Posted 15 years ago
paulwlms
(1 item)
This is a wooden replica of the Budweiser "Bud One" Blimp. It is in excellent, fantastic condition, and it is a real eye catcher. It is 25” from front to back, 10” from top to bottom, and 25” in circumference (not counting the passenger compartment on the bottom). It has a chain on the top as it is made to hang from a ceiling, most likely over a bar. It is light, so I know the wood is not solid. But this is NOT an inflatable blimp. I cannot find any info either online or from local antique / collectible shops. Does anyone know what I have and what value monetarily it could be assigned? I have tried to find info online with no luck. I have taken it to numerous antique and collectible stores, but no one seems to know anything about it. Can anyone tell me anything about this blimp? What do I have, and what you think it is worth?
I have the same Blimp and believe I purchased it from a store called Wicks and Sticks in Atlanta Georgia about 5 years ago for I think $350 . It looks similar to other items I have found while passing threw the Philipeans. I also have a hot air ballon that has much more detail and is also made of wood and has a gondola and people below it. It would be nice to know the value of both of them. I think for the most part both have increased in value due to the rarity of them.
I have one of these given to me by my brother in law. He is the general manager for Ben E Keith. The distributor of Budweiser. From what I was told there are 2 of these that are this size I have one and the CEO of Budweiser has the other one. So either you have that one, or there are more than 2 but I'd say they are not just pretty rare but extraordinarily rare. As you might have figured out since nobody is answering your post, and this response 15 years later. Also I would like to add that this is not hollow wood, it is fiberglass. There are several smaller models that have crossed ebay over the years I have watched go for 2 to 500 dollars. They are half the size and are themselves rare but nowhere near what we have. Hope you've still got it because its worth around 5000 bucks because its a unicorn and it was Bud Bowl 1. A Serious Bud collector only item.