Plastic, not fantastic …

you know you probably can refurbish anything given equal amounts of skill and restraint...  I admire the woodturning by the way.  

I was thinking though of lawn bowls being weighted on one side, the weight is off centre so that the bowl will curve as it runs.  Deliberately offsetting the weights in bakelite chess pieces would drive some people crazy.   

it makes perfect sense, its a kind of in-built bias that as we get older we think older things are more interesting... my tolerance of flaws depends on the thing, if its hand made then flaws are to be expected, if it is machine made then perfection is what I've paid for, and as things age I expect some signs of age to accumulate, so with chess pieces, some chips, scratches, some mis-alignment, perhaps a bit of a lean are to be expected with aged hand-made pieces, new and machine made ones though had better be good...  

I bought this large but unweighted, inexpensive plastic set a couple of years ago and haven't been able to identify it. It's just called "Jumbo Chess Set" on the front and comes with basic instructions how the pieces move on the back, but there's no identification of a manufacturer on the box. Just "Made in China" [Duh!] I only bought it because the pieces are the biggest I own (king's size is 5.3") and it only cost me 10 bucks. It came with a wafer-thin green and white chess mat.

Does any of you know which set this is and which company made/sold it?

Hey c_d - sorry I missed this. I have no idea which pieces you’re set it is based on but I think they look quite attractive! Also for weight - and this is probably a silly idea - but if they are the type of pieces that are hollow but with a green plug on the base … taking out the plug out, filling them with something like play-doh and putting the plug back on the bae might give them a nice weight!

I bought my plastic Ganine’s out for a run. It’s been a while. Absolutely awful to play with but I really love the design - ominous and futuristic. Plastic fantastic …😉

Hi all,
Apologies for the spam over recent days - I seem to be posting a lot recently and indeed… a lot of less than high-end stuff. I saw this in a thrift shop on a glass board … I didn’t take the board.
Made in Hong King who knows when … it has visible seams but alas, I suppose it does the job. Kitsch has its place … on the upside, I like the swirls through the dark pieces. Not a keeper for me but interesting to see different levels of quality through plastic pieces.

as a teenager I played with pieces much uglier (and more badly moulded) than that, I would have thought those very cool back then. These days, one day, I will bump into a Ganine set and buy it...

I saw this in a shop in Stockholm the other day. Called "Camelot" and priced at 995 SEK.

That is a much nicer set than the one I’ve picked up. 👍

These pieces were in a small wooden box I found. The most breakables, the royals, are all broken, but it may still be somebody has it and could use a spare knight or pawn, bishop or rook. Anyone have the name or could provide pix of queen and king unbroken?

Modern plastic (plastics) is (are) a fantastic material (materials). Had it been around, say, in the 16th century and if it wasn´t so cheap and readily avilable it would have garnered quite other levels of respect and appreciation than it now enjoys. The things that can be made of plastic are nothing short of miraculous and it´s possible to make every bit as beautiful objects from plastic as from, say, ivory, ebony or wood. That things made from this super material may be more durable and less costly than similar objects made of other materials doesn´t make plastic ones in any way, other in our perception, lesser.

Think if, for example, plastic had been around then but rare and expensive and a plastic set given to, say, Napoleon was still around. It would be priceless and probably a closely guarded and heavily insured museum exhibit, admired by art conossieurs and chess players alike.

Plastic chess pieces can be every bit as good and/or beautiful as pieces made of other materials. In fact they can be both (objectively) better and (subjectively) more beautiful. They are not to be scoffed at.

Making the masters and the moulds is an art in itself, I guess. But plastic sets aren't hand-turned and hand-carved. So if you enjoy the human input of irregularity you can't find it there. Also, the transience of an organic material, like in wooden chessmen, the memento mori, you won't find mirrored in your plastic pieces. (It will also feel liberating to some not to have these). Durability, affordability and availability are the arguments for plastic sets and sets reproduced in plastic that I'd spontaneously come up with, and I am sure you can add a few more.

One of my oldest sets, I got it in my teens, is handturned. One of the pawns is smaller, not much but notably, than his fifteen colleagues. I always thoght of this as a flaw but now I stand corrected. It´s the human input of irregularity and adds value to the set. I´ve heard the story about how the indians (the american variety, not the chessmen making asians) deliberatly never makes anything perfect so as not to offend their gods but when it comes to my little pawn, who I believe was made in Sweden, I´ve always thought he was turned on a monday...

I do enjoy where collecting takes me … this set is a case in point. I’m classing it as plastic fantastic. A keeper. I think it’s a set from the 50’s, and from what I read - perhaps Bakelite but I’m happy to be corrected. I went and inspected, sure I would be underwhelmed… alas not. The pieces are not as light as expected, perhaps because the plastic is quite thick. Also, they are well balanced because the bases are quite wide. This is a well designed set. The folding board and box is a welcome reminder of quality board games of yore. I’m actually very impressed…so much so, I have some pre-glued/sticky back felt and I have given the kings new shoes; I am sure they have always been barefoot. I think I might do the set - it looks even better, adds a touch of class, a modicum of extra weight to the base and takes nothing away from the history because the felt can be removed without issue. A fun little set and a welcome addition and circa 75 years old. Lovely stuff.

Plastic is a fantastic material and those pieces are fabulous. Go felt the whole set! It´s well worth it.

@hermanjohnell - done. I’m delighted. After hard day’s work and wanting to turn off - felting this set was a nice way to relax for an hr. Here ‘tis - proud as punch with new shoes on the kitchen bench.

When it rains it pours … found in a secondhand shop … but the Chad Valley above is much better … in my opinion. I purchased this for a laugh circa (USD$7) because it’s a plastic Lardy and noting I recently found my first vintage wooden Lardy - how could I pass a tournament sized plastic variant? Look closely - the white queen and black king have a lean; a plastic leaning Lardy!! 🤦‍♂️😆😉

I imagine this to be some kind of cheap chess club type set back in the day … while these pieces are in good nick - it feels like they would break or chip easily? 
While I think the Chad Valley is fantastic- I’m a plastic/bakelite kinda way … this set not so much; it feels cheap and … not fantastic. Here’s another picture of the Chad to finish on a brighter note.

The pieces of my plastic Lardy set from the 1980s have never broken or chipped. And no piece have a lean: