making massive inflatable pigs

The original inflatable that was conceived by Waters and Hipgnosis in 1976, flew over London's Battersea Power Station to create the artwork that graced the iconic Animals album cover. The inflatables are massive, the size of a London double decker bus. The modern balloons are created out of heavy PVC vinyl and weigh over 100 pounds each. Each balloon requires 10 canisters of helium to inflate and create the lift capacity of a Macy's parade balloon.

We went to the veteran specialty fabricator in Oxfordshire, England for the fabrication of these custom inflatables. In 2011, ABC Inflatables recreated the original Battersea Power Station balloon for Roger Waters and EMI. Two balloons were created, one recreated the flight over the power station, the other flew above the Capital Records Tower in L.A. More recently, one of these balloons was floated 165 feet over the Victoria & Albert Museum to announce the Pink Floyd retrospective exhibit, Our Mortal Remains.

above Capitol Records in 2011