My Firefly/ Serenity Collection

[pennausamike]

My Firefly – Serenity Collection

Here is my third attempt at creating an archival posting of my Firefly/ Serenity Collection. The first was at www.serenitymovie.net with around a quarter million views when the site went belly-up; the second go 'round was at www.fireflyprops.net which was an abbreviated version that saw less traffic, but it was still available.

This represents more than a decade of dedicated collection and creation of artifacts from a fictional universe 500 years in the future. I started out with the idea that I would build a shadow box to hold my “whole collection", with no idea that the collection would out grow a dozen shadow boxes.

Watching the collection threads disappear is rather disheartening, because for the most part, the collection lives in the basement. I’ve had very few opportunities to interact in person with other builder/ collectors, whereas the online presence is global. Also, in effect, the collection thread is my proof of credibility in the hobby; which is not an ego thing, but serves as the calling card with fellow hobbyists that my interest is real, and that in past buying, selling and trading, I have been a trustworthy partner. So, I’ll give this one more shot on a board that has had a strong, long-lasting presence on the web, even if the downside is that Firefly prop building and collecting has kind of passed into a stupor. (That pesky, “no new content” thing…)

Just by way of discussion, parts of the Firefly/ Serenity collection have made it out of the basement on three occasions; a prop party in Pennsylvania, and two of the Browncoat Balls. There was some interest at the prop party, but I didn’t take any photos. The second outing was limited to what I could drag along to the 2015 Virginia Beach Browncoat Ball in the trunk of my car.

I was a little bummed that not a single prop builder was flushed out of the crowd, but mostly, the BCB attendees are a more social and less hardware-oriented kind of Firefly fan.

My final collection outing was as a member of the PA Browncoats 2017 BCB Committee, where I contributed a paper prop

and set up some prop displays as decoration for the Friday night mixer

and at the entry to the Ball itself

For me, the highlight was the costuming presentation, which I shared with a college professor whose hobby specialty was the clothing and dance of the grand ball period; the inspiration for the Persephone Ball scene in the Firefly episode, “Shindig”.

I had a seventy five slide presentation on the costuming of Firefly and the Big Dam Movie “Serenity” (the BDM), with a focus on the differences between them. I brought WAY too much stuff, and barely got to touch on maybe a third of it. And in the rush to get set up, I took no pictures of what I brought.

There were maybe a dozen folks who were really into the presentation and props, and I wish I had had another hour (or two!) to really discuss the costuming-as-a-reflection-of-culture points I basically blew through. Back-and-forth presentations are way more fun than just a lecture.

So, getting the collection “out of the basement” one more time…

 

[pennausamike]

The Show, the Big Dam Movie, and some extra DVD’s

If you are going to have a Firefly and Serenity collection, it all starts here; the DVD's. First would be the four disc set in the slipcase. I recommend this version over the less expensive set currently available at Walmart for $19.95. The less expensive set is four discs in a single case. I just prefer the more expensive packaging, in part because there is more info on the individual case sleeves, in part because such a noteworthy show deserves the better presentation, but mostly I have a sense of warm nostalgia at handling the DVD box set that shocked the execs who canceled such an "unpopular" show. The second required viewing item is the Serenity Collectors Edition. It is the black box next to the Firefly slipcase. The Collectors Edition has all the special features of the original release of Serenity (top of the picture) plus most of the features of the Australian release (middle of the second row). I actually bought a region-free DVD player to watch the Australian version of Serenity. The special features included a few things not on the original US Serenity release and also a Q&A with Joss Whedon at FOX Studios in Sydney Australia that has STILL not been released anywhere else.

The DVD at the top-row-right is the "Done The Impossible- A Fans' Tale of Firefly & Serenity". Brought to you by some uber Firefly/Serenity fans, DTI is an excellent overview of the brightest hour of Browncoat fandom. The early "save Firefly" movement, the guerrilla marketing campaign, the creator, cast and crew refusing to give up, the interaction between fans and filmmakers, everything leading up to the green light for the BDM Serenity; are encapsulated in this well-made documentary. I came kinda late to the party (January 2006 after seeing BDM Serenity on DVD) so DTI is my link to the most optimistic days of the fandom. The DVD under DTI is a collection of panels filmed at a handful of conventions. Sadly, the sound is so bad, these things are nearly unwatchable. Sitting quietly, it is barely possible to make out kinda-sorta most of what is said. I put the best of these on at a shindig once, but I could tell I was making folks strain too hard to follow for this to be fun. Only for the most hard-core collector. Finally, on the far right is a Joss Whedon interview on "the Write Environment" hosted by Jeffrey Berman DVD. This is a well done interview DVD showing Joss in his natural working environment, speaking on a variety of subjects.

 

[pennausamike]

Alright, if the Firefly DVD boxed set and the Serenity Collectors Edition DVD's are the obvious ESSENTIAL Firefly/Serenity purchase, I'd tend to place all four of the Companion volumes as a close second.

These books contain the scripts for all the episodes and the movie, plus a wealth of info on the fictional Firefly/Serenity 'verse, and the behind the scenes people, props, sets and wardrobe that made the 'verse come alive. The majority of Firefly props were rescued from obscurity or worse by English film industry professional, Karl Derrick. Although he is currently selling off the collection, it is featured prominently in the companion volumes and on Karl's Firefly Archive website. Firefly Companion Vol. I contains the scripts for: Serenity The Train Job Bushwacked Shindig Safe Our Mrs. Reynolds Firefly Companion Vol. II contains the scripts for: Jaynestown Out Of Gas Ariel War Stories Trash The Message Heart Of Gold Objects In Space Awhile back I made a small contribution to Titan Books for their Companion volume, “Firefly: Still Flying”. Instead of reimbursement, I asked for a copy of the book. Well, Christmas came in May that year and I’m here to tell you that “Firefly: Still Flying” is a fitting wrap-up to the Companion series. As noted above, I consider the Titan Companion books to be essential reading for even a casual Browncoat fan. Firefly: Volumes One and Two and the Serenity Companion volume contain the original shooting scripts for the shows and the Big Damn Movie, Serenity. | As often happens, there are little bits taken out or added in as the filming actually takes place. So, the Companion volumes offer little tid-bits of info and insight in addition to a hardcopy version of the stories fans love so much. The Companion volumes offer excellent and often unreleased photos of the actors, sets, props and behind the scenes artists that made Firefly and Serenity the amazingly realized vision they are. Everyone involved in the latest volume deserves to be congratulated for a simply wonderful job. I long ago sent an email to Titan Books listing what my expectations/ hopes were for "Still Flying". They have done a fantastic job of balancing everything I hoped to see in the book. I don't mean “Firefly: Still Flying” was able to include literally everything. But they struck a great balance of touching on all the aspects of the show I hoped to see covered. I mentioned behind the scenes info on the sets, locations, props and CGI city-scapes and ships. The section on the stunt work was a neat and unexpected bonus. I mentioned that I thought it was necessary to include sections on the principle actors, but that I thought that would be a tough thing to pull off because we fans have heard it all before. I think the info the “Still Flying” team presented and the way it was done was an inventive, informative solution to a tricky problem. I loved the varied insights culled from various sites, sources and time periods. I think they avoided the sense of rehashing old ground. They touched on fan activities, fan films and for-fan merchandising. Given the breadth of Browncoat activities, they didn’t hit it all, but they gave a nice introduction that points folks in the many directions Firefly fandom points. The inclusion of four new stories by Firefly story contributors will give fans a little bit of new content to enjoy and discuss. The presentation of photographs and artwork in the book is beautiful. The quality of the shots and the lay-out is top-notch! I highly recommend the Firefly and Serenity Companion volumes and “Firefly: Still Flying” meets or exceeds the standard of the first three.

