Firefly

[Captain McCool]

That thing really is beautiful. Double gosa. Why must I be a poor Browncoat?

[William Brand]

I find myself working on so many fan projects at present that I can't help wanting to share them around. I'm also a big fan of what I like to refer to as 'The Expanding Verse', or the growing fan canon that comes with any great fandom. That said, Frank has agree to let me host the prop freebies on Firefly Props. I will be posting at least one new document, form, poster, label or other printed good every week.

Perhaps for the rest of my wholly unnatural life.

This first document is a standard form for the Declaration of Dangerous goods. The form is stamped showing an origin out of the Eavesdown Docks, but I left the signature spaces intentionally blank, so that each one can be signed by you with the intention of making them unique. I went for a bold look, with simple write-in spaces and an obvious warning color scheme. This is based on an actual export form, and I was surprised to see that a form of this kind was so simple in terms of information requirements. It is 8.5" x 14" to match the standard ship's papers size. Enjoy.

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-HAZRAD-DangerousGood.pdf

As my second offering, I've gone back to the New Kong Import/Export tags that I created for my Chinese Cooler project, and I've created six different tags for each. Now the tags have random number sets to show visits through the New Kong Customs House at different times.

The pdfs were created on 8.5" x 11" with crop marks.

Import - http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-NewKongSilver.pdf

Export - http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-NewKongGold.pdf

Customs tags as shown on the cooler.

Beaumonde Bonded Carrier and Forwarding Operations form

This was one of my first ship's papers, but it took forever to get everything just so. I wanted to create documents that reflected the cultural diversity of the Verse, beyond the all too obvious super Chinese/Anglo super culture. I love Mandarin as a language, but this form allowed me to explore a little French, so I chose to do a form out of Beaumonde. I was also lucky enough to find an actual bonded carrier form out of Canada, which already had most of the translations in English and French. Ironically, I learned that quite a bit of the French has mistakes, but I left it as is. I think the mistakes say something about governments in general

My special thanks to my wife, who typed all the French for this document, 'cause this thing is text intensive. Also a big thanks and a nod to the indomitable Whitefall for passing along some last minute information from the Atlas of the Verse, so that I could finish the instructions side of this form (specifically the names of port cities for the addresses, i.e. Bander Docks & BIC Commercial Docks).

Appréciez !

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-BeaumondeBondedCarrier.pdf

...I also dropped in a subtle reference to the 47A.

[Ransom]

Checked out the prop site. Low and behold, I discovered that I was....a project! LOL And that William is in charge.

Seriously, I had never even heard of Firefly when I joined this forum, but I think it's kinda kewl that there is a place in the Verse called Ransom.

William, I will PM you about maybe staking out some real estate. But, I'm still kinda in shock over the whole Ransom Project thing.

Also, ironically enough, Chain Shot and I had just started re-watching the entire series again. Now we're gonna have to start over and look for that dang Han's Solo bronze. LOL

[William Brand]

Keelhauler Transport and Trading Company might seem like a fly by night business at first glance, especially to the larger companies and the handful of mega-corporations in the Verse, but not so. Not only does Keelhauler thrive with its handful of old transports and seemingly remote offices, but it manages to pick up so much business that falls through the economic cracks of the Core that it excels on several fronts.

First, the Keelhauler fleet is small, so maintenance is small. Rather than maintain a large fleet of ships and shuttles in endless need of repair or replacement, Keelauler piggybacks more than 85% of its transport and trade with other cargo ships, ingoing and outgoing passenger liners and smugglers already bound for destinations favorable to shipping and receiving.

Second, Keelhauler has little to no overhead. Small runs in great quantities means big business with little storage or stock issues.

Also, the name is hard to forget. Even if one could forget such a name (with that special 'I'm sorry...what?' quality) Keelhauler itself would never let you forget it. What Keelhauler lacks in large advertising funds, it more than makes up for in the liberal distribution of cheap print goods.

Ship a box or two for Keelhauler and expect to walk away with a t-shirt or two and a handful of classic postcards (perfect for that handwritten wave from the Rim).

"Dear Ma. Our postman got ate by Reavers, but the youngin's are just fine."

