The staff of Quantum Mechanix gets to see the neatest things this side of the ‘verse. They recently got a tour at Universal Studios, and they came across a massive model of our favorite Firefly class ship, Serenity.
About three months ago, while getting a very rare tour of the Universal archives, we came across something tucked into a corner and covered in plastic that made our hearts skip a beat: a highly-detailed 12-foot-long filming model of the Reaverized Serenity. We could hardly believe what we were seeing!
As many Browncoats know, there has been a rumor around for years that a filming miniature used for the crash scene on Mr. Universe’s planet. But that rumor was either denied as either being totally false, or that the miniature used was a simple styrofoam model. As you can see from the picture below, it does exist and is about as far from a “simple” model as you could imagine.
The archivists were generous enough to let us come back last month with a camera and crew to fully document the model – ALL 12 FEET OF HER! So, to start off the New Year right, we wanted to introduce you to the biggest, most impressive Serenity ever made (QMx designer Hawk included for scale).
Check out more pics in the gallery below.
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Not too long ago a Wisconsin professor put a poster featuring a quote from Firefly on his office door. The quote is from a moment in the pilot episode when Mal and Simon have one of their first showdowns. Simon expresses concern about Mal killing him in his sleep, and Mal calmly explains, “You don’t know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: if I ever kill you, you’ll be awake. You’ll be facing me, and you’ll be armed.”
That last word set off fireworks. The professor received an email from the sheriff asking him to remove the poster. The university stood behind the sheriff stating it wasn’t an act of censorship but an act of sensitivity. They saw the word “armed” as a veiled threat, not freedom of expression. They threatened him with criminal charges. The professor posted the quote because he’s a fan and because the moment really illustrates that Mal is a reasonably peaceful man. He’s not going to get angry unless you give him reason.
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We first heard that QMx was developing an official Firefly Mal Reynolds pistol replica when we visited their HQ last year, but now we have word that pre-orders for the pistol will begin in Q1 of 2012!
The 1:1 scale replica was cast in polystone from the original molds used in the series and you’ll be able to pick one up for only $79.95. If you’re cosplaying as Mal, this is a must-have accessory.
Product Page ($79.95 / Waiting List Sign-Up)
If you follow @NathanFillion on Twitter (and you should), you might have seen this incredibly awesome portrait of Mal Reynolds painted by artist Dan Dos Santos for the Dark Horse’s Firefly comic that’s set for release on Free Comic Book Day. The title is actually a Star Wars / Firefly double feature flip book penned by Zack Whedon.
Holy crap I can’t wait for May 5th!
A detailed look at how Dan created the work is available on io9.
Megan Lara made an impression with her Firefly Les Femmes set last summer. Now she’s showing us that art nouveau can make even Jayne Cobb look soft and sultry. We’re not going to ask Jayne how he feels about that; the answer would probably involve a grenade. Each poster has a few key identification points. Wash gets dinosaurs, and Simon’s poster references the Osiris Medical Academy. I have one word for these posters: Shiny.
You can pre-order your set of five posters for a ship date of November 28.
See bigger versions of the males of Firefly in sexy swirls and pastels after the break.
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QMx’s line up of Little Damn Hero maquettes wouldn’t be complete without Serenity. The ship is the real star of Firefly. This mini version is 1:400 scale and was created from the CG files used on the series. Seriously, some of the parts on this maquette are as small as a millimeter. Awesome and cute? I’ll take ten of them, please.
Product Page ($99.95 / Available for preorder in December 2011)
You may recognize the name Adam WarRock from his previous nerdy raps, but he’s truly outdone himself with The Browncoats Mixtape. It’s an entire album devoted to Firefly with lyrics about the show laid over beats sampled from the Firefly and Serenity scores.
And the big damn news is that you can download the album for free, which you must do right this instant.
Check out a taste of the album in the video after the break.
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Did you know that Neil Patrick Harris was turned down for the role of Simon or that some of the sets were recycled from The Power Rangers? If not, you need to check out the infographic from CarSort after the break and become all the Browncoat you can be.
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On the Firefly set, the actual pistol Nathan Fillion wore while playing Captain Malcolm Reynolds was almost heavy enough to pull his pants down. One way to avoid that awkward (or awesome, depending on your perspective) situation is to make a replica from paper. Matthew Milam did just that. This pistol is sculpted from paper and then painted with faux metal and wood finishes. The best ammunition for papercraft pistols is spitwads.
(Neatorama via GAS)
