On-X: A Horse of a Different Genetic Makeup

In this case felt. And ecofil fibre stuffing.

Handsewn by Sunflower Skins using felt, embroidery floss, and ecofil

As a lifelong fan of Rainbow Brite, I recognize the show’s inherent lameness; in particular, stemming from its only remotely cool good-guy, a motherfucking robotic flying horse whose downfall is the complete lifelessness of, well, a robot. Unfortunately On-X only manages to sound the obvious alerts—“Danger! Danger!”—and pull off the occasional amazing feat (see his delivery of the colour belt in “Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer” [1985])—it’s a shame, really.

 So I decided to make an awesome On-X plushie, partly to give the character some likeability amongst my peers (the Sunflower Skins/Sweater Eyes crew usually has hearty, sarcastic laugh at my mostly good-natured Rainbow Brite ramblings, agreeing, at least, that On-X would be pretty perfect if he weren’t a bit of an idiot; Starlight would still barely be tolerable even if he weren’t such an obnoxious asshole). Mostly, though, I made him just for myself, to add to my Rainbow Brite collection. Somewhere in the rafters of my mother’s house is a bag full of Colour Kid dolls and Murky and Lurky plushies, a child-size costume complete with wig and boot-covers, a sleeping bag, and a bicycle; in the kitchen you can still use Rainbow Brite plastic cups and placemats, and if you look though the old records, you’ll find some coloured vinyl and a Christmas album that continues to bring joy to my family each season (“The best thing about Christmas is it’s only once a year!”). In spite of all the Rainbow Brite paraphernalia I grew up with, I never had an On-X anything. At 24 years old, finally fully graduated and needing to do something for myself, it seems about time.

 

I fuzzed his tail-jet in hopes that it would look like it’s glowing; it does. I also love that his head is angled a little to the left, as though he’s in perpetual zooming-mode—veeeeer this way! Danger—Danger!