 

[pennausamike]

Music For The 'Verse

So___Many___Words___ The music of Firefly was every bit as unique as every other aspect of the show. Greg Edmonson scored Firefly in an amazing blend of American country-western with an international twist. The Firefly sound was very organic, always sounding as if it could be played on those backwater worlds where folks were left with nothing but a few blankets and a herd... ...and some simple stringed instruments. Although Greg used some electronic tonalities in some of the "battle" music, it was things like the juxtaposition of his homespun guitar chords over a space ship lighting the afterburners that helped the future world of the 'verse feel comfortable and at home in our early 21st century hearts. John Williams popularized the idea of writing musical themes for characters in Star Wars, but Greg Edmonson has said he wrote to capture the emotion of a scene rather than try to write character themes. Even the oboe piece that has come to be thought of as Jubal Early's theme was written to capture the mood of this really bad man sneaking aboard Serenity. From the energetic hoe down song backing the spaceball game opening of "Bushwacked", to the weeping funeral song of "The Message", I can't recall an out of place note in the Firefly 'verse. The soundtrack album captures much of that wide range of musical style (tho' the absence of the Persephone docks music, "The Hero of Canton", and the "Our Mrs. Reynolds" river intro music is sorely felt). The only problem with listening to a TV soundtrack album is that the musical pieces are barely more than snippets. The Firefly album is essentially 44 pieces of music broken up into 25 tracks. And even at that, I rearranged the song order to try to make the music "flow" a little more to my liking. Snippets or no, this album still triggers emotional responses straight out of the show, and listening is like carrying a little bit of the show where ever you take your CD or MP3 player.

Top left is the Firefly music book. It's filled with a bunch of notes that, frankly, mean nothing to me, but I bought it because of my love for the music that Greg Edmonson created for Firefly, and a hope, however fleeting and unlikely, that I might someday be able to make use of it. Below the music book is the Firefly soundtrack album, which also includes the show's theme, written by Joss Whedon and performed by Sonny Rhoades. I have to admit, the first time I heard the Ballad of Serenity, I thought it was a little goofy. About four episodes in I realized how perfectly it captured the Firefly vibe, and at some point before I finished watching the series for the first time, I found myself singing along. To the right of the Firefly soundtrack album is the BDM Serenity soundtrack. Yeah, uh, well; it's a really good MOVIE soundtrack, but.... like many of the changes made to BDM Serenity from the TV show, Firefly, it feels too much like an attempt to appeal to a mainstream audience. BDM Serenity's soundtrack is-just-so-much-BIGGER. In the liner notes, Joss Whedon waxes enthusiastic about composer David Newman's talent. And everything he says is true: Newman "got" the "western" thing (our first view of Serenity breaking atmo to a banjo is a very "Firefly" moment) and he crafted a very solid movie score. But at times, BDM Serenity's score almost feels cliche. The characters had themes (tho' River's slightly out of tune piano theme does capture her slightly out of tune character) and where Firefly felt very organic, BDM Serenity feels very "Alliance", that is to say the music better represented the resources of the Core planets than the Rim worlds the audience is asked to identify with. Much of the big battle music feels very, "been-there-done-that" up to and including a number of (seems like) note by note, sound by sound lifts from the Road Warrior and Star Wars soundtracks. Missing from the CD is the very cool electronic music that so well fits Serenity docking at the Beaumonde shipyard.

Most Firefly fans seem to feel that the scoring nod should have gone to Greg Edmonson. Artistically I agree. Commercially, I can see the David Newman score for a blockbuster summer release, but when Universal decided on a, "nobody but Browncoats will see this movie" Fall release; well aw shoot, they might as well have let Greg score the thing with that "Wow, never heard that before" touch of his. Above the BDM Serenity soundtrack are the CD's "On The Drift" from the Bedlam Bards and the"Done The Impossible" soundtrack. These albums are a mixture of songs that fit IN the 'verse, and songs ABOUT the show and fandom. I'm not personally into folk music or Filk, but like Greg Edmonson's Firefly music, many of the songs transcend a pidgeonhole genre and work as the eclectic mix that defines the Firefly 'verse. And some are just fun Browncoat anthems, good for singin' along, if'n ya can remember all the words. And finally, I beg a little indulgence, (assuming your eyeballs haven't already rolled back into your skull from so___many___words). Part of my love of the Firefly 'verse is that I could pack my bags and move there. When I build the props highlighted in this collection thread or listen to the music from the show, there is a sense of at least peripherally inhabiting that fictional world. And if I'm going somewhere, I'm not leaving my Led Zeppelin behind. Led Zeppelin isn't totally out of place in the 'verse, because the band traveled the world and brought back Eastern tonalities, phrasing and instruments, and incorporated them into their rock sound. So, the green album in the upper right is "Kashmir: Symphonic Led Zeppelin" played by The London Philharmonic Orchestra. Arranged by Jaz Coleman, the mix is so Eastern, I believe parts of it could be literally used as backing for the Firefly show.

 

[pennausamike]

Promoting The 'Verse-Firefly Promo Swag

FOX spent a ton of money on promo goodies for Firefly. The only promo/swag item I ever acquired was the cool light-up Firefly pen. After about three years of being outbid, I finally won the one shown below for a pretty good price; probably less than many folks pay for simply a really good pen.

Among the FOX promo items like the pen, and T-shirts and hats out the wazoo, was coolest of all, a small gray shipping crate filled with unique "in-the-'verse" goodies.

The crate contents shown below are from David Sears’ collection, as I never acquired one. The pen and later, the Pilot’s license folder were all I ever managed to get my hands on.

The contents were apparently not the same in every press kit. The list below is of all that I know of.
1. Black cardboard storage box with “Private” label
2. Booklet/Packet describing the show, cast, plot, Joss Whedon etc.
3. Promo hat (with original logo)
4. Promo shirt - original logo (black shirt) - new logo (white shirt)
5. Leather wallet
6. Metal Flask
7. Boarding pass
8. Mal’s pilot's license
9. Note from Mal (on parchment)
10. Blueprints (3 pages)
11. Postcards (3?)
12. VHS tape of original pilot
13. Food bar (chocolate bar in gold brick box)
14. Alliance planetary nebula map NGC 3242
15. Alliance rations: Jerky, space food freeze dried fries, astronaut ice cream, freeze dried strawberries
16...more?

