Can someone please identify my blimp?

[Temporary custodian]

I am in Brisbane Australia and have a blimp without any markings. In phone discussion with Ed we have ascertained that the blimp was not made by Mitchell because it has no maker's markings anywhere on it. We have also assumed it was not made by Fearless either for the same reason (no markings) Ed Johnson and Richard Bennett have both told me they feel it is a very early blimp from the time when sound was being introduced (maybe around 1930?) because photos around 1927 thru 1930 showed blimps as being a massive size. I have in my collection Mitchell standard number 27 which we know from the Mitchell records was originally sold to MGM. I have been told by the Director from whom I acquired Mitchell 27 that this camera was inside the blimp.
Would it therefore be correct to assume that my blimp was made by MGM studios? I am seriously considering shipping the blimp back to where it belongs - the USA - and on display in someone's collection but first it would be good to ascertain it's provenance. Can someone help please? Please take a look at the attached photos. A studio here has painted the blimp in their corporate color. In my opinion it's an awful color and I believe the eventual owner should restore it back to it's original color which was probably "crinkle black' or even possibly a bare metal look. My blimp is very heavy ( a 2 man lift)

[Mark]

Hello, very cool blimp. Yes, it is an MGM blimp, which I believe they were painted gold? MGM couldn’t (likely) hired a company to make them to MGM’s specs. I do not know what company that was. If you ever take the take off (carefully) be sure to keep an eye out for a number painted on the side of the magazine area. If you do, you could look for behind the scenes photos and try to spot that number.

[marop]

Hello, very cool blimp. Yes, it is an MGM blimp, which I believe were originally painted gold. MGM likely hired a company to make them to MGM’s specs and it could’ve been any manufacturer. I do not know what company that was. If you ever take the paint off (carefully) be sure to keep an eye out for a number painted on the side of the magazine area. If you do figure out what inner it was, you could look for behind the scenes photos and try to spot that number. It is possible they stamped a number into the blimp somewhere, maybe along the side of the base or in back?

[Temporary custodian]

Many thanks for your prompt and informative reply Mark. It's wonderful to know that it is an MGM blimp. It's also good to know that it was colored gold originally. I'll take another very careful look to see if I can find a number. If I do I'll post it in this forum. As you can see the paint has peeled from one part of the magazine revealing not only the previous paint but both coats of paint have gone in one small area next to it revealing the bare metal underneath. I had an experience once with removal of paint. It was a microphone I purchased in the USA and I was about to strip the paint off when I was told to first check and see if it was an oiled based paint or a water based final coat. Thank goodness for that advice. It was a a water based final coat and after months of slow removal I slowly revealed lightning strikes and the lettering KDKA. This was the first commercial radio station in the World. They had their own orchestra and Louis Armstrong visited the station often. Chances are he played his trumpet and/or sang into my microphone. I have attached a photo. In summary Mark - thanks again for your advice to remove the top coat from my blimp carefully. If it's oil based then I have a problem but I will then do some research to see if it's possible to check for lettering underneath using another method. They do it with oil painting so maybe a similar method could be used to reveal a number.

[marop]

Wow, very cool about the microphone! It’s wonderful you are interested in preserving the history! I have a collection of cameras that I research to find out what they have filmed. I have gotten lucky and found records and photos of several of mine on many movies. I am going to try and attach a couple pictures of the blimp on a MGM set, which I found quickly on eBay. Also note that this website can go down at anytime. I am friends with Ed and we are in Facebook group. Although I don’t see the number which I am talking about so either they just put it on the right side (which is shaded in the first pic) or it’s something they did later on (the 2nd pic is from 1932).

[Temporary custodian]

Thanks for the great photos. I did not think of looking for photos on EBAY. I'll try to find more photos now that I know what I am looking for.

[mark]

Do you have any pictures of your camera that you are willing to post here? Mark

[rhwasc1947]

This was always a silver blimp. It was built by John Arnold ASC, head of the MGM Camera Department. It was much lighter weight than any other blimp manufactured at the time. It was suppose to be aluminum. MGM didn’t own BNC’s for many years. They relied upon this blimp with Standard Mitchell until they wore out and began to be replaced with NC ‘s. I’ve been looking for one for a very long time. Please contact me if you wish to trade or sell. I’d love to see the interior. As I mentioned this is the only one I’ve seen. When Panavision took over MGM’s camera department they tossed the blimps - land fill. I can’t imagine how yours got to Australia and how it got painted that color.
Roy H. Wagner ASC

[Temporary custodian]

Good morning Roy. Thank you for a most knowledgeable answer. You clearly know what you are talking about. The interior of this blimp is something I did not photograph but I can go to where it's stored and I can send you photos. The best way to describe the interior is that it is in excellent condition. In fact when you look inside the first thing that comes to mind is pure luxury. The interior is very classy and it appears that John Arnold (thanks for name of maker) took a lot of time to craft a functional padded area. I was told that the Australian Production Company that acquired the blimp painted it in their own corporate colors. In my opinion they "prostituted" a piece of equipment that would look superb in the bare metal you described. We have never had a camera manufacturing industry in Australia like the USA, Germany or England and we have had to buy all our equipment from overseas. Quite often for reasons of budget Australian cinematographers would buy second hard gear. This is the case with this blimp. It was purchased with Mitchell standard number 27 inside. I have now restored Mitchell 27 to it's former glory (appearance only) and it takes pride of place in my collection. Mark has been trying to help me identify my blimp (please see his photos) and asked me to add a photo of Mitchell 27 so it is attached. Ed Johnson has also been assisting and Richard Bennett as well but we have been "scratching our heads' You have provided the exact information we have sought. It also appears to me that you should be the deserving home for this blimp. I am not a dealer and being a collector would be happy to trade the blimp if you have something that I could include in my collection. If you'd like to provide a phone number I would be happy to phone you over there in the USA.

[marop]

Very cool camera! Thanks for sharing pictures! Is there a movement inside? You are very lucky to acquire such an old Mitchell, and one that was used by a major studio! I am attaching a picture of my Mitchell Standard, sold to Paramount in 1931. I was lucky enough to learn that when Paramount used their cameras for sound filming, they put it in their own blimp and painted the serial number of the camera on the outside! Plus I have found some records as well. I have documented over 1k movies my camera worked on and found many pictures of the blimp on set.

I see a BNC or BNCR behind your Standard. May I ask what the serial number is? I have some records on about 60+ BNCs, 50 Standards, 25 NCs, and other cameras like vistaVision and Technicolor. Unfortunately I don’t have any info on your Standard. If you give me the number of your BNC, I’ll check that.