Today, with more and more people collecting and restoring them, collectors are willing to pay over $400 for a working Vertibird. The average retail price for most VertiBirds back during the 1970s was between $8.00 and $20.00(USD). Spring linkage that connects the motor to the shaft that powers the rotor. The later Battlestar Galactica playset successfully blended the VertiBird concept with a science fiction space theme and uses the actual power of the thrust from the rotor to lift other playset objects. But otherwise a poorly performing VertiBird set. Considered notable only for its Space: 1999 theme tie-in and high collector value. This set would not be a good version for the first-time VertiBird pilot wanting to have a true VertiBird experience. Effectively there was no lift provided by the rotor and instead, all lifting is performed with the controls using hand strength. The throttle provided nothing more than a switch to spin the rotor. The set used only two C-cell-sized batteries. The Eagle (helicopter) was fully supported by controls. The set had controls that were radically different from the standard VertiBird controls. ![]() The Space: 1999 version was the one playset that (more or less) abandoned the VertiBird concept in favor of a look and feels to match television series. The one exception to the required VertiBird flight skills was the introduction of the Space: 1999 themed playset, which did not feature the "VertiBird" branding on its packaging elements. This design has resulted in a toy that has survived over 38 years and remains as fun today as it was when VertiBird first came on the market back in 1971. The VertiBird can take quite a beating during crashes and toybox storage. Mattel designed the set with the young flyer in mind. Subsequently, dropping heavy items during a flight will result in a very rapid ascension of the VertiBird unless the pilot has good flight skills. Most of the lift comes from the spinning rotor itself. However, in actual operation, the assist is not enough to lift the VertiBird off the ground. Overall the VertiBird is easy to learn how to pilot for basic flight, but precision flying will require some patience and time on the controls as in a real helicopter.Īs noted there is a spring assist to lift the VertiBird. This included ground effects for low-level hovering, plus altitude gains and losses when changing direction. ![]() During the flight, the VertiBird is subject to the same physical flight characteristics as a real helicopter. The pitch control provides for tilting the Vertibird forward or backward. The throttle control provides proportional control of the blade speed. The controls operate similarly to a real helicopter. The helicopter is controlled using a two-lever control unit. ![]() They also doubled as the weight to hold down the base. Power was provided by 4 'D' sized alkaline batteries in the base. Various other pickup items that were set theme specific.Site accessories that are playset theme specific.Glow-in-the-dark luminous Label stickers for the Vertibird and accessories.Punch-out cardboard buildings that are playset theme specific.Molded forms for the base and controls that were set theme specific.Other versions of the VertiBird also included: Two-bladed plastic rotor with safety rubber tips.Label stickers for the VertiBird and accessories.Accessory bag with the following items. VertiBird with base and controls and helicopter mostly preassembled (except as noted in version list below).Holds the VertiBird and rotor Also has punchouts as noted below. The box contents of the average VertiBird playset consisted of the following items: Later versions of the VertiBird would continue to revisit the space theme as well as other popular television and movie themes of the 1970s and early 1980s time frames. The first set was reminiscent of the Project Mercury program. The original VertiBird playset has a space theme appropriate for the Space Age attitude of the 1970s. ![]() A 21-inch arm with pitch control rod and the spindle that transfers the power to helicopter via drive springs and drive rod, is connected from the central base to the helicopter. The VertiBird helicopter flies around a central base containing an electric motor, spring lift assist, pitch control, batteries, and a throttle. VertiBird was the name of a line of toy helicopter products made by Mattel between 1971 and the early 1980s.
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