"Old School" Punchballs

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  • PBK
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2019
    • 372

    "Old School" Punchballs

    As some on here may know, I'm a bit of a punchball enthusiast/nerd. Since I was a little boy I've always had a special place in my heart for punchballs. It started with getting an orange He-Man printed punchball when I was a toddler and being especially heartbroken when it popped. Seeing them on display in toy, novelty and department stores as a kid and wanting them despite them being more and more forbidden as I got older made the ones I got even more special. Especially the former Bluebird punchballs that are now sold under the Qualatex or Funsational brands.
    I literally have thousands of punchballs of all brands, colors, sizes, nationalities and vintages in my collection.
    Going through the collection about a month ago I stumbled upon some older punchballs that were buried in the bottom of a tub. I can't remember where I got these halloween themed punchballs but I have a couple hundred so I must have cleaned out wherever I got them from (as I tend to do when I see balloons I like for sale). The 2 jack o lantern punchballs have original BlueBird packaging whereas the newer Disney Nemo Punchball is straight-up Pioneer branded.
    Not sure the vintage of these orange punchballs but they seem to blow up to 16" just fine. They've been inflated for about a month now. I thank my brave and wonderful wife for blowing these up as I am phobic and quite scared to take chances especially with older punchballs.
    The tied punchball is my latest comfort object and I take it everywhere with me in the house.
    Attached Files
  • AndyLooner
    Junior Member
    • Dec 2020
    • 3

    #2
    Re: "Old School" Punchballs

    That's a great find! I saw some very similar ones on eBay recently but never got round to buying them.

    I noticed that you don't have the punchballs knotted, instead just rolled up, how do you manage this, I've tried it many times but I've never been successful?

    Could you upload a picture of the instructions on the back of the packet?

    Comment

    • PBK
      Senior Member
      • Mar 2019
      • 372

      #3
      Re: "Old School" Punchballs

      My wife is the pro at it.
      Hope this helps!
      Attached Files

      Comment

      • balloonPatcher
        Senior Member
        • Jun 2020
        • 236

        #4
        Re: "Old School" Punchballs

        Yes, punch balloons are my favs. I would love to get the older heavier type
        that weigh about 1oz or 28 grams. I was able to get one romper room punch on ebay but the rubber was too oxidized to inflate more than 10".
        I am embarrassed to say how much I paid with shipping for these oldies
        The mickey mouse was smaller and lighter at about 17 grams. I tried to re inforce the weak areas to inflate to the max but it popped at about 17".
        I have thought about making molds and hand dipping some custom punch balloons. Any suggestions would be welcome. I have hand dipped some inflation tubes but not whole balloons yet.
        The thicker, firmer latex is what I like, especially the deep sound of the 'boing'.
        Attached Files
        Last edited by balloonPatcher; 03-02-2021, 02:49. Reason: additional line added

        Comment

        • PBK
          Senior Member
          • Mar 2019
          • 372

          #5
          Re: "Old School" Punchballs

          Yes! Those are awesome pics balloonPatcher! Those are the exact punchballs from when I was a kid that bring back so many memories! That heavy duty latex with the prominent flutes and the "lipless" neck with the bulge designed for rolling the neck. Only trade-off for me as a non-popper is they sound like a rifle when they pop, and overinflated they are quite unpredictable.
          I remember when department and toy stores would have a whole bunch of these punchballs hanging by their rubber bands from a hook with one or 2 inflated for display.

          Comment

          • PBK
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2019
            • 372

            #6
            Re: "Old School" Punchballs

            Yeah, it seems like the most common size according to manufacturers is 16". I managed to get ahold of a bunch of the CTI 22" punchballs and still have several. I wish I knew they were going to be discontinued I'd have bought more. It would be nice if a company would make larger punchballs again.
            The Italian fluted 24's are sort of like a big punchball but still not the same thing.

            Comment

            • BalloonblowerNYC
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2018
              • 145

              #7
              Re: "Old School" Punchballs

              Originally posted by PBK
              That heavy duty latex with the prominent flutes and the "lipless" neck
              That "lipless neck" intrigues me, I have some of those kind of punchballs here but I cannot inflate them without a pump as my lips cannot hold it. How do you do that?

              Comment

              • PBK
                Senior Member
                • Mar 2019
                • 372

                #8
                Re: "Old School" Punchballs

                We use a hand pump.
                Edit: I had an ex that was able to blow them up with her mouth flawlessly. My wife cannot. I can, but it's much easier with a pump.

                Comment

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