Even though it isn’t part of my collection, I felt it was worth highlighting; especially as the forums disappear, and with them the info and pictures.

Promoting The BDM

On the left is a foldout, three page booklet with info about the Firefly origins, the world, the creator and the cast and characters of Serenity. Top-center is a copy of the 27-page Serenity Production Information included in the press kits. Below that are two promotional postcards, shown front-and-back. Beside the postcards is a German tri-fold info booklet. I don't know WHAT the heck that says, but I'm sure it's much the same info as the US promo pieces. As a note, the European posters and promotional items featured the more gray-tone art with River in a couple of acrobatic combat poses. I personally prefer them to the dark blue US posters, and yet I somehow never seemed to latch on to one. Now, I just have more stuff than I have walls to hang it, so I'm not really looking to buy more posters. Far right are DVD backer cards, like you used to see in Blockbuster (who was driven out of business by Netflix, who's being driven out of business by; well, I just can't keep up). The top card is for the US release, the lower card is from Australia, which features the more European style art. Finally, at the bottom is the Big Damn Thank You card from the fan-led effort to get a sequel made. Interestingly enough, this became sort of the, "What The Hell Are You Doing?!" campaign when Universal and FOX started sending Cease & Desist letters to all the small Firefly/Serenity fan vendors; most notoriously going after Firefly Fan "11th Hour", the woman who spearheaded the "Save Firefly" guerrilla marketing campaign with her compelling artwork.

FOX really did promote Firefly pretty well. They spent a good deal of money on promotional swag and advertising; only to sabotage themselves by putting an expensive-to-produce show on the known-worst TV viewing night, aired out of order, constantly pre-empted. I feel that Universal really did try to market Serenity, but they also just...couldn't...get...it... Here is a look at this tiny detail from the initial US DVD release, something so small that I'm sure most folks didn't even catch it. But I did, and someone in marketing felt compelled to make the change. Note that the front half of Mal's ICONIC! pistol has been overlayed with the muzzle and slide of a modern automatic pistol.

What...The........... It is like all the suits and mundanes involved in handling Firefly and the BDM Serenity were fixated on the idea that its lack of mainstream popularity stemmed from the fact that it was a "space-western". I'm not sure if Firefly/Serenity would have ever achieved Star Wars level popularity. I DO find it amazing that SOMEHOW it has never occurred to both the TV and movie executives that a quality made show, featuring character-driven stories, could succeed if it was just where it was supposed to be, when it was supposed to be there!

Universal really did try to promote BDM Serenity. Advanced screenings to gauge interest, the River Tam Sessions viral marketing, all the usual promo info and goodies; only to put off the release of a great summer action movie (multiple times) to the dead spot of Fall, in and out of theaters in two weeks. The overlayed Mal pistol is emblematic of the studios' basic un-comfortable-ness with the whole concept of Firefly.

 

[pennausamike]

The Comics

Listing the items in the picture: In the center, the three issue comic book version of "Better Days". Moving clockwise around the outside, starting from the upper left, The full page from the issue of USA Today A printed out copy of the web comic, "Downtime" A printed out copy of the web comic, "The Other Half" The two different covers for the single issue story, "Float Out" Hardbound volume 3, "The Shepherd's Tale" Hardbound volume 2, "Better Days And Other Stories" Hardbound volume 1, "Those Left Behind" The trade paperback version of "Better Days" And the trade paperback version of "Those Left Behind" Book's wartime "experience" is twenty years in the past in "Shepherd's Tale", compared to thirteen years in the TV series and BDM. In a number of ways, the comic timeline is horribly flawed. "Canon" in the 'verse, in everything from timelines to wardrobe errors, has been very sloppy. But, the story itself was worthy of inclusion in 'verse canon, and I hope Zack convinces Joss to help him play in the 'verse a little more. As far as presentation, I REALLY like the three hardbound volumes that contain all the Firefly/Serenity comics. I feel they are presented as deserving a place in my collection with the DVD's and the Companion volumes. The artwork is all over the board; sometimes the nuances of the characters' appearance and actions are captured perfectly, sometimes not so much. Inara is the one Firefly character who has never been drawn badly. If I didn't already have more Firefly art than walls to hang it, some of the comic art is definitely frame-worthy!

Ah yes, the comics, the only licensed continuation of the story of the crew of Serenity in the 'verse. I would have to state that I'm not a fan of comic books in the first place. Not that I dislike 'em, just never really got into them, either. And , I would have to say, none of these Serenity comics have really jump-started any desire to delve further into the medium. The first release was "Those Left Behind". This tale of the period between the end of the series and the BDM Serenity was put out at the second high point of Firefly fandom. The crest of Browncoat fandom was during the save-the-series-led-to-the-movie period documented in the fan documentary, "Done The Impossible". A second, smaller crest came after the DVD release of the movie into the first few Can't Stop The Serenity charity showings of the BDM. During this second rising wave of Firefly fandom, Browncoats were buying everydamnthing that was put out to prove Firefly/Serenity was a growing, viable, franchise with legs, like Star Trek became. (I was sort of in that camp, too; sorry folks, it didn't work out..) "Those Left Behind" is a bridging story, but is weaker than it should have been, I think. Main characters had left the ship, and by the BDM, things were in pretty dire straits for those remaining. None of that is captured in "Those Left Behind". The friction between Shepherd Book and Mal seemed forced and out of place, especially when compared with the seeming warm relationship shown with Captain and crew in the BDM. Absolutely no insight was given into Inara's decision to leave Serenity. There is no sense of the tightening reins of the Alliance alluded to in the BDM. And last but not least, the returning villain is ?Agent Dobson?, WHO GOT SHOT IN THE HEAD WITH A PISTOL THAT CAN DROP A HORSE WITH ONE SHOT?!?! The only good thing about THAT scenario is the credence it lends to MY insistence that Wash Lives. (If Joss can bring back a meaningless secondary character, he can sure as heck bring back the crew's anchor, comic relief and one-half of Serenity's mature married team. Humpf!) For me, part of the failure of "Those Left Behind" is a weak story, but a large part is the lack of the actors' input. The cast of Firefly was a huge part of translating "clever" and "good" on the page into "excellent" and "magical" on screen. At no point did I feel the Firefly magic while reading "Those Left Behind". "Better Days" is the second comic released under the BDM "Serenity" license; although until "Float Out", all the comics are rooted in the Firefly era. I found "Better Days" to be "better" than "Those Left Behind". The crew dynamic is more familiar and there are times I could "hear" the actors "saying" the dialog. The plot is more engaging with lots going on, at least until the end, when the crew loses their large windfall of wealth. Mal's seemingly purposeful move of losing the crew's big payoff and driving them all back into barely scraping by felt like an unrealistic retelling of Niska taking all the crew's money from the Ariel heist. The eight page, free, web comic, "The other Half" is good short story that also suffers from the "been-there-done-that" vibe. It ends on a another "Welcome to the crew, River" note along the lines of "Objects In Space" (explicitly) and the BDM (implied). "Float Out" is an OK story. I'm not sure it would have been published if a non-celebrity had submitted it. But having celebrity fan write a story in the 'verse probably seemed like a good idea at the time. My perception of the story is colored by the fact that it is the first officially licensed continuation after the BDM and it is written from (heck, ABOUT) Wash's death in the film. Sorry, but that's not the story I want to hear, and I find it interesting that, to the point I stopped buying the comics, it wasn't a story a Whedon has chosen to tell. Speaking of which, "Downtime" is a little tale that appeared on the USA Today website. Written by Zack Whedon as an outgrowth of his work on "The Shepherd's Tale", I found "Downtime" did a good job of capturing the actors "voices" in the portrayal of their characters. USA Today printed the first page of the eight page story on a full page of their paper, along with a nice write-up.
"The Shepherd's Tale" is the only comic that I feel really adds to the Firefly 'verse. There have been little bits that felt right, but none of the stories grew the 'verse for me. Until now. I was prepared to dislike "The Shepherd's Tale". I bought it and read it three times over the first three days. And it kinda grew on me. I think Zack Whedon did a fine job capturing the "feel" of the 'verse. The dialog felt right and the revelations mostly fit the type and scope of what I found reasonable. The only flaw I sensed is the timeline. I think "Shepherd's Tale" puts the Unification War as going back further than the events of Miranda allows. This isn't a first for Joss, tho'. He confused the timeline in his pre-production notes for the BDM "Serenity", as reproduced in the Serenity Companion volume.

