It’s been a long wait, but the replica Mal pistol from QMx is here!
Sort of.
See, while they were working on the first one and running into delays with the manufacturing end, they also did some market testing (i.e. asking folks stuff). And they found that their wonderfully detailed, $249 pistol was right in between what everyone wanted. The cosplayers and general “I want a Mal pistol” audience was hoping for something a little more inexpensive, but that couldn’t be done and keep the detailed quality QMx was shooting for. And the prop fans and hardcore collectors wanted something as close to the original as possible, ideally in metal, ideally with firing action, and that couldn’t be done for 250 bucks. So, because QMx wants everyone in the ‘verse to be suitably armed, they’re doing both.
On sale Oct. 20, the first version will be the Official Malcolm Reynolds Stunt Pistol, modeled after the resin version used in action shots and cast directly from the original molds.
Quantum Mechanix’s mold for the replica was taken directly from the stunt pistol carried by Nathan Fillion in his portrayal of Malcolm Reynolds. However, the screen-used prop was just a solid block of resin. QMx has taken its design several steps beyond the movie version, adding separate steel- and bronze-colored resin parts to ensure perfect color separation and accuracy. The pistol is infused with a high-quality metal bronze powder to better simulate weathering. Silver components – such as the trigger, trigger guard, hammer and screws – are infused with steel powder and weathered with a black dye wash.
The Malcolm Reynolds stunt pistol is cast in professional-grade resin and weighs approximately 1 pound, making it a great holster pistol for cosplay or display. The pistol comes boxed with a Moses Brothers Firearms Certificate of Authenticity and a license to carry this sidearm issued by the local authorities on Shadow.
The stunt version will be $149.95, plus shipping. This will be essentially the same pistol they planned on before, without the metal screws, wood grip, to help bring the cost down.
And the first 1,500 pistol sold will include a rolled 14″ x 17″ poster with the Barlow’s Guide to Small Arms entry on the Moses Brothers Self-Defense Engine Frontier Model B (Mal’s pistol).
If you’ve already put money down or prepaid entirely for the previous $249.95 version, fret not. You can elect to put that towards this one, the upcoming metal one, or get a full refund. If you’ve already prepaid and decide to get the stunt pistol you’ll get the original shipping cost, even though postage has gone up since then. More details here.
The metal Mal pistol will be coming out next, although QMx — having learned from the first time — will not be announcing it until they have a firm ship date. It will be more expensive, and insanely more detailed.
While you’re waiting, check this out. Details on the pistol, the manufacture, and how it ended up in the hands of one Malcolm Reynolds.
Judging by the title of “We aims to misbehave”, I can only assume that the replica of Mal’s Pistol is now complete and will be available to order in a few hours. Can’t wait to see if I’m right. =P Happy Anniversary Serenity! =D
I’ll most likely be getting this one as soon as it becomes available, and depending on how much more expensive the metal version is, I might pickup that one too. Though honestly I’m saving aside some money for the model of Serenity that they announced way way back. In fact, I have a coupon! =)
Chris, when do we get to hear about that Serenity Promotion and Contest you mentioned earlier?
jim
Hopefully next week, for the “Serenity Found” book release.
Glad to see this going forward, and the changes are practical. I’ll be keeping my original order for the Stunt version, as the Hero version is likely to be priced out of sight for me. Who knows, maybe by the time they release it I’ll be able to save up some money and get it anyhow 😉
I’m sad to loose the wood grips – it’s a little dissapointing to be expecting one thing (the one with wood grips and metal screws and all) and end up with something a bit lesser. I take it this is no longer a limited edition either? On the other hand, faced with the choice originally I’d probably have opted to save $100.00 and skip those details. So it works out, I guess. And I’m thrilled it’ll be here soon!
Hmm, maybe with the money I’ll be saving, I can afford to buy a holster rig for it. That would be cool to have at the con!
Interesting mental image: Me. Convention party. Slinky black dress and fancy jewelry. Mal pistol strapped to hip. Hmmmmmm………..
Imagine how expensive a replica of “Vera” would be. =P
I have to say, I’m pretty disappointed in Qmx as a company. Their Serenity Ship Papers prop was very disappointing and not at all worth the money, and now this. First of all, the quote is “I aim to misbehave.” Getting it wrong shows they don’t really know the movie they are supposed to be creating quality prop replicas from. Second, cheapening the resin version of the gun after all this time and delay makes me very glad I cancelled my order (after I saw the crappy quality of the Ship Papers, btw). And finally, they delayed the resin gun this long, so how long will it be before the “hero” version sees the light of day? Pardon me if I don’t hold my breath.
