Rumors have been spreading, hints have been leaked, and now finally the word is out: there are new, licensed Serenity props coming from a brand new replica company, QMx.

The company was started by Stephen Dymszo, a man who has been in the prop business for 14 years. 4 1/2 of them were spent at the company he founded, Master Replicas, and if you’ve ever gone shopping for the best lightsaber replicas or just walked through a good convention dealer room, you’ve seeing their acclaimed work. In fact, if you saw Yoda’s lightsaber in the prequel movies you saw Steve’s work – a prop he reworked as a joke for a friend was seen by a designer working for LucasArts, and ultimately made it into the movies. But last year he left the company he founded to take a new direction.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you were at Dragon*Con this weekend — and, for the record, I hate you all — you got a sneak peek at the incredibly shiny new stuff from Out to the Black Outfitters. And, immediately afterwards, you bought it all because how could you not? Look at this stuff.

Custom Hawaiian shirts with Wash sayings on the front and back. A Jayne hat cellphone (or whatever) bag, for people who want the style but can’t quite bring off the hat the way he could. New Browncoat ribbon pins, including one that lights up and a keyring, and car magnets. And a Confederate-style, pre-scuffed hat with “Browncoats” on the front and “Aim to Misbehave” on the back, which I ordered as soon as I saw because I’m a weak, weak man.

This is all, of course, in addition to their already fine selection of shirts, messenger bags, and other flanny merchandise, in a sharply redesigned site. So get over there, now. Go on, git!

New from The Prop Store of London, the Operative’s bag as seen in the beginning of the movie, the one he packed papers into and pulled a sword out of (the second move being, arguably, more cool).

Black leather, with two large pockets and cardboard inside to maintain the shape. Papers and doctor-stabber not included.

You may have noticed I haven’t been updating as regularly as usual lately. But fret not; I’m not losing my obsession with Firefly. Rather, I’ve combined with my other new obsession: Second Life.

Second Life is an immersive 3D experience where you create an avatar and explore, make friends, sell stuff, buy stuff, and party a lot. Or, if you’re a Browncoat, find other Browncoats and congregate. Me being me, I set up a store to promote Firefly and Serenity related virtual merchandise. Go figure.

Read the rest of this entry »

Diamond Select Toys, the folks that brought you what few Serenity action figures we got, have just announced a new limited edition statue from the movie: River Triumphant. From their release:

Diamond Select Toys is excited to announce the latest addition to Joss Whedon’s Serenity ‘verse – this incredibly detailed statue depicting River’s triumphant victory over the savage Reavers.

Conditioned by Alliance government scientists to become the ultimate living weapon, River Tam’s destiny led her to a group of noble outlaws aboard the Firefly-class ship, Serenity.  With the help of the crew led by Captain Malcolm Reynolds, River and her brother Simon were able to uncover the insidious secrets trapped within her mind – much to the Alliance’s chagrin.

This statue, in scale with the previously released action figures, features the graceful and deadly River with weapons in hand – capturing her final battle against an army of bloodthirsty Reavers.  Sculpted by Michael Norman, this intricately-designed piece was created using digital scans from the film itself!  The River Triumphant statue will be limited to 1,000 pieces and will ship to stores in the first quarter of 2007 with a suggested retail price of $99.00.

Keep ‘em comin’, folks! Keep ‘em comin’… Check the DST article for a closeup pic.

If you haven’t been to the Firefly Store in awhile, now’s a good time to stop back in. And if you haven’t been there yet, get clicking.

Already known for a wide range of designs featuring character art and slogans, they’ve added some anime versions of the BDHs on shirts and coasters. They have different selections available to US and UK shoppers, although you can order from either one. And some of their designs are limited edition offers, with new ones coming in to replace them, so if you see a design you like you might not want to dally…

The Firefly Store contributes at least 50% of their profits to charity, so you can do your part to help out and get some nifty swag at the same time.