 

[pennausamike]

Books About The 'Verse

Top row, left to right: One of a few licensed Serenity RPG books, Finding Serenity, Serenity Found, The Big Damn Chefs Cookbook. Bottom row left to right: Filming locations booklet, The Firefly Episode Guide, Investigating Firefly/Serenity, a blank version of the Big Damn Chefs book from Cafepress. Not being into roleplaying games, I bought this Serenity RPG book from an Extended Universe perspective. There was info on building EU characters, but it wasn't really what I was looking for. Finding Serenity, Serenity Found and Investigating Firefly/Serenity are books made up of essays. Some interesting, some not so much. My favorite from the essay books is Jewel Staite's piece in the first volume. I personally enjoyed the little episode guide by Mimi Noyes more than Finding, Found or Investigating Firefly and Serenity. The Big Damn Chefs cookbook is OOP and only minimally interesting from a 'verse building standpoint. (One of the Bedlam Bards describes his recipe with an "in 'verse" narrative.) There is a recipe describing how to pack Griswolds in apples, but substituting prizes for explosives. Whew! Like many items from the ‘Verse it is OOP. Far as the Locations book, it was a little plastic bound together deal I got from an eBay seller. I had been posting most of the info with better pictures in the episode threads on www.fireflyprops.net BronsonBB has been a major shooting locations sleuth, and the combination of my online looking and his in-person seeing is more info than what is in the little booklet. I started on my own Firefly/ Serenity Locations book, more on that later.

Since I posted the original versions of this thread, I got a few more books, which add to the collection, if not a whole lot of new information.
The big (and I mean REALLY big) leatherbound book is a grouping of the three Titan Firefly Companion books in one volume. I emailed Titan and asked why they didn'y include the BDM Serenity in the text of the "Still Flying" book or in the complete Companion volume. They told me that it was a different license (TV through FOX-movies through UNIVERSAL) so I assume they didn't feel it was worth the cost to add it. And honestly, this book is so huge, it's a bit unwieldy. I never even look at it. If I want to check on something, I go to the original individual Companion volumes. The promo pictures and Firefly money are included in a pocket in the back. I forget the price, but remember it was a nice price for the presentation. The little volume is a Titan release of a 'verse dictionary and phrase book. For me, there is far too little new information and photographs to justify this one in my collection. (Especially since I gave up on the idea of having a "complete" collection years ago!) It is largely a rehash of photos from the Companion volumes and info that is nice to have in one volume, but not really breaking any new ground. As an example, the picture of the sketch is a pre-production drawing of the Eavesdown Docks that I've never seen before, but it is hard to wade through the old to find the new.

the next grouping includes a couple of blank books (Fruity Oatey bar and the small Serenity logo) and two books that, while small, I'm really glad to have. The white book is a collection of Nathan Fillion's behind the scenes photos (some new, some not) that was a Con Man fund raiser perk. The other book is a collection of cartoons, many about the crew engaging in 20th Century Earth-That-Was activities. Hey, it makes me smile.

Due to the lack of new content and the rule of diminishing returns, I don't really see anything else being released that I'll feel the need to buy.

 

[Nicksdad]

Beautiful collection and very informative post.
I don't see a whole lot posted lately on Firefly but I still love it.

 

[gunnerk19]

Unbelievably shiny!

I'm digging that Rance Burgess gun. The only thing missing is the elusive Lassiter

 

[pennausamike]

The Crew

The Independent Captain
Malcolm Reynolds
"May have been the losing side; still not sure it was the wrong one."

Mal pistols were one of the first props replicated by/ for fans.

The Coolmodels recast is awful, based on an early fan-effort.

The Wilco is inaccurate but serviceable, a great cosplay holster gun because of its low price. I bought one for about a tenth the price I sold my phillipes resin cast for. The biggest problem with the Wilco is the somewhat clunky shape of the grips. I'll be replacing mine with the wood grips shown. Also for comparison is a Sidkit plastic grip. I'll also be adding the "safety lever" I picked up somewhere, another feature missing on the Wilco.

Karl Derrick’s first replica Model 47 ( I think these pics are from Jason Eaton)

and Karl’s second metal Mal pistol, the Model 47A in a photo by Ull Dar Borealis

From my collection, these are the three of the many available Mal pistols. I used to own two of the resin models cast from the original Firefly screen-used versions, the phillipes version offered by Phil Steinschneider. I sold the unfinished one first and kept the one I painted until I sold that one also to raise money. For which I now have seller's remorse. The gold/brass replica is the officially licensed QMx version cast from the Serenity movie version. If you liked this version of the Mal pistol, which was considerably different from the Firefly version it was modified from, this is the way to go. I never cared for the BDM version of Mal's pistol (that whole, "trying to de-westernize the space-western", thing) so at some point, finances drove my decision to sell a prop I wasn't in love with. The disassembled metal Mal pistol is the Sidkit version from Italy. I modified the barrel holding method with a shoulder bolt coming into the back of the barrel for support. This method also gives me the means to have a dummy operating mechanism seen in the magazine well when the clip is removed. (Which I elected, later, not to do.) I also bought three sets of wood grips for my Mal pistols. I planned to use one set for the metal Mal and one set for one of the resin Firefly Mal's. The only disappointment is that the wood used for the first two I bought was oak, which has a very different grain pattern than the walnut that was originally used. I later found a set of partially finished walnut grips on the RPF for the metal Mal.

