I definitely prefer this "natural" color to the white color. Stands out from the light squares much better. One reason I like the red color from the black pieces. Not sure I like red better, but I do like it.
House of Staunton Plastic Sets Part 1
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Hi: just read your post, I own allof he plastic house of staunton chess sets and have found the 32o/z marchell to be the best all around . not concerned with colour yes i am english! it's weight and playability that makes it a great set. the 4 inch is good but a little to heavy to transport sometimes and do not fly with it. the tsa will take the weights out or fi you protest take the set. other than that not a bad set. but for blitz and general play the 3 3/4 inch set is good. colour not withstanding.
Looks good, Crappov
Bishop ♝ looks good, Knight ♞ and Rook ♜ look like they are about the same height?
Is the Queen a little too "short" or is it the image/photo?
Collector Series photo from HOS website...
Thanks Russ, been on the HOS site,......
Post #1 looks a little different though......
Marshall Series photo from HOS website...
I beg to differ, Stauntonmaster. I own the Collector's Series and not only is it the best plastic set I own, I have had zero issues with the felts and weights, the seams are pretty much non-existent and the feel of the plastic is superior to that of my other plastic sets.
Perhaps you just had bad luck. The felts on my set are real, not paper. I couldn't ask for a better plastic set!
I believe the newer HoS plastic sets, especially the Collector's Series are the ones with the manufacturing problems. And when I say newer I'm talking about the last 3 or more years.
For many years, 1998 - 2011 or so, I only had wood sets. For the rougher play I used the HoS Liberty Series set which does wear like iron. Anyway I had friends that owned the earlier plastic versions of the HoS Collector Series sets and those are very nice.
Back in about 2012 I decided to get some plastic sets for use at my scholastic chess club. Of course we have a lot of the standard, solid plastic sets but I would bring a nicer, plastic set and allow some of the better behaving kids play on my set. I bought the nicest set I could find from a few places including The Chess House, The Chess Store, Wholesale Chess, and Legend Chess Products. I also bought 4 plastic sets from The House of Staunton, Collector's Series, Marshall Series, Zurich Series and the Hastings Series.
The Collector Series that I bought around 2012 had immediate problems with the seams and the molding. The seams were sticking out and the sides of the pieces did not line up at the seams very well. I didn't play with the set that much so I cannot comment on the felts being faulty or cheaply made.
The Marshall Series in 3.75" and natural is a nice set. The Zurich is also pretty nice. I don't care for the Hastings set design and just gave that set away, as I did the Collector's.
The Chess Store set is very nice and The Chess House and Legend Chess Products plastic set are also nice. I also have an original Ultimate plastic set that I bought from a fellow on this forum.
In all honesty, I still find myself using my wood sets. For the Blitz and Skittle play I have my trusty HoS Liberty Series Rosewood set that has some age on it but does not show any wear or tear. For my G/30 - G/60 games I use my latest purchased Noj Dubrovnik II Brown stained set. And for longer time controls I have a real rotation and collection of nicer wood sets, including 2 Ultimate wood sets, one in Rosewood and the other in Sheesham.
Literally about 2 -4 times a year I will use a plastic set and I find myself always using the plastic Ultimate and none of the other plastic sets. It looks as if I need to gift these plastic sets to people in my Chess Club.
@Eyechess, That makes sense now. My Collector's set is from the late 1990s. I love it. It's too bad quality has declined. I don't have the opportunity to play much OTB, but I set up my chess.com Daily games on various boards around the house. I'm glad you mentioned your HoS Liberty set. I have one as well in natural and red lacquer, I'll have to break it out again!
Stauntonmaster wrote:
I prefer the shape the marshall set. The Collector’s Series is made in China and I am not keen on it as there are many issues with them such as uneven seams, poor quality felts and weights that come off and out easily and also Chinese factories use low quality plastic to save money.
How come the Collectors set is made in China but the other sets are not?
Stauntonmaster wrote:
House of Staunton plastic sets are better than many others as HOS has better quality control.
This is not always true.
For instance the latest Ultimate Chess Set produced by American Chess Equipment is made in China and has very high quality control. I just ordered a set from Chessusa.com also known as Your Move Chess and Games. The set I ordered is the one that looks very much like the original Drueke Plastic set. And their quality control is excellent. And then there is The Chess House owned and run by Raphael Neff. Their quality control is also of the best. And then there are a few other companies like The Chess Store, Wholesale Chess, The Rochester Chess Center, and numerous others that have phenomenal quality control and they all put out very nice Chess sets including the plastic ones.
It was not too long ago that the Collector plastic set from The House of Staunton was very poor in quality with the seams being very visible and the parts of the pieces themselves not lining up or tightly together as they should.
So, sorry Charlie, your statement, like all the other ones you have made today on this forum are wrong to the point of being ridiculous. Nice try, though.
Stauntonmaster wrote:
Their wooden sets are also very good quality and are all DGT board enabled.
Eyechess wrote:
Stauntonmaster wrote:
House of Staunton plastic sets are better than many others as HOS has better quality control.
This is not always true.
For instance the latest Ultimate Chess Set produced by American Chess Equipment is made in China and has very high quality control. I just ordered a set from Chessusa.com also known as Your Move Chess and Games. The set I ordered is the one that looks very much like the original Drueke Plastic set. And their quality control is excellent. And then there is The Chess House owned and run by Raphael Neff. Their quality control is also of the best. And then there are a few other companies like The Chess Store, Wholesale Chess, The Rochester Chess Center, and numerous others that have phenomenal quality control and they all put out very nice Chess sets including the plastic ones.
It was not too long ago that the Collector plastic set from The House of Staunton was very poor in quality with the seams being very visible and the parts of the pieces themselves not lining up or tightly together as they should.
So, sorry Charlie, your statement, like all the other ones you have made today on this forum are wrong to the point of being ridiculous. Nice try, though.
Over a year ago, my wife decided to extend our usual Buffalo shopping jaunts with a side trip to Rochester. Obviously, this piqued my interest. I took the opportunity to visit the fine folks at the Rochester Chess Center. Nothing beats seeing the sets in person. I came away with a simple wood set, a cheap plastic set and a bag. I agree with Ron. The selection was nice and the quality was really good, even for the cheap plastic set. Alas, my wife has so far refused to repeat the trip. :-)
Stauntonmaster wrote:
DGT also makes wooden chess sets, many of which dgt board enabled.
The above post has nothing to do with the topic.
Stauntonmaster is apparently an agent trying to get people to spend their money, needlessly, at DGT.
Stauntonmaster wrote:
DGT plastic is classy, heavy and durable. House of Staunton also has a few good plastic sets. Customers can look them up on ebay.
I have seen and played with the DGT plastic chess set. It is not that heavy and it is definitely nothing more than opinion of its durability.
Also, Chessusa.com, The Chess House, Wholesale Chess, American Chess Equipment and a few others carry excellent plastic chess sets.
I ended up getting the House of Staunton black and natural Marshall set with a 3.75 inch king. Good weight to the pieces. Overall very happy
A member has asked me for photos of the 3.75 inch Collector and Marshall sets, as he is trying to decide between the two. I've decided to post them here. I apologize for my poor photography skills. First, the Collector: