A Word About QMX
November 12th, 2007 Posted in QMX Serenity CollectiblesIt’s not often that I feel the need to rave about a company, but in the case of Quantum Mechanix I think it’s warranted. I greeted the appearance of QMX with mixed feelings. Like most fans, I’m always eager for licensed merchandise, but with Fox and Universal taking action against fan-made goods, I became a little bitter towards all makers of official stuff. Not really logical, but there you have it. The upshot was that I was less than enthusiastic to see QMX arrive on the scene.
I pre-ordered the QMX Alliance money pack (lack of enthusiasm or no, it looked awesome) and eyed the Mal gun replica with no intent to buy. Later when I was wandering through the hotel lobby at B3, I spotted a friendly-looking fellow (Andy Gore) sitting at a table with money packs. I introduced myself, and in my usual tactful and completely gracious manner informed him that I wasn’t interested in the Serenity replica - it was too expensive and I wanted the one from Firefly. He gave me helpful leads on how I might go about getting such a thing, not the least bit offended (in fact, completely understanding) that I wasn’t terribly interested in his product.
Later on, I stopped by their table and he pulled up detailed pictures of the original Serenity Mal gun, and I started getting very enamored of it and of this friendly and sincere browncoat. He wasn’t trying to sell me a product, he was sharing some cool pictures with a fellow fan. They even fed me pizza, which was the only lunch I got that day and was much appreciated. Thanks Andy 
At one point during the day, an announcement was made that Geoff Mandell, the graphic artist for Serenity, would be at the QMX table signing stuff. At that point I decided to go ahead and buy a second Alliance money pack (hadn’t received my pre-order yet) for Geoff to sign. Geoff wasn’t actually there yet when I stopped by the table, so I was figuring on coming back later to meet Geoff.
I got involved in other things and had actually forgotten about going back when the QMX guy actually tracked me down in the crowd to tell me that Geoff was at their table! This was really going above and beyond considering how big the crowd was and how many people he must have talked with that day. I got to chat with Geoff (Awesome fellow, by the way. It seems that everyone involved with Firefly/Serenity is nice, intelligent, friendly, and adores the series. Doesn’t get any better than that) thanks to them.
I came home, got online, and ordered the Mal pistol. Now, nearly a year later, my fondness for Andy, Jim, and the rest of the QMX crew has only deepened.
QMX has earned my respect by not only making nice stuff, but by working with talented browncoat artists and designers such as Adam Levermore-Rich of Black Market Beagles and Ben Mund (Whitefall). Some might see these folks as a threat and try to run them out of business, whereas QMX recognized talent and added them to the staff. That makes them both smart and gracious in my eyes. These guys are browncoats, they care about the details, and they are genuinely nice people. I couldn’t support their company and their products more.