Just got back from a long day at the 18th annual Florida eXtravanganza in Orlando, Florda. FX is always a busy con since they manage to take 10 conventions — sci-fi, comics, cards, horror, dolls and bears, anime, sports, rock ‘n’ roll, etc — and cram ‘em all into one big room. 

But the reason I went is because FX packs in the stars, and this year they had three Big Damn Heroes (or, possibly, two BDHs and a Big Damn Hottie): Adam Baldwin, Ron Glass, and Christina Hendricks. There were also a few other notables that other people seemed to find popular, like Hayden Panettiere and Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Andy Hallett and Bianca Lawson (Angel and Buffy, respectively), Colin Ferguson and Jordan Hinson (Eureka), Ray Park (Star Wars, X-Men), Lance Henriksen and Michael Biehn (Aliens), Kenny Baker (Star Wars), Feliz Silla (Star Wars, The Addams Family), the entire cast of Fanboys including Kristen Bell, Chris Marquette, Jay Baruchel, Dan Fogler, Sam Huntington, William Katt, Peter Graves, and more.

But I went for the crew, and I went to show them their dopplegangers.

Teres’ dolls went over well, I’d say. Adam played with his a bit, after being reassured that it was formerly a soldier doll and not a Barbie “since Kens aren’t very manly. Got to be manly.” Christina kept taking pictures of the little Saffron with her cell phone, and told Ron “she had to add to the boobs to make me. To a Barbie! That’s scary!” And Ron just laughed and laughed.

Lines weren’t nearly as long for the BDHs as last year — good for me, a trifle worrying otherwise — but apparently they were properly thronged Friday and today the photo ops were pretty busy. I missed a Firefly panel, apparently. There was time to chat briefly with everybody and, as usual, they seemed sincerely happy to be there and took time to talk to everybody that came out. Adam solemnly congratulated my son James on his choice of attire (Jayne hat and Little Damn Hero Jayne tee shirt). I got a straight-forward handshake until I thanked him for what he and the crew did for the Flanvention and he went all noble and modestlike and said “Just wanted to make sure they had a good time… probably a better time than they would have had, which was great.” Christina loved my “YoSaffBridge Husband’s Club” tee and wrote down where I got it so she can go get one herself (BlackMarketBeagles.com, hi Adam!) and we talked about a possible future project. And Ron was clearly delighted anybody wanted to meet him. At one point his phone rang, whereupon he bellowed to the room at large that “my phone is ringing!” I wondered aloud if he always answered the phone that way; Christina said she hoped so.

I saw the occasional celebrity here and there who looked impatient or grumpy but not our heroes. (Or most of the rest, I should say, and the people from “Heroes” and “Eureka” especially looked pleasantly stunned at the attention)

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Of all the parts of a LoveBotTM you may have desired, you may not have considered her shoes.

Well, some of you may have — we don’t judge here, at SerenityStuff – and now here’s your chance. According to the Prop Store of London, these “high heeled pink shoes are made of a clear and pink layered Perspex, the underneath of the shoes have a rubber sole with pink innersole. Size is marked as a ‘38’.”

So I signed up for MySpace mainly to be able to read Nathan and Jewel’s blogs, and now I’m at least temporarily hooked on it. I’ll be posting SerenityStuff there occasionally, so if you’re accustomed to getting all your news that way feel free to check it out. I won’t post any merchandise news there that doesn’t also appear here, so don’t worry you’ll be missing anything if you prefer to avoid it like Niska in a romantic mood. Be warned - it’s a personal page, so expect (gasp!) non-versy items to appear occasionally.

Yes, I have a non-Firefly life. I think. I had it here just a second ago…

(Link fixed to go to my profile page, and not to the annoying signup page)

If the stuff in QMx’s regular catalog wasn’t enough, now they’ve launched their eBay store where they’ll be featuring “rare and unusual prototypes, one-offs, uncut money sheet artist proofs” and more, with new stuff every week. C’mon, guys, ya gotta leave me some money…

And while we’re talking about ‘em, Andy Gore announced in their first newsletter that the Mal’s pistol replica is going to be even cooler than we thought. Real metal screws, a machined steel barrel insert, a better grade of walnut handle, and a nicer display box. Pre-order it quick, it’s never a good idea to be the only one in the room without a gun…

I know, I know. “I never married.”

