Shiny…

I’m a Browncoat. Big shock.

Like so many others out there, I came into my Firefly fandom a bit too late in the game. The show had long been canceled before I found a copy of it on DVD and gave it a go.

I was immediately smitten with the overall premise behind the show’s design – that being, humanity’s expansion into the vastness of space roughly mirrored the aesthetic of the 19th-century American frontier. It was a space western … the two great tastes that go great together.

Few props on the show captured that dichotomy so purely as the pistol of Captain Malcolm Reynolds. In a futuristic system filled with energy weapons and 21st-century assault rifles, Mal’s gun bears the comfortable silhouette of a classic Western six-shooter, refined for the times.

Quantum Mechanix released a hero replica of Mal’s weapon years ago, and it sold out fairly quickly. To satisfy the needs of a demanding public, however, they saw fit to provide fans with a stunt version – The Malcolm Reynolds Metal-Plated Pistol Replica. Noticeably more affordable than its predecessor, it still kept itself out of my personal collection for some time.

Until, that is, Black Friday arrived. The discount on the QMx gun was so big that I couldn’t help myself. It just arrived today.

I was a bit skeptical when I got it out of the box. The prop is exactly as advertised: A solid chunk of polyresin plated in metal, then painted to simulate weathering. It has a decent heft to it … lighter than any real pistol I’ve ever held, but heavy enough to let you know you’re packing.

Weathered in a way that leaves an impression of being well-used, even tired, the pistol rests proudly on its acrylic risers atop a black display base. Even sitting there, static, it has personality … like a rusty, retired veteran, old and worn, comfortable with simply staying put.

But if it’s ever given cause to come out of retirement … you’d best be fleet on your feet.

The Malcomb Reynolds Stunt Pistol Replica by Quantum Mechanix