I know, I know — I sound like a pessimistic grump. And maybe I am. But fool me once with the Ship Papers, shame on them; fool me twice with an overpriced resin gun (or an even more ridiculously priced metal gun), shame on me.
Gojiro, the “we aims to misbehave” was simply paraphrasing the correct qutote. It was a joke hinting at the fact that information about Mal’s pistol would be released. Get it?
What’s wrong the ship papers? I noticed a few things that don’t go along with the series, but those slight changes were made so fans could use one of the papers as an autograph book. If it were it was as in the series, Mal wouldn’t be listed as the captain on the papers and Simon and River wouldn’t be on the ship’s roster, since they are fugitives.
I personally love QMx, as you can see they listen to the fans, that’s why they are making two models, because it was requested that they do so. I’d much rather they release quality products every few months, than a whole bunch of poorly made products.
Exactly how is the gun to be released on Oct. 20th overpriced? It’s $100 cheaper than previously announced. I mean $150 is very reasonable, especially considering the paper replica products have had prices in that the range of $100.00 or so.
Hi Gojira,
I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the Ship Papers. As the designer of the set, I’d very much like to know what you found disappointing (i.e. the content, the look, the production materials, its condition upon arrival, etc.) If you would take a few minutes to e-mail me the specifics at whitefall@snet.net, it would be greatly appreciated. Any and all comments are welcome – honest criticism can only help.
On a side note, Cyantre’s correct – material in the set was updated to reflect Serenity, with the exception of the not-really-in-Verse autograph sheet. That was included as a little bonus.
In any case, I hope to hear from you.
Best,
Ben
I am personally thrilled with the Ship Papers. Every time I pull them out, I find another small detail I missed before. When you examine each sheet, the detail is amazing like the watermarks and small background designs. And the little unexpected details like the brass staple and the spiral paper clip are a nice touch. And the leather case is of very high quality. In the “If I could change one thing” department, some of the sheets are a textured parchment like paper and some are glossy printer paper. Having all sheets printed on the textured paper would have given the set more of an aged look and added a bit to the authenticity. Anyway, I love the set and think it was money well spent.
I also agree with Cyantre. A few high quality products a year are better than grand promises never delivered, like so many other prop houses that have come and gone. Keep up the good work QMx.
jim
Cyantre, no, I don’t get it. It just looks like a misquote to me. I don’t see how it’s a joke.
Ben, to be fair, some of the pages are beautiful. Others, however, I was less thrilled with. I’m at work and don’t have the prop to look at, but the one that really puts me off is the Trader’s Guild certificate. It looked like something ginned up in Paint.
Also, I agree with Jim in St. Louis about the paper quality. Again, some pages were good, but others seemed to be printed on common photocopier paper. I would have liked it more if every page was printed on a quality, textured paper.
Had the prop been priced at $50, I wouldn’t have a problem with the quality. But for something they’re charging $120 for, I expected more — especially considering the gun’s new price.
When I get home and have access to the prop, I’ll go through it and email you with more specific comments, if you’d like. Hope this helps.
Gojiro,
Yes, please. And thanks.
– Ben
Gojiro,
Just a few specific notes on the comments you posted above:
Paper quality: I understand your point. The specific reason different paper stocks were used was to give the feel of the variety of offices that would publish the pages. It was intended to make the whole set feel a little more authentic.
Cost: Again, I can see where you’re coming from, especially given the inexpensive pistol. That said, the leather wallet alone is a hand-made piece that could easily retail for a nice chunk of change. Add to that the assembly charges (somebody has to do the hand-signing and stamping, etc), and all the other bits, and I can tell you that the price is very fair given the cost to produce.
Trader’s Guild Certificate: I’m not sure what to say here, but I definitely would love to get the specifics on this in your e-mail. I tried to vary the design dramatically throughout the set to give the feel that they were coming from different places. Some are overly ornate (like the Cortex license), others are extremely stripped down. In any case, if I wasn’t successful throughout, I’ll definitely appreciate the feedback pointing out where.
Thanks again, and I look forward to your e-mail!
Best,
Ben
Quick note on the stamps — that’s one thing I really, really liked. In fact, I would love to have a set of those stamps. Any plans to release something like that?
No, I don’t believe so. I designed those strictly for the Papers set.
– Ben
Hey there – just wanted to chime in on the stamps thing:
We’ve had a couple people ask us to issue those stamps as a set. The problem is many of those stamps are very detailed and expensive to produce. We have to laser cut each one from a rubber sheet and then mount it on a wood handle. We can’t die cut them (which would save time and money) because some of the detailing would be lost. With 24 stamps in the set, our cost (not kidding here) is about $500 a set.
