Star Wars chess set - MOC

[Grolim]

It looks like the 1 stud for the connection is recessed - deeper than the board. Is there a reason for this? Wouldn't that mean the the figures wouldn't stand well aside from the board?

​Yep, only a few black ones in there so far.  the rest are still coming.

​Did you already consider making a board similiar to the pirates one? Where you can open up the board and store the minifigures inside and store the board easier as well?

Personally I'd go for that design, since it seems to be more practical. It probably would only mean minor changes to the board you already created.

Yep I did consider that.  I like that design as a chess board more.  It makes very playable.  Ultimately I decided against it for 2 reasons, firstly that my limited design skills are already stretched making a basic square  without adding the complexity of under-board storage, but mainly because​ I'm doing it as a way to display the minifigs I like.  So it will hardly ever get played with.  Unfortunately I'm the only one in my family that plays chess as well.  I might set it up in different positions every now and then, but just to amuse myself, so the pieces will never really need to be stored away.

 

​Well, if you plan to put the missing 1x1s in the 'holes' - why is the board that high? I mean, why not putting the 2x2 and 1x2  tiles directly on the base plate?

Aha! Yes why indeed?  I want to build some sort of decoration around the edges in the future.  Thinking at this stage is something along the lines of hoth style or X-wing "greebling" for half the board and SSD greebling for the other half, maybe with a few mini x-wings, TIEs, snowspeeders, AT-ATs etc around the the place or in corners.  
I also just like the height, it makes it feel 'solid'. ​

 

Also, I could imagine that the 1x1 might get stuck to the minifigure and not the board when you move the pieces. I didn't find a good replacement piece, but if you would be willing to redesign the board to have either 4x4 or 6x6 fields, you could use something like this for attaching the game pieces with just one stud, using a piece that most likely sticks to the ground much more than to the figure:

​Yeah I was wondering if the tile would come loose as well.  Testing so far is that it doesn't seem to.  The grip on the minifigs is less than the board.  Also as above I won't be using it as a play board often if at all, so it won't be a big factor.

My early design did have that 2x2 jumper in the middle, but yeah then a 4 square or 6 square configuration would be needed.  4 is too small I reckon, and 6 would make it more costly and be too big on display for my liking.

 

Thanks for the constructive feedback people  I just had a smile on my dial as I unpacked 8 new Stormtroopers!

 

Edited June 6, 2015 by Grolim

[10230]

Another thought: with a 5x5 field, wouldn't minifigs have to stand off-center? Not that it wouldn't be a big problem with a field that large.

[Grolim]

Yeah it would.  I talked about that on the previous page.

[Grolim]

Update:

My parts came in.  The black 1x1s are in.  Unfortunately the white 1x1s were quite yellow and discolored.  My fault as I ordered used ones as an add on to another order as that's all the seller had.  Only about 6 of them were usable.  I usually only go for new condition white parts and this has taught me to stick to that rule.  So I'll have to source a few more.

Dark side looking good.  Just Boba and Maul to come.  I also have weapons to come, lightsabers and blasters etc.

 

Light side looking a little sparse so far.

 

[TheOrcKing]

Nice board. I remember someone pointing out how the characters will stand off-centered with that layout so I came up with a quick three piece stand which will center each minifigure below. It does mean more parts needed in the end but figured I would lay it out for ya to consider. Plus I was bored. Ha. I can think of a different way where you would not need this stand and place the characters on there directly centered but it would mean changing each square's setup. (The red used just made the stand's parts easier to spot.)

Edited June 10, 2015 by TheOrcKing

[Locutus001]

Nice board. I remember someone pointing out how the characters will stand off-centered with that layout so I came up with a quick three piece stand which will center each minifigure below. It does mean more parts needed in the end but figured I would lay it out for ya to consider. Plus I was bored. Ha. I can think of a different way where you would not need this stand and place the characters on there directly centered but it would mean changing each square's setup. (The red used just made the stand's parts easier to spot.)
 

​won't they just come off too easily if you take the minifigure up again?

