A review of the QMX mal pistol replica by jetflair

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A review of the QMX mal pistol replica

POSTED BY: JETFLAIR
UPDATED: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 05:12
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Monday, October 29, 2007 1:27 AM

From my website, at http://www.serenityverse.com/malpistolreplica.php...

When I got up this morning, there was a very special package waiting for me, one I'd been eagerly awaiting for near a year now. One Browncoats have been lusting after for far longer than that…an officially licensed replica of our captain Malcolm Reynolds' favorite gun. When you're making a replica of an iconic prop used by a deeply loved and much-studied character, the bar is set high. My bar is set a little higher than most, as a perfectionist and excessively devoted Mal fan.

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?

Here is one photo, I have 20 of them at http://www.serenityverse.com/malpistolreplica.php

"Love keeps her in the air...."

www.serenityverse.com/fffanfic - My fanfics
www.serenityverse.com/shop - Firefly Jewelry

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Wednesday, October 31, 2007 5:12 AM

STYROFOAMGUY

I know that a lot of the people who have purchased a fan made replica are replacing the fake bits with better quality items.

I am putting wood handles on mine and I may replace the screws with metal ones.

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