However, the Star does have some notable differences that will show themselves upon closer inspection. It doesn’t need to be said that the Star BM is based on the Colt M1911, and looks somewhat like a Colt Commander. It was around this time, in the early 90s when importers like Interarms and Century International would start to get their hands on them, as the Guardia Civil were trading them in for the newer Beretta 92.
The BM was in use with the Guardia Civil until the early 90s, when it was replaced by the Beretta 92, which is now, in turn, being phased out by the Heckler & Koch USP.
Initially issued to the Guardia Civil, the gendarmerie of Spain, the BM would also find itself in use in unconventional wars in Africa, used by Rhodesia and South Africa in the Rhodesian Bush War, and appearing in the recent conflicts in Libya. The author’s Star BM proved acceptably accurate with both Patriot Defense and Winchester ammunition. Star continued to make firearms based on foreign designs, and in 1972, it developed the Star Model BM, part of the B series, which included earlier M1911-based handguns. Indeed, these trends of producing copies of more popular guns are also seen in other less-developed countries at this time, like China, Poland, Romania, and Argentina. Interestingly, the Star brand was registered in English, and may not have also been registered as “Estrella,” the Spanish word for “star.” While Star may not have been a pioneer in firearms, it still played an important role in the development of a domestic arms industry for Spain. After WWI in 1919, the Star name was officially registered.