But still these might be nice if you do NOT attach them on the board but rather just use them to stabilize the minifigs on a smooth board.

[Grolim]

Nice board. I remember someone pointing out how the characters will stand off-centered with that layout so I came up with a quick three piece stand which will center each minifigure below. It does mean more parts needed in the end but figured I would lay it out for ya to consider. Plus I was bored. Ha. I can think of a different way where you would not need this stand and place the characters on there directly centered but it would mean changing each square's setup. (The red used just made the stand's parts easier to spot.)
 

pic

​Thanks Orc.  Yeah that's something I considered doing.  It would mean I'd need a 4x4 or 6x6 square though (unless I'm missing something obvious?).  Decided on the 5x5 as that gave me the best trade off of size vs cost vs display space.

[TheOrcKing]

​Thanks Orc.  Yeah that's something I considered doing.  It would mean I'd need a 4x4 or 6x6 square though (unless I'm missing something obvious?).  Decided on the 5x5 as that gave me the best trade off of size vs cost vs display space.

​The quick stand I threw together uses a 2x2 plate which has an open single stud in the middle of the bottom ergo it could be centrally placed on top of the single stud in your setup. Now the two 1x2 jumper plates on top of that square plate allows a minifigure to be placed center atop the base that sits centered in the board square. Hold on, I will throw together a speed shot. Okay your setup and my figure stand would look like this.

And here is where the open stud on the bottom of the minifigure's 2x2 plate for a base comes in.

Badabing, dead center all the way around without altering the board at all. Plus you can make the three pieces used in the base to match the color of the playing side (white or black). Only thing I can think of is it might be better when playing the game to pick up the character piece at the base but being held on by a single stud should give enough clutch just to stay on the board yet loose for moving across the squares. I can think of a couple fancier ways of making the base but doing so would extend its size to a 4x4 area. A 2x2 block instead of the plate will make the character stand higher which may be good for the King & Queen game pieces.

[Grolim]

Now there you go!  Thanks Orc, such an elegant solution!  I may very well do it.  I'll get it all setup first and see how I feel.  R2D2 and the Droideka don't attach anyway so was thinking of some sort of base for them.

[Grolim]

Update:

All figs are in and weapons.  Have also started some type of "greebling" around the sides, not sure if I like it yet - please be brutally honest with feedback

I might also have a rethink on the Droideka - I don't like that he doesn't attach to the stud on the board square, as he falls off every time I move the board.  Was thinking of moving Boba to be the Rook and adding another Royal Guard in his spot.

Will also have a play with Orc's idea above for a small stand so they are centered.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2015 by Grolim

[Locutus001]

The board as such looks okay/good but some more design would be great.

 

I like the minifigs, but the fact that everthing but the pawns are totalle different characters is a minus for me.

Of course you might remember in time what is supposed to be what but it would make more sense to chose the same/similiar minifigs for the same position as it gets confusion over a game of chess if you suddenly cannot remember who is the knight and who is the rook.

Also according to their actual "power" it seems a little bit off that C3PO for example is a rook.

 

All in all it's still nice and YOU have to like the concept of who is representing what, not me, so I guess that's allright! ^.^

 

Would have been cool if you added some minibuilds on the sides.

[TheOrcKing]

please be brutally honest with feedback

"Please be brutal". Never thought I would hear a friend say that to me. Ha. ...Anywho, I do like how the main playfield has turned out and can see where you are going with all the side detail around the rim. I think the surrounding three-stud border should at least be tiled to completely smooth everything out nicely (maybe using white or black to further signify each half). I would agree with Locutus001 about "playing piece confusion" as other than the pawns, I can't really tell visually at a glance who is what aside from where they sit right now on the board in their starting positions. I understand the duo layout like Chewbacca with Han or C-3PO with R2-D2 though but right now the whole scene is confusing. Also slave Leia beside Luke is a little ...."not right". I mean being brother & sister, she should probably wear something warmer if you get my drift.

Well since we are on the subject of Star Wars & chess (plus I just remembered), did anyone else play the Star Wars Chess game for PC and Sega-CD back in the day?

