There are a hundred chess set designs on Thingiverse, but this one called out to me. I’m not a chess player, but shouldn’t every household have a chess set?
I love the aesthetic, which according to its designer, Prot0typ1cal, is based on the artwork of Frank Frazetta’s illustrations for Edgar Rice Burrough’s 1922 classic “The Chessmen of Mars,” a volume in his “John Carter” series.
John Carter is famous (infamous?) as the worst-ever sci-fi movie, an award I’m sure could be debated. To judge for myself, I had to rent and watch it. I can see why John Carter failed at the box office. I only wish that the producers of The Phantom Menace had seen it, too, and they never would have created Jar Jar Binks.
The chess pieces have terrific detail. Not sure if the designer created the font, too, but each piece is labeled on its pedestal in a unique Martian-esque font. I was really pleased that even my cheapo printer reproduced the fine features.
This is a big print and took a month or more, printing out the components one or two each night. Each chess piece is several components that connect with a 1/4-20 screw. I ended up buying a range of lengths: 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″, and 1 1/2″ to accommodate the various heights.
Every chess set need a chess board, right? So I also printed a puzzle board for it, but I have to say that the plastic-on-plastic play is not a good feel to me. I prefer to use the wooden version.
Link to my Thingiverse Make post for the chess set.
