New HoS Drueke Player's Choice reproduction

Looks like HoS is coming out w/ a wooden replica of the old Drueke Players Choice plastic set. 

Looking at the piece design, I have a feeling those Knight jaws won't last long...

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/reproduction-of-the-drueke-players-choice-chess-pieces-375-king.html

Frank, I totally agree about that jaw. But at least the horses have their hair in curlers.

Compare the HOS knight to the original...

Considering the interest in the vintage Chavet set as used in the WC matches I would like to see them do that style first. But only if the knights were spot on.

Chavet might have something to say about that, Ron.

The knights? The HOS PC knights aren't in the same area code as the originals, unfortunately. The other pieces are better facsimilies.

It's an interesting set to reproduce inasmuch as there are still plenty of originals floating around. But the ubiquity of the originals should have permitted a better reproduction of that iconic knight. The knight is the heart and soul of the original Player's Choice set and the symbol of the Drueke legacy itself.

I've been hoping HOS would get around to reproducing the Drueke.  But I'm not a fan of the knight, as pictured.  The knight is arguably the most distinctive piece of the Player's Choice and I'd like to see a more faithful reproduction.  The mouth just looks wrong.

Is it me or do the bases not look as wide on the wood version?

glad to know I'm not the only one who is disappointed with the horse's mouth on that HOS set.

I was excited by the HOS Drueke reproduction. But I decided to go with the Fischer-Spassky commemorative set which had been marked down from $400 to $150. 

Now I see that HOS has sold out the Drueke repros really fast.

I guess they will be return to production. It is interesting.

I'm glad to see I'm far from being the only one disappointed in this particular reproduction job from HOS. I don't like the slight alterations to some of the pieces, but the knights have been mutilated. Some time ago, wooden Drueke reproductions were fabricated, and they looked great. I don't know what company made them, but it certainly appears they experienced very limited production. One member of the Austin Chess Club owned a set, so I got to see one up close. The only other specimen I've seen was on eBay, a couple of years ago. They wanted $1,200 for it. It would be wonderful if HOS dumped this awful design and produced Drueke pieces faithful to the originals. That's unlikely to happen, as this set seems to be selling well. Perhaps they can introduce a sequel, as they have with their Reykjavik sets. 

Totally agree. The back line, the mane, the ears, the chest carvings, the mouth--they're all wrong. Not by a little but by a lot. Rare for HOS to offer a reproduction that misses so badly. By contrast, their reproduction of the Pinney Liberty set is practically perfect in every way.

It's clearly a design decision...and a bad one at that. I would imagine that carving knights to look like an exact replica of the "Player's Choice" set might require slight modifications, but the results from HOS are completely unacceptable, in my opinion. Try again, HOS! 

I have an old wooden set like that with open jaws on the knights. Dropped, crammed in a box that just holds the pieces and 50 years later, all perfect. But that was how they made things 50 years ago.

Today? The knights should shut their mouths. They don't make anything like they used to.

You should see the Dreuke board I rescued that someone was throwing out! Didn't play chess.

I still like breaking out a tournament set now and again. Roll out that green and white "board" and feel regulation pieces in my hand (don't tourny anymore).

My advise; never buy chess equipment you don't REALLY like. Especially at the prices today.

I'm sorry, but I must disagree.

I bought this set when HoS first brought it out in December.

The first Chess club night I brought the set for a G/30, d/5 event and here are my thoughts and observations of this set:

1. I was also initially concerned about the dropped jaw on the Knights.  However when the pieces are on a board for playing, this is hardly noticeable.  And there is no concern of the lower jaws somehow breaking off easily. 

When looking at the pictures which are mostly profile shots, the dropped jaw is really noticeable, but I don't look at my set in profile, in real life, ever.

2. Another fellow actually brought his original Drueke plastic, Players Choice set.  So I had the opportunity to actually compare the pieces directly, next to each other.  While the wood pieces are slightly taller, the set still maintains a broad based and stable playability.  And the base sizes are about the same from the plastic to the wood version.

3.  My friend, Wayne, is a semi-retired picture framer and notices details quite a bit, especially in wood products.  He played one of the two games of the evening against me and he stated that this was a very nice set in both looks and to play with.

4. Yes, those with a microscopic look to each and every detail will find differences between the wood and plastic pieces, especially the Knights.  So if you want to have a set to simply look at for duplication accuracy of the wood to the plastic, don't buy this set.  However if you want a set that feels and plays like a very nice wood version of the plastic Players Choice, this is pretty much perfect.

5. I also want to note that I own another wood reproduction of a plastic set, the Ultimate.  And there are differences between those sets as well.  The carving of wood necessitates the final product be different than a molded plastic piece.  That's life.

I'm happy that you're enjoying your new set, and it's clear that quite a few players feel the same way. What people like me feel is that if this was supposed to be a reproduction of the popular old Drueke set, then the pieces, especially the knight, should've been closer to the original design. To be honest, if HOS had called this set anything other than a Drueke repro, I wouldn't be so disappointed. Interesting how that works....

Below are a couple of pictures I found online of what I consider a true Drueke reproduction set. I don't know if this is the same set I referred to in an earlier post, as I seem to recall that version featuring knight carvings that were even more faithful to the originals. Truth be told, this wood reproduction itself appears to be a reproduction of a plastic repro of the famous Drueke pieces. Nonetheless, had HOS made this exact set, I would've happily bought one.