Front:

Back:

pdf:

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/KeelhaulerPostcard.pdf

NOTE: These are set up as U.S. standard sized postcards for mailing. You should print these on pretty heavy cardstock, or they'll fail as actual postcards.

[Guest]

.

You should print these on pretty heavy cardstock, or they'll fail as actual postcards.

What I did for the Pyrate trading cards, is print both sides on standard cardstock, and then using Craft weight Fusable Pellon (avalible in fabric stores or in the fabric department at Wally World) to iron/glue/fuse together both the front and back. The Pellon and two layers of cardstock make the card plenty firm.

Craft Weight Fusable Pellon has a glossy side, and then paper on the other, you iron the glossy side to the cardstock, then remove the paper, exposing the other glossy side, that you then iron to the other piece of cardstock, fusing everything together.

This works well for props that need a little more weight/stifness to them, that you couldn't otherwise run through your printer.

[William Brand]

This is one I made specifically for our Can't Stop the Serenity screening back in October of last year. I was hesitant to put it up at first, as it is so specific to CSTS, but it's for a good cause and it is very Fireflyish.

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-BigDamnTakeaway.pdf

[William Brand]

This ship's paper is based on a Certificate of Origin for goods being shipped from the Central Planets. I didn't stamp or sign this one, as it's meant to be generic for any of the Central Planets. I kept the color scheme Alliance-esque with grey, black and purple. Print at 100% on 8.5" x 11".

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-CertificateOfOrigin.pdf

[Ransom]

I printed out and was looking over your Arc of the Verse. Blimey, William, I am beyond stunned. What a fantastic job! Totally beyond my mental realm how you put that together.

Oh, and for some reason, I really like the fact that there is a moon called Bob.

[William Brand]

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback.

Courage the Series! First episode comes out tonight!

http://www.bigdamncourage.com/

[blackjohn]

You know, if I ever resurrect my Firefly/Serenity roleplaying campaign, I'm shanghaiing all these pdfs to use as props in the game!

[Capt. Marcus Keys]

You beat me to it. I was thinking a thread was necessary.

I started last night rewatching the DVD's in anticipation of the film.

One of the reasons I like Jayne so much is that he's always changing. Sometimes he's incredibly perceptive other times just an idiot but always sarcastic and flippant.

I have to agree that Firefly is one of the best SF things I've ever seen. The world it exists in seems very plausable and realistic. The blending of Chinese and American cultures is usually what I see into the future.

True it was a great show. I think the guy that runs the Syfy channel is an idiot. First the kill Firefly and then Stargate SG1 and then Stargate Atlantis .

[William Brand]

I've done a collectible ticket each year that I've been involved with the Utah Browncoats' CSTS event. A few of this years' organizers asked me if I would make one available worldwide, so in keeping with my port authority ticket from last year, I've chosen another location significant to Firefly. New Burbank. For those not in the know, New Burbank is one of the cities directly connected with the manufacture of the Firefly Class Midbulk Transport. This is a passenger boarding pass for people traveling from Osiris. The document is a pdf and there are four tickets to a page. I recommend a plain white cardstock and then they can be cut down by hand or at the printer. I used the color scheme from Don McMillan's designs and borrowed some of his thematic elements to tie it to the theme, including his patch ideas as official stamps on the back. Print and enjoy.

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-CSTSBoardingPass2010.pdf

FRONT:

BACK:

[William Brand]

Here is a companion piece to the Certificate of Origin, called a Certificate of Registration. It's marks the difference between a carrier of exported goods and the actual producer/exporter of goods. Just a little more Alliance red tape.

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-CertOfRegistration.pdf

No set of ship's papers is complete without a Crew and Passenger Roster, so I had to make my own at least once. I went with a very simple red and black design. Well...simple in color. The border was a nightmare to design and build. I borrowed a little from the border of an old mining certificate, but added and added and added until I went a bit blind.

I'll go and rest my eyes now.

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-PassengerRoster.pdf

In addition to printed paper goods, I have to create logos, directional signs, labels and warning decals to be used as vinyls, stickers and paint stencils. This is one of several electrical warning labels that I've been working on. I have three others in the process, but I love skulls, so this one was the first out of the gate.

There are six different stickers to a sheet. They can be printed on sticky back paper or you can spray mount them to appropriate/inappropriate places. The crop marks are a bit tricky, but I was trying to utilize as much surface area as possible.

