[Richard W. Haines]

You want pricey? Check out the cost of the tie-in merchandise from the show in the sixties on ebay.
The Gilbert company (that made erector sets) had spring loaded arms on their action figures
derived from the series. Both Ilya and Napoleon were sold in stores and there were accessories
and other items. Gilbert also did James Bond tie-ins with a fully operational Aston Martin tin
car that had an ejector seat and machine guns that made a sound. Lots of spy toys in the
sixties and I had them all. Alas, Gilbert was put out of business with one of it's Bond tie-ins.
They had a very elaborate slot car set sold through Sears that didn't work for many buyers.
It was rushed into production via a South Korean company that hadn't worked out the kinks
in the electronics. The numerous returns bankrupted Gilbert. In any event, they seem to
have the exclusive on much of the spy merchandise of the time which fizzled out and was
replaced by the "space race" in the late sixties. The other companies that offered
some tie-ins were Marx (plastic figures) and Dell (comic books). Both are also
out of business.

In terms of the TV show itself, some of the episodes were combined to make a
feature film shown in England and printed in Technicolor!