The design and artwork of the original 1990s Turtle Blimp is based off of the way the blimp looked in the comics, with giant engines on each side of the balloon. If you really get into classic Ninja Turtles toys, you'll see that they're all significantly more influenced by the comic art direction than the kids cartoon series, especially the early toy designs.
Nice video and a walk down memory lane. I still have the original blimp 100% complete, just and I was playing with it. So i'll just a few bits of extra information. You said there is no seatbelt, but this version of the blimp originaly included a regular elastic band, to act as a seatbelt. much like the original Party Wagon. If you look behind the seat, you will see a small peg section. It literally was just a regular elastic band, so it is easy to replace, and it holds the Turtle securely in the seat while you fly the blimp. Also, this only originally came with 4 Bombs. But they are the exact same design as the Bombs for the original Party wagon. so it is probably a case that where the person who had this one played with it, they probably migrated the extra bombs over to the bilmp. and forgot about it and sold it that way. As for the Bilmp and its ability to retain air, this isn't too much of a problem if you take care of it. The air will naturally leak out over time, but all you have to do, is blow into it a few times once a day, and that will keep it inflated. Perhaps the newer versions are better, but thats how my original has always been and it has no puncture holes. Another tip of advice, is that if you wish to detach the glider, its easier to do it when there is no air in the ballon. and that makes it less likely to tear it. and then for easier detaching and attaching while inflated, dont peg the 2 middle conectors to the glider, just use the two outer ones. that way it is easier to detach the glider when the baloon is inflated. One last thing, in order to complete that vintage Blimp, it is really great to have an Ace Duck figure. His original Bio states that he would fly the blimp for the Turtles, for the right price, or something to that effect.
I'm hoping NECA makes a new Blimp. They have already made the street scene plus are in the process of making a party wagon. They have showed off a sewer set at SDCC that is supposed to be released at some time. If the party wagon and sewer sets sell well, then I think the blimp is next up. It is the second most iconic turtle vehicle.
