The Last Post

The previous post here was put up nearly 14 years ago, November 7, 2010.  At that time I had just finished the final video of the final chess set and was eager to show it off.

I had also only recently added a couple of rambunctious, lovable cats to my life, so displaying the chess sets in my house would take some thought.

Actually, it turned out to be impractical.  I was simply too worried that one of my little darlings would take a liking to a chess piece or two and turn 4 years of work into shards of glass, plastic, metal and tears.

So for the whole time they were with me, the cats kept my custom chess sets in a box, literally.  The pieces were boxed up in my spare room until just recently.

Now that both cats have left this earthly plane, the idea of displaying these sets and putting all the work they represent front and centre has slowly worked its spell on me.  A dozen ideas, all of which turned out to be impractical or insanely expensive or both, came and went.  I finally settled on some nice, simple, if a little unusual, bookcases from a big box store.

Not being custom, I found that my display solution seemed a little too...open.  I've added a couple of flourishes to fill the space and I think the result is very appealing.  Plus, I got to display the dragons I've painted, my souvenir chess set from Egypt, a nice glass set I've had for years and a few knick-knacks as well.

 

While I would like a custom solution, this does the job.

So at long, long last, I close the book on this blog with this post.  The sets are done, they are finally on display and I can say the project is truly complete.

Feel free to scroll down and see the project as it went from idea to fruition over almost 4 years before sitting idle for a decade and a half in my guest room.

The Custom Marvel Chess Set

And that, as they say, is that.

Almost.

I've begun collecting pieces for a Star Trek set (why I never thought of that before is a total mystery!) and the additional pieces necessary to create several more Star Wars sets. If anyone is interested, I may even be able to make up sets that reflect A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, rather than a more generic Star Wars set as I've already created. I have a few other projects on the go at the moment, so I'm in no rush to start another Star Wars set at the moment, but if there was interest, I'd drop everything else for a custom order.

Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoyed following the project as much as I enjoyed doing it!

YouTube is being a pain and I'll have to do an audioswap. Grr.

If you'd like to view the vid with proper music, download it by clicking here.

The Very Last Pieces...

On a rare (like hen's teeth rare) Saturday off from work, I managed to catch my professional etcher in his shop and pick up the last glass jars for my chess set. What follows are pix of the VERY LAST figures to be permanently encased in their jars. The set is now complete, meaning the project is now almost officially over. All that remains is to cobble together a quick video of the Marvel set in all its glory and that's that!

Without further blathering from me, here are the Marvel Pawns, completed.

The Mole Man. Sharp eyed observers will note that he's now carrying his trademark power wand, thanks to some "green stuff" and a length of phone wire.



Venom



The Green Goblin



Electro



Ultron



The Vulture



Mysterio



The Silver Samurai. Sharp eyed (well, pretty much everybody) observers will note that S.S. is missing his sword arm. The glue that I used let go and he needed some surgery to fix it. I actually had to shorten the sword too, so it would fit in the jar.



Scarlet Witch



Colossus



Captain America



The Submariner



Nightcrawler



Hawkeye



Wolverine. Sharp eyed observers will note that Logan now sports some fetching claws thanks to some tiny pieces of braided phone wire and a lot of patience.



Dr. Strange. He was the final figure painted and now he's the final figure to be put under glass.



And that's it folks! Look for the last of three videos coming soon.

The Custom DC Comics Chess Set

Custom Star Wars Chess Set

Almost Done Part III

And finally part III of my epic day. Phew!

Marvel black Knights. The Scorpion



Dr. Octopus



DC black Knights. Sinestro



The Joker



Star Wars black Knights. Boba Fett



Greedo



Marvel white Bishops. Thor. Note the slight change of pose. Same trouble as Iron Man.



The Human Torch



DC white Bishops. Superman



Dr. Fate



Star Wars white Knights. Luke Skywalker



Obi-Wan Kenobi



Star Wars black Bishops. Captain Needa



Grand Moff Tarkin



DC black Bishops. Darkseid



Mordru



Marvel black Bishops. Dr. Doom



Magneto



DC white Queen. Wonder Woman



DC white King. Martian Manhunter



Marvel white Queen. Jean Grey aka The Phoenix



Marvel white King. Professor Charles Xavier



Star Wars white Queen. Princess Leia Organa



Star Wars white King. Yoda



Star Wars black Queen (but don't call him a queen to his face). Darth Vader



Star Wars black King. Emperor Palpatine



Marvel black King. The Kingpin



Marvel black Queen. Mystique



DC black Queen. The Emerald Empress



DC black King. Lex Luthor



And that's it. At least until I get a chance to make a hobby store run for the last supplies for the project. My next post will hopefully be a video of the whole set on their boards, on display. Stay tuned!