I can certainly do that. Turns out that I could tweak the width a little bit without getting too much of a cow look:
And here with the rest of the set. I had to also lower the base of the rook in order to maintain continuity, and while I was tinkering with it anyway I also made the inward curve of the tower more pronounced.
On a related note of chess design, I have always wondered why do bishops have a slanting cut in the 4 bishop pieces in a standard coin set.
Any info on this please?
I can certainly do that. Turns out that I could tweak the width a little bit without getting too much of a cow look:
I really like this the new version!
Tinkering with the king. Maybe I don't have to redo it completely. Shrinking the crown down a bit and tightening up some edges does help.
Experimenting with different shapes to put at the top of the piece. This one will allow it to double as a screw driver 
On a related note of chess design, I have always wondered why do bishops have a slanting cut in the 4 bishop pieces in a standard coin set.
Any info on this please?
I'm not 100% sure, but I think it is because the piece had to be made with basic wood working tools. The main shape has to be easily turned, otherwise the production becomes much too expensive. You can't do that with the shape I made, but now a days we have new production methods, such as injection molding and 3D printing.
However for a bishops hat to be recognizable, it has to be in two parts. If you cut straight down the middle, then you ruin a lot of the geometry, so in stead the designer must have chosen a compromise and made a slanted cut into the piece. After all the king and the queen are very abstract as well, so he could get away with it.
Starting to come together. Another game of "spot the differences". And please tell me what else you want changed :-)
the bishop is nice
Yeah, I liked it too
1.Pawn base looks wider than all other pieces, it should be narrower than it is, should be not wider than other pieces, prob narrower. Those pawns will feel bottom-bound and won't move well. 2. I prefer the king's crown on the second iteration of the king. I liked the king holding the cross rather than this spear point on the top of his crown. 3. I still find the bishops hands/moustaches to be distracting. Would you post the same set just with bishop's arms removed, just to indulge me?! I think with bishops arms removed and its hat a little smaller to coordinate better with the knight would be ideal.
Keep it up man.
I still think the arms should be removed, just for practicallity. Otherwise, it's looking pretty sweet!
i agree... they dont have noses, eyeglasses, or a buttox so why arms? It is really quite a nice set, i think maybe a "wire apple" shaped crown could be cool for the king, ive only ever seen a few sets with that crown but i always liked it.
the lower base on the rook and the fattened up knight are fantatstic improvements. They are great pieces. Also, it looks like you've narrowed the columns on the king and queen from earlier iterations, and I think the thinner torsos works very well. I 'hate' the screwdriver on the king's crown. :)
Havent really checked the first set but from this one:
1. pawn bases indeed look big, the neck very thin and the head quite large. This could be a matter of taste, but I would like them more if the bases where a bit smaller, the neck a bit thicker and the head a bit smaller.
2. Those arms seem a bit offstyle. It makes them cartoonish while all other pieces look normal.
3. More distinction between K and Q. I do like the little sacred thing the K is carrying
King should be taller (noticeably) than the Queen.
You should take the little dimples f the top of the pawns. Only bishops or queens have them. Maybe add some stone-work to the rooks? Like a stone design.
no
Of course it is all personal preference ... but I rather like the arms
i think the pawns look ugly; they almost look like nipples lol
If I have to be honest, yes, I think the comparison shows how your knight is a bit too "weak" right now (not terribly so i must say; it certainly looked worse from the earlier frontal views, you're right).
Probably i didn't explain myself well enough; i don't think the proportions are off, i think that the piece would probably benefit from having a shorter base and an increase in dimentions of the knight part (while mantaining the same proportions) so that the piece mantains the same height (or maybe stays a little bit shorter) , but gets a bit bulkyer. Of course is you like it as it is there is no reason to change.
I agree on your comment about the oversized king head; i would consider a radical redesign of that particular piece.
Talking about colours, i agree on the fact that brown is not a great choice. It gives a cheap (fake wood) look to a chess set,which may be fine for a solid and simple board meant for tournament play, but fot for an elegant decorative set like this one.