Here's a full shot of the 'Stars and Stripes' balloon which features a red, white and blue balloon with a base depicting a snow-covered mountain scene:



Of course what makes these unique are the base and hanger. Here's a detail of the basket and base on the Kaleidoscope balloon.





IMO, these are well-done and I don't think there is anything else out there like them. They should be popular with people who run balloon rides and those who've taken a ride. Perhaps even those who've seen a balloon fest only from the ground.

I wonder if HL will offer to do custom versions of the balloon for specific ride operators? Probably take a minimum order of 500 or so.

SRP is $39 each. Once you've spent a few hundred for the ride, what's another 40 bucks to remember it for life?

What's that group balloon festival picture you snuck in, John?

Each of the four balloons has a different base. That's the base for the "Kaleidoscope" balloon. It's a photo of the actual base, not of a real balloon launch.

I get it. I now see the hangar at the back of the base. So the balloon is above the base(balloon launching area.) That's pretty detailed and cool!

Now have they done one with a lighthouse below?
That would be pretty cool.

'hangar'? You mean that white box shape? That's a van among the balloons about to lift off.

Here's a scan of tbe bottom label:



Oh, sorry. You mean HANGER not HANGAR. NEVERMIND!

Here are pictures of "Memories of Paris"



Paris - the base:


The gondola:

"Wow!™"

This more than makes up for the Knights of the Not So Well Thought Out Marketing Idea series.

Kudos for the magnificent creative concept of hanging the balloon (from what is essentially a Christmas ornament hanger) over the landscape.

The paint job is very precise and, best of all, so colorful.

I hope they do well.

By the way, John, you mentioned 4 balloons above. I only see three at their web site. What's the fourth?

I understand from a highly-placed source that 8 more balloon designs will be interoduced in the Spring and that new bases will include one with a shoreline and a tiny lighthouse. Another might be a winery since ballooning is popular in wine country areas around the world.

Y&A is considering doing custom versions of basic balloon envelope shapes. So the painting designs on the envelope will match up with a particular balloon. The theory being that the owner/operator of that balloon might want to purchase a few to retail them to balloon riders.

Will they do special shapes (like the champaign bottle, moving van, polar bear, etc.)? On commission from the owner.

If you attend a major balloon event in 2003, you might even find a "Sky Bound Booth" selling the models.

It looks like it's "Up, Up and Away in my beautiful balloon" for Sky-Bound.

I reshot photo of 3 of the 4 that I have now:


Memories of Paris


Stars & Stripes


Kaleidoscope

Looks like a Fresnel lens base on the bottom.

T