Since the time I acquired my Mal pistols, QMx released a polystone BDM Mal pistol that was cheaper than the (actually rather nice) resin version. These things had huge quality issues when first released (bent barrels and such) and were never suited for much handling, as the polystone is an extremely brittle material more suited to making the little figurines that have come to dominate the QMx line.

But back to the ones that I had in the collection.

Below are two views of my all resin phillipes Mal pistol, cast off screen-used. These hit eBay and were topping $200.00 at a time when the only other Mal pistols available were truly awful. I could just never bring myself to pay that much for one of these. Over time, I was able to buy two of these from Phil, and as noted above, I still regret selling the one I painted. (Even if I never did master that worn brass finish.)

The Qmx resin BDM Mal pistol came with graphics done by Firefly paper props pioneer Ben Mund, aka “Whitefall”. As a side story, Ben came up with the idea of the Mal pistol being able to be used with conventional ammo or as a Gauss gun* during his pre-QMx, Propcircle days. I was strongly opposed to this concept for both practical and story-undermining reasons. (Rim folk like Mal were supposed to be using retrograde tech, and an electromagnetic projectile accelerator in a pistol-sized package is tech in line with a hand held laser. Never mind being able to switch between a sealed powder-propelled bullet and a floating Gauss projectile.) But Ben liked it, and carried it forward from his Propcircle Mal pistol posters into the QMx paperwork that came with the resin replica. When I got mine, I cut open the bottom of the box to preserve the boxtop artwork.

I started off building a pair of Sidkit Mal pistols. One was (obviously) mine, but I also offered to build one for a fellow PA Browncoat, Matt; with the understanding that his would be the first, ie the "test mule". I worked on my friend's first, then switched gears and made a pair of spare magazines for mine.

I had to make a 3-piece fixture to bend the feed lips on the mags. I wanted to display the gun, 2 spare mags, a cleaning rod and 24 rounds of ammo in a green velvet lined presentation box. The ammo is in 6 round groups; Full Metal Jacket, Hollow-point, Armor Piercing Penetrator, and High Explosive. My bending fixture didn't work quite like I planned, but fortunately these are static display and not for a working weapon.

Next, I needed to finish filing the scroll pieces to final shape. Then it is on to making up and loading some dummy rounds. Oh, and I gotta build the Mal pistol, too.... All the work on the scrolls was hand file work. I put a 1/4" dowel pin through the hole and located off the flat. That way, all the filing is done on both pieces simultaneously so that both pieces are the same when you are done. After I finished the scrolls, I cut a piece of dense, kneeling pad foam to simulate the mag follower. I "loaded" three rounds of live M-1 Carbine, FMJ ammo for the photo. To the right is the internal barrel sleeve I made sitting next to the Sidkit barrel face. The sleeve means you can look down the barrel and see...barrel.

The thumbscrews are Sidkit's drilled and tapped for 4-40 set screws, Badger's thumbscrews with 3mm set screws. The original Sidkit thumbscrews were to just be glued in the dimples, which didn’t seem remotely sturdy to me.

My Sidkit Mals are bolted and glued wherever possible. My barrel alignment fixture was made out of 2 C-clamps, a 12" steel scale and a correct height spacer to hold the barrel until the glue set. The scale is aligned to the bulged part of the shrouds and sets a straight line in addition to serving as a holding fixture. The brass spacer is just something from my hardware collection the happened to be the right size. I don't put a lot of glue in at first, in case I have to re-seat the barrel if it doesn't turn out to be as straight as I thought. I piled more glue in as the next step.

After I built up the JB Weld around the barrel mounting lug and the frame on the inside, I glued on the other half of the main body/ receiver. I did this in a couple of steps to avoid just pouring a bunch of glue in the body. I packed pieces of sandwich bags around the JB Weld to contain it until it dried, same as before. I glue the two frame attachment points because my friend's Sidkit showed up bowed inward at the top; a result of how soft the main material is.

I glued on the front sight and the two rear shrouds, clamped in place. The top wasn't glued on yet; and glue is the only thing that holds the top on. Right now I'm just using it as a place holder for the shrouds.

After the sight dried, I re-drilled and tapped for the set screws. One approach for overcoming the fact that set screws are not for clamping pieces together and to keep the set screw from acting like a jackscrew, is to glue the pieces and run a tap through both where they join together.

In the picture below, both Mal pistols are closer to being ready to paint. I started fitting the walnut grips to mine; a slow, tedious process I am not good at. I also needed to re-drill the mounting holes for the grips in the top pistol, and paint the faux (fancy for "fake") woodgrain on the Sidkit grips.

 

[pennausamike]

I attached all the final pieces except the top four screws and applied the antique gold Rub & Buff. Which I promptly wore off handling it. Applied R&B a second time; looked like garbage. Wore that off on purpose and, third times the charm. Then I needed to seal the whole pistol in a clear coat. Came out something like…

Took a break from working on the pistol itself to do something completely different. A place to put it when it is finished! You can't really tell, but I'm making a set of brass and walnut cleaning tools (for a not-a-gun that will never need cleaned) to go with the Mal memorabilia that will be in the upper tray. The little bullet holder is also walnut, so I'll be staining the grips, the tools and the bullet block at the same time. The original use for the presentation box was for a Colt Dragoon revolver. A few weeks of getting shot down on eBay finally resulted in acquiring this one. Still lots of work to go.

A view of the fitted interior pieces.

After sitting on the project for a lonnnnng time, I sort of finished my Mal pistol and display case.

I'm rather ambivalent about the "final" result. The weathering wouldn't have been bad for a 1/32nd scale model airplane,but as I'm sure ya'll have noticed, the Mal pistol isn't a 1/32nd scale model airplane.....sigh. So, I see this sitting for another few months/ years/ longer 'til I feel like taking another stab at it.

On the plus side, the overall presentation is what I wanted, the real walnut grips look really nice in person, the finish is painted so it's fix-able, and the value is there for a metal Mal. The pistol, two spare mags, case, cleaning tools, ship's papers, St. Lucy's ID and 'verse money STILL represents only about a $650 dollar investment. And of course, a WHOLE lotta hours making everything. But that had value, too! As a final note, I'm really pleased with how the cleaning and disassembly tools came out. This was an idea that just popped out of the fact that I had some black walnut laying around; sort of a, "I wonder what-if?" moment. The tools all fit the various screws (tho' nothing comes apart), and the cleaning tools would really work, if there was anything to clean. So, even though it isn't quite finished, my Mal pistol has been a pretty satisfying project.