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-HighVoltage.pdf

A year or more back I came across a fan drawn picture of Jayne reading comics, which is a personal favorite of mine, not just because it says a lot about Jayne, but it reminds us that comics are forever. I don't care how far out into the Verse we might get. Someone is going to draw comics.

I've wanted to do some Verse comics ever since then, and with the advent of the Expanded Verse, it seemed like a good time. It also didn't hurt that I already had the TANG ad from another project and this gave me the opportunity to increase the history and scope of Tang. Tang is a super corporation that exports everything from tools to mules, and this comic shows just one more of the creature comforts they export to the Rim. Good old fashioned comics.

I finished the layout just today. Then, while looking up some old contact information, I happened to notice that Namebrand used a similar tagging for his round barcode on a can of tomatoes from a few months back. Of course I was planning on the 'direct sales barcode' all along, but now I'm wondering if I didn't add it subconsciously from John's former project, and now that I'm thinking about it, this is my not so subtle way of asking John to show the tomatoes and every other cool thing he's made this year. Nudge-nudge.

This particular comic is called Virus.

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-VirusComicCover.pdf

[Ransom]

Outstanding work, as always, William. I like the little "sparky" skull as a tattoo. Maybe on the inside of the wrist?

BTW, I had just watched Ariel and Trash last night. I love Trash. Makes me laugh.

[William Brand]

Outstanding work, as always, William. I like the little "sparky" skull as a tattoo. Maybe on the inside of the wrist?

Thank you. It's a lot of work, some of these. I wish it was...what's the word?

Profitable.

[Ransom]

Alas, I have found that word to be rather illusive when it comes to artwork of any kind. But, since being artistic is in my DNA, I keep at it anyway.

I suspect it is the same for you, especially when you are working on a labor of love.

[William Brand]

Fan films!

The Game

[Ransom]

Hadn't been to the Firefly Props site in a while. Have been catching up on the Ransom history. William, your descriptions and back history are so intense and detailed, I feel like I've actually been there. It also gave me a lot to think about, as regards the minor character of Solange, and her establishment Solar Flare Exotic Gems. I'll have to read your histories a few times before it all sinks in, but back-story for Solange has started percolating in my head.

Extremely well done, suh!

[William Brand]

Hadn't been to the Firefly Props site in a while. Have been catching up on the Ransom history. William, your descriptions and back history are so intense and detailed, I feel like I've actually been there. It also gave me a lot to think about, as regards the minor character of Solange, and her establishment Solar Flare Exotic Gems. I'll have to read your histories a few times before it all sinks in, but back-story for Solange has started percolating in my head.

Extremely well done, suh!

It can be infectious, creating a place all your own. You want to write about every little corner of it. You want to know what happened there, even if it never happened at all. I get more emails and messages about the Ransom project than any other projects. I need to get back to it.

[William Brand]

The Verse In Numbers 2.0 is complete and available for download at:

http://pics.fireflyprops.net/TVIN-2.0.pdf

[William Brand]

Chris Bourdier and I are working on the latest incarnation of the Verse in Numbers. We are currently accepting names for asteroids. If you would like to name a mine, science facility, etc in the asteroid field, please give me the name here along with you given name for credit purposes.

[William Brand]

We're coming to the close of another Can't Stop the Serenity season. If you haven't been to a charity screening in a major city around the world, you really need to get out to one. There's nothing like seeing 'Serenity' on the big screen with over a hundred fellow Browncoats and yelling lines aloud. Our Salt Lake event is just around the corner.

Brewvies2013CSTSflier.pdf

[madPete]

the screenings for Phoenix were in August. just before William turned me on to Firefly. Oh well ... Next year

mP

[William Brand]

the screenings for Phoenix were in August. just before William turned me on to Firefly. Oh well ... Next year

mP

I've actually done artwork for both events in Arizona. They have great volunteers putting on those events each year, so I plan to attend an event there one of these days.

[William Brand]

Vote today, vote every day. Vote until you go blind, but vote for this.

Revell is asking for votes on their next model offerings and 'Serenity' is one of the choices. It's been far too long in coming. We've asked for a model kit for years, so VOTE!

http://ideas.revell.de/ideas/item/35/