VertiBird on arvau

Wikipedia / VertiBird

For the real-life aircraft known as a Vertibird, see Tiltrotor

VertiBird was the name of a line of toy helicopter products made by Mattel between 1971 and the early 1980s.

Description

The original VertiBird playset has a space theme appropriate for the Space Age attitude of the 1970s. The first set was reminiscent of the Project Mercury program. 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 period.

The helicopter is attached to a rotating base with a rod and is controlled using a two-lever control unit. The controls operate similarly to a real helicopter. The throttle control provides proportional control of the blade speed. The pitch control provides for tilting the Vertibird forward or backward.

Distribution and licensing

Distribution was not limited to the United States. Mattel produced international versions of the VertiBird playset for various markets including Canada, Brazil, the UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Mexico. To date, it is unknown just how many markets and languages Mattel distributed the VertiBird into.

Mattel also licensed the VertiBird for production by other companies.

In the media

Several Mattel VertiBird commercials were made in the 1970s and early 1980s. One of the advertising agencies used for production was Ogilvy & Mather.

Episode 12 in season 8 of the original TV series Hawaii Five-0 ("Honor is an Unmarked Grave", first aired on November 28, 1975) included a scene of a young boy flying a VertiBird Air Police helicopter.

Tiltwing aircraft called "Vertibirds" appear in the games Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.

VertiBird versions

There are 13 known different US versions of the VertiBird playsets.

There were also some contracted production runs of the Mattel VertiBird for other companies.

USA versions

1971–VertiBird
1973–VertiBird Air Police
197?–VertiBird Polar Adventure
1973–VertiBird Rescue Ship
1975–VertiBird Paramedic Rescue
197?–VertiBird Airborne Rescue
1976–VertiBird Okanagan Logging 'Copter
1976–Space: 1999 Flying Eagle
1978–VertiBird S.W.A.T. Patrol
1979–VertiBird Night Patrol
1979–VertiBird Battlestar Galactica
1981–VertiBird Megaforce

International versions

Localized for language and/or graphics.

Brazil (Brasil)

Manufactured under the Brazilian Brand "Brinquedos Estrela" (Toys Star)

1975–Vertiplano
1984–VertiPlano
2000–Vertiplano Estrela C/ Caixa - Helicóptero De Resgate
2022–Vertiplano(Old Collection version)

Canada

1971–VertiBird
1973–VertiBird Air Police/Police De L'Air
1976–VertiBird Okanagan Logging 'Copter

Germany

1978–Libelle 12 Polizeihubschrauber

Italy

1978–VertiBird Elicottero Carabinieri. Early Mattel ads published in Italy promoted the toy as "Elicottero S.O.S. Mattel".
1980–VertiBird Veicolo Spaziale Mazinga "Z"

Japan

1973–VertiBird Sky Patrol
19??–VertiBird Helicopter Technic. Manufactured by Takara

Mexico

Manufactured by Compañía Industrial de Plásticos, S.A. (CIPSA) under license from Mattel Inc.

1973–VertiBird Helicóptero de Control
197?–VertiBird Estacion Polar
197?–VertiBird Barco de Rescat.

United Kingdom

1976–VertiBird Airborne Rescue.

Contracted Vertibird versions

197?–Bluebird Air Police. Distribution in Canada and Europe.
1973–Burbank Toys Issue Air Police