RELEASE INFORMATION

5 FEBRUARY 2022

319.99 USD

RAW TITANIUM

45 MADE

Diameter 50mm, Width 42MM, Gap 4.3mM

62.5G

M4 x 8mm axle

CONCAVE C bearinG

19MM TYPE 50 LANDING PADS RESPONSE

The RSO family was preparing to welcome a second son when Starship entered production.

It seemed fitting that the other new miniature arrival would be an undersized version of Spaceship - the yo-yo developed while my wife was pregnant with our first child.

Released shortly after The End Titanium, Starship was deliberately priced as one of RSO's most accessible titanium releases for collectors who had been following the brand closely.

ORIGINS

Starship is derived from the first prototype created during the development of Spaceship.

That development began when I was still relatively new to CAD. Working in Fusion 360 felt slow and cumbersome, and the project eventually persuaded me to subscribe to AutoCAD. Designing yo-yos immediately became faster, more intuitive and considerably more enjoyable.

Spaceship required three rounds of prototypes, completed over approximately four to five months.

C bearing SPACESHIP prototype by MagicYoYo.

50mm SPACESHIP prototype run, consisting of 8 yo-yos.

The original Spaceship prototype was a 50mm titanium yo-yo with a C bearing. Eight were machined by MagicYoYo - an unusually large prototype run for RSO - and sold privately in October 2018. Jason Week created an engraving closely related to the one eventually used on the production Spaceship. The response from its owners was overwhelmingly positive.

Starship revisits that first Spaceship prototype using a refined version of its CAD, with several unattractive machining lines removed and the surrounding surfaces cleaned up.

An Instagram poll which showed people wanted the 54mm version more than the 50mm one.

Despite the reception to the 50mm prototype, a second version was developed at 54mm. At the time, I believed a midsized yo-yo would appeal to more players, and an Instagram poll appeared to support that decision.

This second prototype used a D bearing and carried more mass at the rims. It felt powerful and solid, but its movement lacked the quality I wanted from the design. It was machined by YoYoEmpire and used the company's white 18mm D-bearing response pads. Wider 19mm D-bearing pads later became more common and were adopted by subsequent RSO releases such as the aluminium and stainless-steel Bowl Minis and TiRAMiSU.

The 54mm D-bearing prototype was interesting. It was not the answer.

D bearing 54mm SPACESHIP prototype by YoYoEmpire, with their white, 18mm outer diameter D bearing pads.

The third prototype returned to a C bearing while retaining the 54mm diameter. Some mass was shifted away from the rims and towards the centre, producing a lighter, more buoyant movement. Apart from being approximately 2g heavier, this version was fundamentally identical to the production Spaceship.

Production moved remarkably quickly. MagicYoYo had allocated a CNC machine specifically to the project, allowing the prototype to be machined, polished, assembled and shipped before the revised CAD entered production - all within approximately one week.

Owners who experienced both the original prototype and production Spaceship often preferred the smaller version. Years later, their requests were finally answered. The prototype returned as Starship.

50mm SPACESHIP prototype (left), 54mm SPACESHIP production model (centre) and 54mm D bearing SPACESHIP (right).

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Spaceship and Starship reinterpret a distinctive butterfly profile explored by several earlier designs.

The YoYoFactory FAST 401k introduced a related form in 2005. Its adjustable hub controls allowed players to alter the starburst response, making it an inventive and highly recognizable design. A-RT expanded the idea dramatically with the 63mm 420 in 2017, retaining a comparable catch zone without the adjustable mechanism. Between them came the undersized RecRev Bad Rep, which paired a large bearing with hubstacks and a steeper catch zone. Its transition from the response area to the rims was smoother than that of the FAST 401k and 420.

Starship is closest to the proportions of the Bad Rep. Its arc travels smoothly from the response area towards sharper outer rims, while its compact diameter creates a much larger width-to-diameter ratio than the 401k or 420. The resemblance is familiar. The proportions and titanium construction make Starship distinctly its own.

COMPARISON WITH SPACESHIP

Starship weighs only 0.5g less than the larger Spaceship, making their numerical difference almost irrelevant. Their movement is not.

Starship concentrates almost the same mass within a smaller diameter. The result feels denser and more substantial on the string, despite the yo-yo itself being physically smaller. It is similar to moving from a CLYW Peak to a Wooly Marmot: the family resemblance remains, but the condensed proportions create a fundamentally different experience.

Spaceship feels broader and more expansive. Starship feels compact, deliberate and concentrated. Owners of the original 50mm prototype will find the production Starship mechanically familiar. The machining lines have been refined, while the engraving, packaging and presentation are entirely new.

TRANSPARENT HANGAR

The first Spaceship prototype was also the first RSO release supplied in a CNC-machined canister.

Those original black canisters carried "SPACESHIP PROTOTYPE" in the fictional alien language created with Jason Week, while the individual number was engraved into the side. Machined canisters subsequently accompanied Spaceship, Doombot, Spaceship ES and Droid in different materials and colours.

Starship introduces a translucent polycarbonate version. Polycarbonate is the same material used for Gravity's custom caps and rings. Here, its transparency allows the silhouette of Starship to remain visible even while the yo-yo is enclosed.

Each canister is individually numbered at its base.

The number of each yo-yo is engraved on the base of each canister.

ART BY JASON WEEK

Jason Week returns as the artist behind Starship.

The original Spaceship artwork introduced the Nactarians, an alien species preparing to invade Earth, and the Eljasek, who sent Spaceships to defend humanity.

Earth survived.

Starship advances the story beyond defence. Humanity has carried the fight towards the Nactarian homeworld, with a fleet of Starships travelling across space to confront the threat at its source. The outcome remains unknown.

The mission is yours.