2002 Gift Set Firefly - Random Photos of the Day

 Between 1998 and 2005, there were too many Fireflies.  Hasbro repainted the mold every chance they got.  The thing is, though, most of the repaints were pretty good.  And, 20+ years later, it's nice to have a rainbow of Firefly figures to choose from.  Among all the Cobra blue, grey, black and unproduced homage Firefly figures, we also got something completely weird: the 2002 Gift Set Firefly.

There's no reason for this figure to exist.  But, I'm glad it does.  We get Firefly in a red color that isn't crimson and, really, isn't even all that Cobra.  It's bright and vibrant.  He's offset by a greyish-blue hue that's used to color in his details.  If that weren't enough, he's wearing gold boots.  But, the best part is that his head is a poo-brown mask.  If this sounds a bit ridiculous, that's because it is. 

But, somehow, this figure works.  It works because Hasbro didn't do enough offbeat stuff during the repaint era.  And, it works because, after tons of great repaints, good molds also need to exist in far out colors that are non-sensical for the character.  It gives the line some life when it everyone wanted it to be "super duper pooper scooper serious".  

I really enjoy using this figure.  He's an interesting substitute for the multitudes of Firefly figures you normally see.  If I had to rank Firefly figures, this one would be in the bottom two: maybe even the worst Firefly.  Despite that, it's a fun figure to have around, if only to brighten up a collection that may take itself too seriously.