*A coilgun or Gauss rifle is a type of projectile accelerator consisting of one or more coils used as electromagnets in the configuration of a linear motor that accelerate a ferromagnetic or conducting projectile to high velocity. Wikipedia

 

[pennausamike]

The Loyal Second in Command
Zoe (Alynne) Washburn
"Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing."

One of the first prop replicas I built was Zoe's Mares Leg. I bought a used Denix rifle on eBay and within about ten minutes of receiving it, was cutting it up with a hacksaw.

And after cutting it down, there was lots of replacement hardware that needed made.

Then I got the Denix Mares leg and played parts mix and match…

So then I had a loopy lever Firefly version of Zoe's Mare's Leg and a Serenity version with the little brass scope-y thing and the straight lever. I don't like the Serenity version as well, (and on mine, the buttstock wasn’t quite right) but the brass scope thing and the mount I machined for it came out so well, I came to like it well enough.

Because of all the "all-work-and-no-satisfaction" projects, I took on one I intended to finish in a week. (Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:21 am. Finished Tue Sep 21, 2010 10:52 am. The one week project only missed the mark by ten months or so.) Zoe's back-up pistol.

She wore this in a crossdraw holster. I only recall seeing it pulled in the TV pilot Serenity, tho she often wore it. I bought a Denix 1860 Colt and cut it down to match Zoe's.

I also machined the grip screws to actually work, i.e. thread together, because the original Denix screws are fakes swaged together. To get it back together, it was necessary to build a little fixture to support the internal mechanism until I got the cover on to hold everything in place. The "pins" in the fixture are number drills and the holes in the fixture are only a .001" bigger or so. This way, you can assemble the action around the pins, put the cover on, and then push the pins out with the original screws. I was really pleased with how this worked, so I'm keeping the fixture in case I need to disassemble my Zoe pistol in the future.

Additional Zoe prop items include the St. Lucy's hospital ID badge, Zoe's "bootlace" necklace, a pair of dogtags with info pulled from the Alliance record screen from the cut BDM Serenity scene, and two Altrans tickets for "Mr. Malcolm Raymond" and "Mrs. Zoe Raymond", for the Maglev train from "The Train Job".

Because I planned on taking some of my prop collection to the 2011 Browncoat Ball Prop Museum, I wanted to have some nice displays finished. The Zoe display will be a case for her three main weapons, the Firefly Mare's Leg, the BDM Serenity Mare's Leg and the Firefly pistol she carried in the cross-draw holster. This pic shows the foam "nest" I made, next I needed to find matching brown fur to upholster it. When I couldn't find a close match, so that didn't work out, I had to c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y strip the original fur off an interior panel and sewing two pieces of the original fur together. I can see the seam, but it isn't real noticeable unless you know to look for it.

43: The Story Behind The Display: Zoe's Leather Case The Source Material: In the episode The Train Job, Mal and Zoe pose as a couple riding to Paradiso to seek work. It seemed logical that they would have luggage, and wouldn't Zoe have an old style leather gun case for her two mare's legs and her back up pistol? The Display Items: The Firefly version mare's leg is an extensively modified Denix replica 1892 Winchester rifle. Modifying this from a rifle made for the most accurate to Firefly buttstock. The BDM Serenity version of the mare's leg is a conversion of the Denix "Dead or Alive" mare's leg, with a less accurate stock but all the BDM greeblies. The back-up pistol is made from a cut down Denix replica 1860 Colt. The subdued color Independents patch was a fan run, the ID and necklace are also fan-made items and the dogtags were ordered from a dogtag company, made to info provided from the Operative screen in a cut scene in the BDM Serenity. The train tickets are modified from yet another fan-done effort.

A point came where I needed money to fill a 20-year-vacant hole in another collection hobby of mine, so I sold my Zoe display, and as happens when I get rid of stuff I made, I got seller’s remorse. And so I started trying to acquire the items necessary for a similar-but-slightly-different Zoe case display. For now, I’m about at this pile-o’-parts.

and a little further along on the new back-up pistol.

 

[Sundowner]

I've drooled over your collection for years!

 

[pennausamike]

Serenity Valley Display
Mal: "Well, well, looks like we got here just in the nick of time. And what does that make us?"
Zoe: "Big Dam Heroes, sir."

The Story Behind The Display: Whitefall Map of Serenity Valley The Source Material: The Firefly series features characters living in the wake of a huge civil war, around 500 years in the future. The Independents fought to separate themselves from the Union of Allied Planets, and after years of bloody warfare, suffered their crushing defeat at Serenity Valley. Two of the main characters, ship-captain Malcolm Reynolds and his first-officer Zoe (Alleyn) Washburn, served together at Serenity Valley and, like thousands of other “Browncoats”, refused to surrender. The Display Items: This display is meant to showcase memorabilia of a war-not-yet-happened. This amazing topographical map of a planet yet to be discovered was designed by a pioneer in the early days of Browncoat prop collector fandom, Ben Mund, aka “Whitefall”. Whitefall’s original design was created utilizing an 1800’s survey map for a template. Ben’s amazing talent in producing graphics, maps and paper props in the ‘verse did not go unnoticed. QMx “put Ben out of business” by putting him to work for them. He modified his original Serenity Valley map with “fancified” wording that created (in my mind) a conflict between the graphic cues of a surveyor’s map and the flowery prose of a tourist poster. I feel the original presentation was nicer and it is certainly more rare.

The Story Behind The Display: Mal and Zoe at Serenity Valley The Source Material: The Firefly series features characters living in the wake of a huge civil war, around 500 years in the future. The Independents fought to separate themselves from the Union of Allied Planets, and after years of bloody warfare, suffered their crushing defeat at Serenity Valley. Two of the main characters, ship-captain Malcolm Reynolds and his first-officer Zoe (Alleyn) Washburn, served together at Serenity Valley and, like thousands of other “Browncoats”, refused to surrender. The Display Items: This display is meant to showcase memorabilia of a war-not-yet-happened. The largest paper props are discharge papers designed by a pioneer in the early days of Browncoat prop collector fandom, Ben Mund, aka “Whitefall”. Whitefall’s original design was created utilizing the Independents’ triangle superimposed over the (Whitefall variation of the Geoff Mandel designed) worlds-clutching hawk. I didn’t agree with his interpretation that the Alliance would subordinate their emblem as a conciliatory gesture, especially in view of the brutality and cost of the Independents “uprising”. Ben was kind enough to allow me permission to change his design and supplied the unadulterated hawk-on-the-worlds graphic to make the modification. Also, Ben only did a discharge paper for Malcolm Reynolds, so the Zoe discharge paper is my modification of Ben’s boilerplate design. The Routing Tags for the 57th Overlanders is also a Whitefall EU (Extended Universe) paper prop design that I modified. The small Independents’ Guide to Hera is cobbled together from various sources, though once again, primarily from Whitefall’s original work for his Serenity Valley map. The dogtags for Mal and Zoe are made from information seen in the BDM (Big Damn Movie) Serenity. The patches are licensed, embroidered patches like those in the TV series. One of the pins is a basic cloisonné pin; the other is a 2007 CSTS Can’t Stop The Serenity charity pin. The cross is meant to be the one Mal kisses for luck/blessing before battle. The can opener is a U.S. Army P-38 can opener, similar to the larger P-51 can opener Tracy used to open his beans in the episode, “The Message”. Food for body and soul; the display is a metaphor. The final items are four damaged and distorted bullets, meant to represent the kind of “near miss” or “one that got me” souvenirs soldiers are prone to collect. Like much good art, the interpretation is left to the viewer.

