A review of the QMX mal pistol replica

POSTED BY: jetflair
UPDATED: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 15:12
VIEWED: 7830
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JETFLAIR

Monday, October 29, 2007 11:27 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 i

STYROFOAMGUY

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 3:12 PM

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.