]]> http://serenityverse.com/firefly/serenity-blueprints-sold-out-ltd-edition/feed/ 0 http://serenityverse.com/firefly/blue-sun-travel-posters/ http://serenityverse.com/firefly/blue-sun-travel-posters/#comments Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:21:09 +0000 jetflair http://serenityverse.com/firefly/blue-sun-travel-posters/ Blue Sun Travel Posters: The latest officially licensed swag from QMX. What if Blue Sun operated travel agencies to show tourists some of the most exciting destinations in the ‘verse? They’d have posters enticing you to visit said destinations, and QMX has a set for your living room! Five 17″ x 22″ prints on nice, solid feeling satin-finish paper, just the right size for display or just plain admiring. Unlike some posters, these don’t feel like you’ll damage them just by handling them. These strike me as something new and different that people might like to get autographed at conventions.

]]> http://serenityverse.com/firefly/blue-sun-travel-posters/feed/ 0 http://serenityverse.com/firefly/alliance-money-pack-prop-replica/ http://serenityverse.com/firefly/alliance-money-pack-prop-replica/#comments Mon, 12 Nov 2007 10:20:19 +0000 jetflair http://serenityverse.com/firefly/alliance-money-pack-prop-replica/  Alliance Money Pack: From a relatively new company known as Quantum Mechanix or QMX, comes a pack of replica money as used is Serenity (shown in the bank heist and in the Maidenhead bar). It sells for $20.00 through the QMX website. This is officially licensed and really beautifully done. The box is a collector’s item in itself, high-quality and glossy with great graphics and an “introduction” by Geoff Mandell (the graphic designer for Serenity) on the inside flap. The bills are high-quality and are an exact match for those used in the movie. I own two of the actual bills (one of each denomination) used in the movie so I was able to compare them. This isn’t so much a replica as the actual item. The early “fan club edition” also included a glossy full-color Miranda map as shown in the movie.

Insider tip: To get the otherwise unavailable fan club edition for the extra-low price of $12.95, buy a copy of the Serenity Collector’s Edition DVD, find the QMX flyer within, and enter the coupon code found on the flyer.

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.

The big question: is this convincing as a replica of Malcolm Reynolds’ familiar and beloved sidearm? Does it feel like you could be hefting Malcolm Reynolds’ pistol and blasting away at Dobson on the deck of the cargo hold? Not quite. Does it feel like you’re holding a piece of the world of Serenity, a beloved prop just like the one Fillion himself used in shooting the film? Yep. And that’s pretty dang cool, if you ask me. In fact, cool enough to make me fall in love with it. Do you suppose it would be odd for me to sleep with it under the pillow?

I’ve seen photos of fan-made resin replicas of the Mal gun, and none of them came close to the level of realism this piece does. Even if you could get your hands on one, they were extremely expensive. I haven’t seen a fan reproduction that was good enough to consider buying – even aside from the cost they just didn’t pass muster when it came to really looking like Mal’s gun. Sort of like a lot of fan-made Browncoats are close, but don’t *really* look like Mal’s coat.

This reproduction is close enough not only for me to buy, but to love. You’ve never been able to get anything this good before, let alone at this cost. Now, here’s the other thing. Real life. There were two different “models” of Mal’s pistol used in filming the movie: a resin-cast Stunt pistol, and a metal and wood Hero pistol used in close-ups. After struggling to make something between the two, QMX found that various factors simply weren’t working, and opted to make two replicas of the weapons as used in filming. One is this piece, the resin Stunt pistol. The second, date and price yet to be announced, is slated to be the far more costly Hero pistol.

So while it may not feel perfectly like the gun we’re used to seeing in close-ups, this is a very accurate replica of one of Mal’s guns as used in shooting – with far better detailing, since this replica is designed to be looked at up close, while the Stunt pistol was not. The reality comes down to the fact that a resin cast is probably never going to be able to match perfectly with what the mind’s eye tells us Mal’s gun should look like. When what you saw in close-ups on screen was made of metal and wood, expecting an identical item to materialize in resin isn’t really realistic. Resin can be a close match, but it will never be an exact one.