The final part of the display is an Alliance poster that portrays Serenity Valley as a great victory...except this poster was hung up on a world where most folks wear coats of a brown-ish sort of color. The artwork has been “modified” with bullet holes, graffiti, and some pro-Independents messages. The fictional story behind the display is that it was stolen from its public hanging place and displayed in an Independent-friendly bar on Hera.

And still no shortage of unfinished projects. I have an old flight helmet that I want to paint to match the Independents ground troops helmets. I've got hose and a big coil cable to make it look like a Firefly gunship door gunner's helmet. I still need an oxygen mask with bayonet clamps to finish it off. I'll likely display this with the Cerberus poster. I've always viewed these "wartime" artifacts as background set dressing for my NOT-Alliance friendly bar in Fool Me Twice.

 

[kurtyboy]

Me too!

I haven't quit my collection either, in fact, I finally got one if my Firefly "grails" finished last year, I'm now working on a second one, and then I'll hopefully move on to the third.

I've drooled over your collection for years!

 

[mrwax]

Thank you for sharing your collection, it's inspiring!

 

[Sundowner]

I made a Zoe back up pistol and for years it was on IMFDB as screen used. A compliment I suppose, it’s still on there but it now says replica

 

[pennausamike]

Gifted Pilot
Hoban "Wash" Washburne
"I am a Leaf on the Wind, Watch How I Soar"

"Who's flying this thing?! " Wash carried a modified Mateba recoil operated, semi-auto revolver in Serenity. (The unfinished resin pile-o-parts.) The patches are also from Serenity, tho' the shirt and overalls were from "The Message". St. Lucy's I.D. from "Ariel". And lets not forget his star map from "Safe", which is a pre-QMx Whitefall original. "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" Haven't gotten around to painting the dinosaurs...yet...

I bought this Mateba casting a while back. It is a different model, so even with the mods it will never be exactly the same as the screen-used Wash pistol. As an example, the swing out mechanism is under the cylinder instead of in front of it.

Something I incorporated that I don't see very often are the blue lens in the block in front of the trigger guard. A LOT of work hand fitting them so that they press in. A "friend" at work asked if I was going to make them light up!

I was really worried about how the grips were going to look. My hand woodworking skills are awful and I don't know where to begin to checker the thing. The basic shape is OK, but I still have to learn checkering. As with all my projects, part of the satisfaction is doing the work to get an uncommon prop. That, and I never display the replica with a good photo of the real thing

At this point in building my Firefly/ Serenity Collection, I mostly have enough stuff; now the focus is to finish the projects I already have, and make nice displays for the whole collection. I bought a nice case for Wash's pistol. The picture above shows a start on converting it to fit my Wash display items. I ripped out the old guts and cut a new forming tray out of dense foam. I was going to make two cut-outs for the speed loaders. Actually, I still had to make the speed loaders. (And that got cut to one rather than two.)

I bought a Smith and Wesson pistol case that had the emblem embossed in the lid. So, I machined that out and made an engrave-able plate to go in its place. Inside the case is the pistol, a long out of production, fan-made Lyndono patch, and a "speed loader"; and of course, the receipt for the pistol signed by Wash himself, Alan Tudyck. Naturally, in a world where nothing ever goes according to the gorram plan, there is a story behind the Wash Mateba receipt...

One of the elements of the Firefly/ Serenity Collection are paper props. Of those, a sub-set is a desire to have all of my favorite actors from the show sign an "in-the-'verse" document in character. Because the Wash Mateba pistol is the centerpiece of the Wash display, I made up a receipt for the pistol. The "business" is Champion Outfitters of Beaumonde and Wash bought the Mateba, two speed loaders, some conventional ammo, and 50 rounds of "Three-'pete" ammo. Remember the scene in "Heart of Gold" when Wash was shooting at the bad guys in Serenity? His revolver was going, "bang-bang-bang"; apparently with each pull of the trigger. As a (not even remotely) funny story on the Wash sig; I made up a receipt for Wash's Mateba to display with the gun, dinos, etc. This was really important to me, but as things often go, my spare time went in the toilet for the two weeks leading up to Farpoint Con where Alan was appearing. It took me four days of snatching time to make the receipt, including 2-1/2 hours the morning of the Con. I missed the premier of "Trenches" (which features the work of some of the folk who are to help me with "Fool Me Twice") because I was running so late. I was still scrambling to get my stuff together for Alan to sign. For a document I had Ron Glass sign, I had a post-it note on the document with "Derrial Book" spelled on it so he wouldn't have to conjure up the spelling. (Heck, the BDM special-features called him Meriah or some such.) | The firearms receipt had a place for the sig, which I noted, and a place for initials, which I forgot. I handed it to Alan, and honest to goodness, I forgot the "h" in "Washburne! So now I'm residually pissed from missing "Trenches", I'm in disarray with my bag of Con stuff, and now I'm flustered cuz I messed up the signature. (NOTE: Alan caught the mistake and signed the full name correctly, phew.) Could it get worse, HECK yeah... Alan saw the place to initial (accepting or rejecting inclusion in the Alliance Firearms Recovery Database) and asked what I wanted. The words of brilliance that exited my mouth were something like, "Just put the initials 'H-B' in the reject box." I'm sure he was thinking, "Why would I put 'H-B' for Hoban Washburne?", but he wrote it like I asked. When he handed it back, I realized what I said.

Overall, my boys and I had a nice day, and Alan's presentation was HUGE fun, but every time I look at that receipt, it just pi$$es me off at me all over again.

My set of Wash patches, including the two incorrect ones I inadvertently picked up. The two on the left are the 2010: Space Odyssey patches that the Wash BDM Serenity patches were based on. The other four are correct.

 

[pennausamike]

The pistol itself came out really nice, which for a while there, didn't seem like a possible outcome.

I couldn't get the resin casting to clean up properly, and to my eyes, the checkering (my first attempt) looked horrendous. Happily, the stain on the real wood grips hides the awful-ness of my checkering job. I don't think I'll ever checker anything ever again, but I'm glad I did it on this replica.

