record, in a charity shop today I just had to check.

Yep, sure enough, there was Keith Shackleton's name - six lines from the bottom -, former head of Century 21 Merchandising back in the day (a big deal in Gerry Anderson's organisation). No mention of Century 21 in the book though as far as I could see.