Star Bird was a toy-line produced by Milton Bradley between 1978 and 1981. The toys were developed by Bing McCoy who designed a number of successful toys in the late 70’s; including Electronic Battleship and ROM the Spaceknight.
The first toy released in the Star Bird franchise was ‘Star Bird’ in 1978. Described as being “space transport” and featuring electronic engine sounds, firing “photon beams” and “battle sounds” according to the box.
The toy was constructed in three main pieces: the front inner hull which held the electronics and front lasers, the front outer hull (a thin plastic shell over the inner hull), the main body consisting of the center stalk like section and wings. A molded plastic engine piece fit into the rear of the main body and was removable.
The toy is only used in three configurations: the Star Bird which consists of all available pieces, the Star Bird Fighter which is mostly only the front hull attached to the bare engine piece, and the Star Bird Orbiter which is the main body without the front outer hull.
When turned on the Star Bird mimics an engine sound. If the toy is pointed upwards the sound would be altered by a ball bearing switch to imply a doppler effect acceleration or taking-off, while a nose down orientation gives the sound of decelerating engines.
A button at the rear of the cockpit activates the LEDs at the front of the toy, along with a blast noise, to simulate the firing of its lasers.
Star Bird
In 1979 the franchise expanded with the release of the Star Bird Space Avenger and the Star Bird Command Base. The Space Avenger looked much like the Star Bird but with different stickers. The command base was a large cardboard playset that came with a few plastic men and props. It was used as a place to land your Star Bird.
Finally, in 1980 the last toy in the Star Bird franchise would be released. The Star Bird Intruder came with a black hull and consisted of the cockpit and Interceptor section only. It featured a pistol grip and feature that, when used along with the Space Avenger, could be used to simulate outer-space dog-fighting.
Check out the Star Bird advertisement below, this is a UK advert from 1979.