I just really stink at tedious wood-working projects. The "barrel" is stainless steel, and with the other aluminum parts, gives the Wash pistol a nice heft. A little shy of realistic, but way better than a resin only replica. I weathered the pistol and the grips. The cylinder swings open, which is a nice touch, contributing the realistic look of the pistol. All-in-all, I'm satisfied with my, not-really-the-right-model-Mateba-Wash-pistol-but-close-enough-for-me, project.

The Story Behind The Display: Wash’s BDM Pistol The Source Material: Hoban Washburn is the pilot of Mal Reynolds’ Firefly spacecraft in both the series FIREFLY and the Big Damn Movie* SERENITY. Wash used weapons in FIREFLY, but didn’t really have his “own” gun until SERENITY, when he was given a modified Mateba semi-automatic revolver. During the course of the film, Jayne and River also carry Wash’s pistol. The Display Items: The Mateba is a fairly rare, real world revolver with nearly as many variations as there were pistols produced. The base gun for this replica is an anime version of the gun that was a different model Mateba. A great deal of modification was necessary to come close to the contours of the BDM Mateba. Numerous metal parts were machined to produce the two-part barrel, the hammer, front sight, grip attachment, ejector rod, and under-barrel greeblie. The real wood grip was cut from a block of wood, shaped and hand-checkered. The blue plastic lens were cut from acrylic rod and carefully fitted to press into the block in front of the triggerguard. The dummy speedloader is machined from aluminum with cut up 9mm rounds for the dummy ammo. The LYNDONO patch is a fan-made piece from shortly after the movie came out. The officially released LYNDONO patch mimics the more greenish hue of one of a couple variations seen in the film, but this patch is correct and looks nice with the dark blue pistol case lining. The receipt for the pistol is one I made and had Alan Tudyck sign “in character” at Farpoint 2009.

 

[pennausamike]

Head of Public Relations
Jayne Cobb
"Time for some thrillin' heroics"

The grenades were one of the first props I decided to build after seeing the BDM Serenity on DVD in early 2006. I wanted them to be really screen-accurate. Then I found out the spring was a much larger diameter. Eh, that was OK, mine would still light up when they were popped open. Then I found out the movie grenades counted down when they opened. Sigh..... So, my grenades sat around like this:

for about three years. But after a time, I decided I needed to wrap up all my Firefly/Serenity unfinished projects. (HaHaHa!; let’s just pause, let that sink in, review how many projects are STILL unfinished, and get a good belly-laugh over THAT thought…) So I finished the grenades that they just pop open when you twist 'em, which is still pretty cool. So:

"Boy, sure would be nice if we had some grenades, (and some knives, and a big gun, and a funny hat made by Ma Cobb,) don'tcha think?" Binky, Boo, an apple-spearing switchblade, a knife fit for the Hero of Canton, Fighting Elves (T-shirt, previous page), and a pretty cunning hat handcrafted by Ma Cobb. Yeah, and about that hat...I saw an opportunity to add to my in-character actor signatures when Adam Baldwin was due to be at the 2010 Farpoint Convention. Below is a screen cap from “The Message” of some of the shipping paperwork on the space station.

Also, a bluray screencap (courtesy of F-N-S) of the shipping clerk’s patch.

Adam canceled last minute from Farpoint, but the following summer was due to go to the Philadelphia Comic-con.

It involved a little bit of scrambling, but I finished the Zircom navigate paper for Adam's signature. I also printed out a one sheet of the Jayne prop projects I worked on so he would see that the Zircom Navigate shipping form is part of a collection. To quote my Browncoat friend Matt, who got "Jayne's" signature and took the signing pics for me:

“Mission accomplished.... he's making that face because he is channeling Jayne. As for the signature, he started by just doing an "X" because that's what he thinks Jayne might actually do. Then he went on to sign as Jayne. He stopped after the first "b" in "Cobb" because he had to figure out how to connect the second "b". After working it out on scratch paper, he finished it up. He seemed pretty tickled by the whole thing. Anyway, it's in the mail and on the way to you!”

And what Jayne collection wouldn't have Jayne T-shirts? This has to be one of the most fun pieces of Firefly swag out there, and no official license holder is jumping on this! There have been 9 Jayne shirts replicated by fans (and maybe a couple more on Cafepress) and a number of them were put out of production by the Universal C&D assault of a few years ago. I have: Top, Left to Right 1.__Yellow Troublemaker__ssdesigner 2.__Cartoon Cat and Bear__Kurtyboy (needs dyed to a light tan) 3.__TV Smoking Girl__Kurtyboy 4.__TV Blue Sun__Blue Moon 5.__Fighting Elves__Blue Sun Shirts Bottom, Left to Right 6.__Soldier__Chewbaccadoll 7.__Talking Head__ssdesigner 8.__Pin Up Girl__Lilac Trading Station 9.__Perfect Cat__Kurtyboy I'd like: the orange Dead Fish from the BDM and the TV Water (looks-like-beetle-on-the-shoulder) in olive drab. As a note, Kurtyboy's shirts were available through Cafepress and are excellent. Lilac Trading Station and Blue Sun Shirts were driven out of business by the the C&D attack of a few years ago. Blue Moon stayed up, but at reduced inventory; until they closed entirely. The licensed Blue Suns aren't screen accurate; they are the "corrected" lettering. Ssdesigner produces shirts irregularly; the yellow Troublemaker is beautiful, the Talking Head graphic is wearing off a bit on mine, (but I wear them a LOT!) The chewbaccadoll Soldier shirt is nice; they felt light when I got them but "heavied-up" after I washed them (I don't know, that's what it seemed like to me...) At the time this pic was taken, I hoped the Dead Fish and Enjoy shirts would be made next. Any official license holders listening? *cough*QMx*cough*

Well, QMx did release Jayne shirts, but at first only the ones already out there: the yellow troublemaker, fighting elves, Blue Sun and the pin-up. But with the advent of the Lootcrate Firefly Cargo crate, (and the transition of their individual contents to eBay) I got several each of the Dead Fish and Enjoy Water(symbol) shirts. I also added a couple of the TV series Troublemaker gun shirts

Jayne had some cool hats in the TV series, as well. Of course the hat knitted by Ma Cobb ("Man walks down the street in that; know he's not afraid of anything.") but Jayne actually wore five different hats.
Train Job
Jaynestown
Ariel
Safe, War Stories
The Message

I have three TYPES of Jayne hats, (my military style ear flaps hat doesn't perfectly match either the show's clasp or ring closure hats). I have the ambulance crew hat and the Ma Cobb hats, but I never latched on to the bush hat. Now I'm not sure it is even available.

Although I have a Ma Cobb Jayne hat, I don't wear it anywhere. But I DO have an EU Jayne collection addition created by my wife. She was just learning to knit, and she borrowed my Jayne hat to match the colors, and made a Jayne scarf! I love this thing! Her knitting skills have improved and she has offered to make a new, "better" Jayne scarf, but I like mine because it was such a thoughtful surprise. I wear my warm scarf all winter long.