StarBird CGI Video: "Evolution"

Does anyone out there remember the StarBird electronic toy made by Milton Bradley in the late 1970s and early 1980s? I loved the design of that little toy spaceship and when I got 3D Studio Max my first experiment was to build a 3D model of the StarBird. This video shows the development of my abilities over the course of about 2 1/2 years as I built and rebuilt (and filmed and re-filmed) the StarBird. You can see everything from camera movements to lighting to the use of material maps change and improve over time.
If you're a fan of the old StarBird toy, or you just like fun 3D animations, I hope you enjoy this little film. By the way, the music is the main title theme from the "Back to the Future" films.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• starbird
• evolution
• buckaroohawk
• 3d
• studio
• max
• CGI
• video
• animation
• fx
• spaceship
• flythrough
• milton
• bradley
• special
• effects

[jerradsuarez]

Love this video buckaroohawk! Can't wait to see the StarBird in 2012!

[buckaroohawk]

@jerradsuarez Thanks! I can't wait to see it either. Hopefully I'll be able to get my other projects finished in time to have a new StarBird video up before the end of the year. Keep your fingers crossed!

[unitruth]

Awesome video on a cool toy!

[buckaroohawk]

@unitruth Thanks! Happy to hear you enjoyed it!

[buckaroohawk]

@PatrikSt74 No problem. Most people don't read all the comments when they watch a video, especially when there are a lot of them. In many cases that would take a very long time, so I don't mind having to explain something more than once. I've been re-working some of the details on the StarBird and I hope to have a new video up in a couple of months. Thanks again for your interest and for taking the time to write!

[PatrikSt74]

@buckaroohawk I see now, in reading all the comments, that you've explained that design desicion several times, sorry about that! I always imagined the Interceptors as unmanned drone fighters controlled by a guy inside the ball turret. I really liked the last version of your video where you show the inside of the turret as well. Looking forward to your next version for sure, keep up your excellent work :)

[buckaroohawk]

@PatrikSt74 I have one that's missing the smaller rear engines and the gun turret on the sphere, but otherwise it's in great shape. I made the outer wings permanent because the scale I'd worked out for the ship didn't allow them to be separate craft. I was never a big fan of that feature on the toy, anyway. The main fuselage just doesn't look right without them. I'm glad you liked the video, and there's more StarBird stuff on the way. Thanks for writing!

[PatrikSt74]

Great stuff! I have a StarBird that's sadly missing it's removable engine. One thing though - the "wingtips" are supposed to be docked "Interceptor" space ships, not a solid part of the wing.

[buckaroohawk]

@bjonas0725 Me, too! That's why I built the model and kept making improvements over the years. When I finally get around to making and uploading a detailed video of my latest version of the StarBird, I hope you'll check it out. Thanks for writing!

[bjonas0725]

Excellent work! I always wondered what the inside of Starbird looked like as a kid... :D