H. G. Muller wrote on Wed, Oct 15, 2008 10:24 AM UTC:
The pieces sold at the link you gave are indeed very suitable for 'butchering'.
Especially the 'Superior Classic' wooden Chess pieces of the larger sizes (e.g. 3 1/2').
With minimal effort, it is possible to create piece-set supplements from these for Capablanca
(middle right), Knightmate (bottom right) and Xiangqi (bottom left), and an Amazon (middle left).
The King in the center is for size comparison.
As to the economy of the operation: From a single normal Chess set ($30 if you buy them
in 4+ quantities), you can manufacture two Capablanca supplements (Chancellor, Archbishop,
and 2 Pawns), after which you are left with 2 Knight bases, 2 Bishop bodies, 4 Pawns, and
K and Q heads. The latter can be combined with the Bishop bodies, to make 'mini' Queens,
which can be used as Advisers in Xiangqi, and mini Kings, which can be Commoners for Knightmate.
Making 4 Capablanca supplements produces 2 Advisors, and a separate Chess set is needed to
provide the Rooks for making Cannons (using 2 of the 8 superfluous Pawns as bases).
Two other Pawns go on top of 2 of the 4 Knight bases left over from the Cancellor production.
These 'giant' Pawns can be used as Xiangqi Elephants.
The 4 Capabanca supplements also leave 2 mini Kings, and one of the Knights of the
third set can be put on top of another Knight base to make a Royal Knight. This completes
a Knightmate set.
An alternative would be to scrap the mini Queens, and play Xiangqi with normal Queens for
the Advisers. The set that provided the Cannon material can also provide an unmolested Queen.
The two Queen heads left over from the Capablanca sets could then be used to turn the
Knights of the third set into Amazons.
So from 3 Chess sets ($90), you woud make:
4 Capabanca supplements (Chancellor + Archbishop + 2 Panws) ($16?)
1 Xiangqi supplement (Queen + 2 Cannons + 2 Elephants) ($20)
1 Knightmate supplement (King + Royal Knight) ($10)
1 Amazon ($3)
2 mini Kings ($5 the pair)
2 spare Bishops
12 spare Pawns
Especially the 'Superior Classic' wooden Chess pieces of the larger sizes (e.g. 3 1/2').
With minimal effort, it is possible to create piece-set supplements from these for Capablanca
(middle right), Knightmate (bottom right) and Xiangqi (bottom left), and an Amazon (middle left).
The King in the center is for size comparison.
As to the economy of the operation: From a single normal Chess set ($30 if you buy them
in 4+ quantities), you can manufacture two Capablanca supplements (Chancellor, Archbishop,
and 2 Pawns), after which you are left with 2 Knight bases, 2 Bishop bodies, 4 Pawns, and
K and Q heads. The latter can be combined with the Bishop bodies, to make 'mini' Queens,
which can be used as Advisers in Xiangqi, and mini Kings, which can be Commoners for Knightmate.
Making 4 Capablanca supplements produces 2 Advisors, and a separate Chess set is needed to
provide the Rooks for making Cannons (using 2 of the 8 superfluous Pawns as bases).
Two other Pawns go on top of 2 of the 4 Knight bases left over from the Cancellor production.
These 'giant' Pawns can be used as Xiangqi Elephants.
The 4 Capabanca supplements also leave 2 mini Kings, and one of the Knights of the
third set can be put on top of another Knight base to make a Royal Knight. This completes
a Knightmate set.
An alternative would be to scrap the mini Queens, and play Xiangqi with normal Queens for
the Advisers. The set that provided the Cannon material can also provide an unmolested Queen.
The two Queen heads left over from the Capablanca sets could then be used to turn the
Knights of the third set into Amazons.
So from 3 Chess sets ($90), you woud make:
4 Capabanca supplements (Chancellor + Archbishop + 2 Panws) ($16?)
1 Xiangqi supplement (Queen + 2 Cannons + 2 Elephants) ($20)
1 Knightmate supplement (King + Royal Knight) ($10)
1 Amazon ($3)
2 mini Kings ($5 the pair)
2 spare Bishops
12 spare Pawns