Reykjavik plastic pieces review
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Mine looks, plays, and wears great. As to the finials, don’t push so hard on them as if you were deliberately trying to break the piece.
I love mine, it is not my favorite plastic set that I own, but it is my most used. I take it almost every where. I have had it seven years or more I keep it in a home made bag that my wife made out of an old pair of my blue jeans. A draw string bag and one that is zippered that holds a blue HOS vinyl board and a Saitek clock with the pieces in the draws string bag.
The pieces are inexpensive, I don't expect them to have invisible mold lines. The paper felt has held up fine for the post part. it came off of one red queen but i gled it back on. The pieces are scuffed up a bit, but not chipped cracked or broken. I have the natural and red ones. None of the weights protrude out of the bottom but one piece, a bishop i think is a bit recessed. the piece sits flat though.
My chess club meets at a Chinese buffet. I'm not afraid to get a little sweet & sour, soy or sriracha sauce on it from time to time. It practically lives in my truck, which is why it is most used outside of home.
Maybe I'll make a video and post the link here to show it off if you want. I like it way better than the standard everyday club style. It cost less than 20 bucks I think they are a great value for the price.
Well I decided to show mine off with a video anyway. This is an unlisted you tube video. You can only view it through this link.
HOS Reykjavik II Natural & Burgundy
BigLew wrote:
Well I decided to show mine off with a video anyway. This is an unlisted you tube video. You can only view it through this link.
https://youtu.be/S4rapCG0-Eg
https://youtu.be/S4rapCG0-Eg
Great video. Thanks for posting!
I don't regret the purchase. I'm being critical because I know they could easily be manufactured much better.
Not all of my pieces wobble, but quite a few don't sit flat. A few bishops in particular.
I was going to re-felt them the other day but removing that green paper is just too much of a pain. I'll live with it.
peel off what you can, sand off the remnants, and then refelt.
Thanks ChuckVinson, it was no problem to do the video. Most of the pieces in most of my sets will not right them selves when falling from an inverted position like that. The Reykjavik plastic does. I think that is one of the coolest features. A completely useless amusement that has now bearing on chess skills or over the board play. However, it is fun to do even for fellow in his late forties like me.
That's a fun video, BigLew. What level / subject(s) do you teach?
I purchased from House of Staunton for $18 and have played with them quite a bit. Overall I'm not impressed.
1. The natural color is way too beige in my opinion. They look okay on my brown vinyl board but not on the green one.
2. The pawn collars are too prominent and sharp. They are bound to chip and they just don't look right. The original wood Reykjavik pawns don't seem to have collars this big.
3. The finials on the bishops and queens are a separate piece of plastic that looks glued on. It feels like I could pop them off with my thumb if I pushed hard enough.
4. The seams on the plastic are very noticeable and make them look cheap.
5. Perhaps my biggest gripe is the cheap felt and unevenness of some of the pieces. Some don't rest flat! They wobble! There are bumps when I run my finger on the bottom. This probably wouldn't have been noticed had they invested in decent felt instead of thin green paper.
I would not take these pieces to an outdoor venue to play blitz. It would just be a matter of time before they break. The $10 triple-weighted classic tournament pieces are a much better deal and more durable in my opinion.
It's disappointing because the Reykjavik wood set is my favorite. I think the proportions are perfect and the knights look great. HOS dropped the ball here. They had a good idea with terrible execution.