The Necessity of Cliff Diving

More bodies from the local Salvation Army –

The Traditional Black Beauty was a nice one, by late 1970s/early 1980s standards: the cleanly masked star, good seams, not tippy at all, and has that attractive “dry matte” finish you don’t run across very often. And he’s the four-stocking version, earliest of the multiple variations of the long-running (1979-1988) #89 release.

But not rarest. The rarest would be the left foresock version, seen almost exclusively on his box:

This was not the first version of the box: the first version had the four stocking variation. It was one of the rare instances where Breyer actually updated the artwork on the box to more accurately reflect the horse inside. Somewhat, of course: while all subsequent Black Beauties did have a single sock, the placement varied. And very rarely appeared on the left fore. (How rare? I cannot remember the last time I saw one for sale.)

Alas, the previous owner took it upon her- or himself and “neatened” up the stockings with some nail polish remover – aka slightly watered down Acetone, which is the stuff they use to fuse freshly-molded pieces together to make fully functional Breyers. And so he goes, along with his dinged-up jumping friend, into the body box.

As much as the mold aggravates me – mostly because he’s such a shelf hog – he’s another one of those underappreciated Hess molds with a lot of customizing potential.

But not for me. The irony of my again-plentiful body box is that most of my creative efforts for the time being are of the sewing and quilting variety. Some clean and empty floor space made itself available in the house, and I want to take advantage of it while I can to finish a few of the bigger projects.  

The other project I have to focus on: making this Chasing the Chesapeake thing happen.

Yep, silly me bought a dang ticket.

My other rationalization for doing this – aside from all of the others I articulated earlier – was that I think I need to do this to get myself out of the personal funk I’ve found myself in this year.

My other Breyer-related travel has become almost routine. I’ve been to Kentucky enough that it almost feels like my second residence, and last year’s Event was my fifth trip to the Chicago area. But I’ve been to the East Coast exactly once – back in 1992, again for a Breyer-thing – and all the travel arrangements were made for me then.

Other than it being also a Breyer-thing, this is going to be an entirely new experience for me, almost from the ground up. Drive or Fly? Roommates? Travel companions? None of this is set in stone. I’m not quite sure where to even begin.

It’s both thrilling and terrifying, like diving off a cliff.

(IOW yes, I’m looking for roommates and travel companions. Blab me, e-mail me, comment below if you have any help to offer in these areas.)