[Grolim]

The board as such looks okay/good but some more design would be great.

 

I like the minifigs, but the fact that everthing but the pawns are totalle different characters is a minus for me.

Of course you might remember in time what is supposed to be what but it would make more sense to chose the same/similiar minifigs for the same position as it gets confusion over a game of chess if you suddenly cannot remember who is the knight and who is the rook.

Also according to their actual "power" it seems a little bit off that C3PO for example is a rook.

 

All in all it's still nice and YOU have to like the concept of who is representing what, not me, so I guess that's allright! ^.^

 

Would have been cool if you added some minibuilds on the sides.

"Please be brutal". Never thought I would hear a friend say that to me. Ha. ...Anywho, I do like how the main playfield has turned out and can see where you are going with all the side detail around the rim. I think the surrounding three-stud border should at least be tiled to completely smooth everything out nicely (maybe using white or black to further signify each half). I would agree with Locutus001 about "playing piece confusion" as other than the pawns, I can't really tell visually at a glance who is what aside from where they sit right now on the board in their starting positions. I understand the duo layout like Chewbacca with Han or C-3PO with R2-D2 though but right now the whole scene is confusing. Also slave Leia beside Luke is a little ...."not right". I mean being brother & sister, she should probably wear something warmer if you get my drift.

Well since we are on the subject of Star Wars & chess (plus I just remembered), did anyone else play the Star Wars Chess game for PC and Sega-CD back in the day?

Thanks guys.

Yeah the piece confusion is something I have thought of as well.  I had to weigh that up between having say 2 Yoda's - well to me there isn't 2 Yoda's, so I have to stick with one of each character where they are a unique character in the SW Universe.  Plus mainly because I won't be using it to play (no friends or family that play chess) it's more of a display piece to just show my minifigs.

The edging is still a work in progress, I have a few other builds to do but will come back to finish it off.  I kinda think it looks a bit busy with too much color or something, I haven't quite got the greebling effect I was wanting.  I have had big lot of parts come in now so I can expand the options there a bit.  I was going to extend the greebling out 2 studs and have the very edge tiled.  I had also thought of mini-builds like a snowspeeder, X-Wing, TIE, in the corners or perhaps on the middle edge where those white technic bricks are sticking up, but haven't decided yet.

And yeah, I expected slave Leia to be a controversial choice, but she's the best Leia to me

I do remember SW Chess!  Cheers for the nostalgia trip!

 

[TheOrcKing]

The edging is still a work in progress, I have a few other builds to do but will come back to finish it off.  I kinda think it looks a bit busy with too much color or something, I haven't quite got the greebling effect I was wanting.  I have had big lot of parts come in now so I can expand the options there a bit.  I was going to extend the greebling out 2 studs and have the very edge tiled.  I had also thought of mini-builds like a snowspeeder, X-Wing, TIE, in the corners or perhaps on the middle edge where those white technic bricks are sticking up, but haven't decided yet.

The mini-builds from all the Star Wars Advent Calendars might be a good place to start for ideas of little spacecraft to line up the board. Shoot, they could be having their own battles fighting while you do.

Yeah the piece confusion is something I have thought of as well.  I had to weigh that up between having say 2 Yoda's - well to me there isn't 2 Yoda's, so I have to stick with one of each character where they are a unique character in the SW Universe.  Plus mainly because I won't be using it to play (no friends or family that play chess) it's more of a display piece to just show my minifigs.

That makes sense. Well if you do go with some type of base stand for each player piece, perhaps a slight variance of detail in the stand itself could be done to help signify the rooks for example from the rest. The stand idea I had was meant to be very simplistic (and cheap to Bricklink if you had to). It should be easy to dress up real fancy for display in a number of ways if anything to differentiate between the pawns, rooks, bishops, knights, and royalty (kings & queens).

I do remember SW Chess!  Cheers for the nostalgia trip!

Funny how that was the one time the Stormtrooper could actually shoot something and multiple times at that!