But it’s been awhile since I added a new design to my CafePress shop, so…

Available on shirts, camisoles, thongs, buttons, magnets, and other sundries.

UPDATED Just heard some big news from Andy Gore at QMx about upcoming developments from our favorite replica company. First, the fan club edition of the Alliance Money Pack will be closing officially as of Jan. 31. Remember, this version (with the Miranda map and the possibility of getting the “Golden Ticket”) was a limited offer an that limit is approaching, so if you’ve been holding out now’s your chance to get rid of some of that Christmas money. The regular packs will go back on sale, minus the extras,  sometime around March. As he said,

The Browncoat community has been incredibly supportive of QMx and our first product, so we want to make sure all the Browncoats who came out in such huge numbers to support us have something truly remarkable and unique.

(You can also enter our trivia contest for this week to win a money pack)

Second, and this is huge:

QMx has commissioned Geoffrey Mandel (Serenity graphics designer) and Tim Earls (Serenity and Firefly designer) to create, for the first time ever, the definitive set of blueprints of our favorite ship, Serenity. These blueprints will be distilled from literally hundreds of set photos, detailed architectural drawings, cgi files, and pages and pages of background material from the movie and series. They will be *the* definitive resource on Serenity’s design, layout and systems. The blueprint pack will be extensive, printed on large format, high-quality stock, and will include the ship (plus variations!), the shuttles and the mule.

And, as a special bonus, we will also include an exact replica of the Serenity builder plaque on metal foil, printed directly from the original digital file.

No prices detemined yet, but they will be very limited edition of 500 copies, signed by Mr. Mandel and Earls, and they expect to start shipping Serenity Blueprints next month. The set will include 10 18” by 24” sheets (rolled), plus the CoA/autograph/background page and the builder’s plaque, with a price of probably $135 ish.

Whoo! Now we’re talking cool replicas. Cashy money, a Mal gun, a Serenity model, blueprints, and they haven’t been open six months yet. I’m liking what I’m hearing… More details as they become available.

Some interesting tidbits just popped up at the QMx blog about their proposed 20″ model:

She’ll be approximately 20? long, will feature the blue/grey deco and detailing as seen in Serenity, and will basically rule the display shelf in your home.

Best Buys’ got ‘em, for $19.99.

Shouldn’t you take them up on their generous offer?

Looking for land in Second Life? Then you’ll want to look over this prime piece of property in Burnet. Plenty of room, quiet neighbors, and formerly owned by considerate folk who kept it up nice. Firefly not included.

Yep, Washtown is for sale. But don’t worry, the virtual Browncoats there are not going away. Quite the opposite, in fact. There are still more people looking to settle down there than there are bunks to put ‘em, so the proceeds from this sale will go towards buying an island and making a Firefly-themed sim. More details after the jump.

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A few months ago I reported that Museum Replicas was offering high quality versions of some dangerous Serenity gear. And they still are, but now Things From Another World is offering them for pre-order at much better prices. Much better prices. First up, River’s set of Reaver weapons.

“The sword is amazingly well balanced and can be held and used much like a Japanese katana, while the small axe makes a perfect side arm. This set of high carbon tempered steel weapons comes complete with a full color Serenity wall plaque, which will allow you to display both of these pieces together.”

Museum Replicas’ price: $295.00. TFAW’s pre-order price: $195.99.

And the Operative’s sword, available now from MR for $165, is $131.99 at TFAW. And you wonder why I plug them so much…

This one piece, high carbon, tempered steel sword is every bit as sleek and balanced as the movie version. The wooden grip is finished with a wrapped cord for extra secure maneuvering. The sword comes complete with an adjustable leather back scabbard, with nylon straps, making it a comfortable addition for any secret operation.

Pair these up with QMx’s Mal pistol and you’ll be ready for most everything.