Now, if we were to mass produce them, we could obviously cut some of the cost. But odds are it’d still need to retail for close to that amount. And the feedback we’ve gotten is not a lot of folks would be willing to pay that for a set of stamps, no matter how cool.
The alternative, of course, is to issue just a few stamps in a set. Problem is, which ones? I think they’re all cool, but of course I have my favorites. I imagine you do as well and they’re probably not all the same as mine.
Having said all that, I’ve open to suggestions. We could issue them in a series, for example, a few stamps at a time. It’d cost even more to collect the entire set that way, but considerably less if you just wanted certain ones.
Hey, those would be great contest giveaways. 24 stamps, 24 winners. What do you think Andy? Would you guys ever part with them?
jim
Gojiro, it wasn’t a misquote, it was just using the popular quote to draw attention the what the announcement might be. That’s why several weeks before the announcement I knew that it would have something to do with the replica of Mal’s pistol. “We aims to misbehave”, get it like you might aim a fire arm? A take on words really shouldn’t take this much explaning, I thought the play on words was fairly obvious. We, (as in QMx), aims, (as in with the replica of Mal’s pistol), to misbehave… well at that point you just have to finish the slightly modified quote. Please tell me that you understand it now, I don’t think I could explain it any clearer.
I went ahead and canceled my order for the gun a few weeks ago. I had used x-pay, and at the time, there was no word on if and when we’d see the mal pistol. So instead of having my money sit in my account (which i can’t handle.. lol..) I canceled and got my money back.
I might have been a bit upset about the push back, and the lack of information. But I love the new (and cheaper) resin pistol, and will definately be considering the purchase of it. And it sits well with me that the metal/wood version will be going for a bit more. I understand that. I’m just not that interested in paying 300+ for a pistol, even if it is mal’s. But i think it is great that qmx are making it available to those who CAN afford that.
So really.. all my negatives have been turned into positives.
Either way, i still love qmx, and i’m very happy with how much detail they put into things. While i wish i could have gotten a bit more information a bit sooner, I’m glad things are finally rolling now. And they look great!
By the way, does the Mal stunt pistol come with a display case?
jim
Hmmm… that’s a great idea, Jim. We’ll need to wait for the edition to sell out, but then we could offer the stamps as as prizes on our website. Maybe a trivia contest? Of course, it might be too easy to cheat at that. Perhaps we could have a contest each day for the most effective plea to Universal for a sequel, and then deliver the 24 best messages personally at the end?
On the display – nope, it doesn’t come with a stand. However, we are working on some interesting options for collectors who do want to display their pistol; just not quite ready to say anything official. Must… not… pre-announce… products…
See? It’s *really* hard to be disciplined with this stuff! 😉
– Andy
P.S. Mike – Thanks; you have no idea how much your note made me smile. Doing this was a big risk, but after talking to lots of folks, it just seemed like the right thing to do.
Cyantre, obviously, I was unclear. My problem is with the word “aims” instead of “aim.” Had they said, “We aim to misbehave,” I’d have no problem with it.
Yeah, but then it wouldn’t have been a play on words. If they just said aim it wouldn’t have implied the aiming of anything particular, such as Mal’s pistol, in context it implies a goal… something to aim for. By making it the plural aims it clearly showed that it wasn’t a goal, as it was in the context of the movie, but something more concrete, which turned out to be annoucement of the prop replica.
Andy, the sequel plea contest is a good idea. Or maybe a vote for the 24 ugliest mug shots submitted for the Amnesty Sheets. That is of course if your allowed to post the pictures. I guess you could post the pics without posting the names.
jim
Jim – Not sure how I feel about having it be an ugly contest. I mean, you think it would okay if all the prizes went to QMx staff? Cause I think we’d be the odds-on favorite to win that contest 😉
Gojiro – Let me settle the whole aims/aim debate. It was intentional, it was a play on words, and it was entirely my fault. I wrote just about everything on the current QMx site (except the legalese), and did most of the programming and architecture. The credit for the design goes to Adam Levermore-Rich, however. And a number of the banners were designed by Ben Mund (Whitefall). We like to keep it in the Browncoat family, whenever possible.
QMx Andy, I don’t think you should feel the need to apologize because one person couldn’t understand a simple play on words. Personally I found to be fairly clever in keeping with the quote while at the same time providing a nice hint as to what the announcement was going to pertain to. Don’t feel the need to adjust your sense of humor because of one person. The “we aims to misbehave” message was well received and when I learned the details of what was going to be released on Oct. 20 I was pleased. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who realized that “we aims to misbehave” was a prelude to the Mal’s pistol replica announcement.