Most of my childhood was dedicated to the love of all things Transformers and to some extent robots. But I did happen to have an odd diversion to Starcom toys for one reason or another.These space-themed vehicles were only notable because of mechanized parts opening and of course magnets. And magnets are always worth loving, in my book.
I thought I only had a few vehicles, but looking at this catalog photo I now realize that I had the Tornado Gunship, the H.A.R.V. 7, the Laser Rat, the Six Shooter, and at least the Shadow Vampire. Part of me remembers having the Shadow Parasite as well, but maybe it was wishful thinking.
It's odd that I never actually got to watch the official cartoon that supported the toyline - Starcom: The U.S. Space Force, which in hindsight is a really stupid name. I tried watching a few episodes online, and I see that I didn't really miss anything in its very limited 13 episode run.
I can't fully remember why I had so many of these toys. I guess they were among the unusual US export overruns that ended up at places like the old Uniwide Warehouse Club. They're still toys that I look back somewhat fondly on and I wish I had taken better care of them. Beyond the magnetic gimmick, I loved the effort to make their smaller vehicles modular in the sense that the Six Shooter's cargo hold could contain any of the compatible figures like the Laser Rat or the or the Railgunner. I think I wanted to collect all of the little vehicles just to be able to store them on other vehicles. It was a thing.
Holy handgrenades! I had starbase station! I had no clue that this was what it came from. I loved the whole magnetic gimmick too. I became fascinated by magnets and still play with them or try to collect interesting ones. These ranked up there with the toys that clamped on to your doors and things and used ribbons that rolled out to connect them. So many gimmicks back then. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
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