The die-hard fan in me will never be 100% satisfied with “close.” But that die-hard fan is also thrilled to be running around with (okay, okay, sitting on the couch with) Mal’s gun. I will be staring at it, fondling it, and aiming it at innocent household objects for a long time to come. Not sure the parrot appreciated it when I sighted it in on his cage, though.

There are some truly impressive details on the weathering. The steel-colored “screws” have dustings of blackened dirt and brownish “grease.” If you look closely at the hammer, there’s shiny metal where friction would be on a real gun and black “carbon buildup” around the rest. The trigger and trigger guard show spot-on grease and carbon build-up that truly does look like a well-used firearm that’s been around the ‘verse as Mal’s sidekick for a good many years. The carbon detailing is realistic enough to make me want to dig out my gun cleaning kit! But that would be a bad idea, so I won’t. Anyhow, trust me….it’s seriously impressive.

The wear patterns in the brass finish are equally impressive. The detailing throughout is simply supurb, so much so that I wonder at the amount of thought and work it must have taken to get it right.

The biggest finish faux pa is the simulated wood grips. The detailing itself is wonderfully – um – detailed just like the rest of the gun, with an utterly convincing wood-grained chip out of the bottom of each side (different-looking chips out of different locations for realism) and some scrapes and gouges in the sides. But….it just doesn’t look like wood. Now, the metal portions don’t look exactly like metal, but they are close enough that the mind’s eye can suspend disbelief. Not so much with the grips. They have a fakey, slightly greenish color that just isn’t convincing. The upside is you get used to them.

The piece is lightweight and easily held (or menacingly leveled, if you prefer) in one hand at arms length by your lightweight female reviewer. It doesn’t have the heft of a real gun (and this baby is large – if it were a real gun or metal prop it would weigh a solid ton) which makes it feel a mite fake, but the tradeoff is that it’s easy and comfortable to handle.

The “paperwork” included with the gun is a great added value. The first sheet is a license to bear a firearm on Shadow, with an unsigned area for a signature of the bearer – sign it over to yourself or leave it blank and get Nathan to sign it at a convention…shiny options! The second is a generous poster-sized page from Barlow’s guide to small arms, showing the pistol, giving an overview of the workings, and explaining how the pistol operates. And finally there is a sheet that is half Moses Bros. certificate of authenticity, with in-verse quality checklist and specs for the weapon, listed as registered to Malcolm Reynolds, and half QMX’s “real world” description of the piece as a prop replica.

The paperwork is beautifully designed, and quality printing is used on heavy paper – suitable for framing or collecting just like the paper props QMX sells for big money like the Serenity blueprints, or the Blue Sun posters. These aren’t just a cheap add-on, they are very much designed with care and a wonderful accompaniment to the pistol.

To move from “close” to “perfect” will take a lot more money, quite possible more than I’d be able or willing to spend….as much as I adore all that is Firefly, Serenity, and Mal, there’s a cut-off on just what I can justify spending in the goal of immersing myself in the ‘verse. It’s a practical thing….machining custom weapons out of metal and wood is an expensive endeavor – no problem for Universal Studios with their astronomical movie budgets, but a little trickier when it comes to trying to reproduce it for fans on a budget. Okay, change trickier to “not possible.”

I’m willing to pay 150 credits for something this close, however. If the fundamental goal of a review is to answer the question, “Is this worth my money?” I would say yes. If I saw this for sale at a convention, I’d look at it, wander away for a while, ponder, realize coming away without it wasn’t an option, and return with credit card in hand.

Just don’t come looking to take it away from me. I’ll pull it out from under my pillow and shoot you with it. And my Serenity model has a jet engine. Dong ma?

Rating:  Worth The Cashy Money

Approximate Price: $150.00

Available From: www.quantummechanix.com