Two different carvers perhaps? Personally I like the top two nose shapes as well as the belly formation.
Variations in pieces
Sort:
I got them on clearance so I was not able to do a return or exchange but I didn’t know what they really looked like until I got them.
I like the top knights, they also show being carved with effort by master carver. The lower knights are the type that you see everywhere with cheap / budget sets made by apprentice.
IMO it doesn't matter whether it was on clearance or not. If the advertised set shown on their website is not the one you get, that's just a scam. Deviation of 10% in carving I can accept as it's manual labour, but this is totally different knights. I think they should give you full refund but I'm guessing if they're willing to do that, they will insist the returning expense will be on you and that's not cheap being on the other side of the pond. Been there done that.
Sure they always use the best example when showing their product, but in this case it's totally different knights. When one is buying online and has no possibilities to look it up and close personal, like living on the other side of the world than the potential buyer can only rely on the pictures shown. Unless the seller has a disclosure printed saying something like the real product you get might be different than what you see than what you see is what you should get.
It's not uncommon a seller has an updated/new version of the set they're selling but they're just too lazy to update the pictures. When a buyer get the set and it looks different, that's not his problem/fault, it's on the seller to make this right.
haha I do, in fact my last purchase from HoS has different knights. You can look it up in my history posting about it. They said I should come back from time to time to check when they will receive a new batch they will send the replacement knights.. In fact I just checked this morning and they don't sell the set anymore. All in all, I don't have good experiences with their customer service.
And when I said about returning the set on my expense, yes I had to do that if I wanted a full refund so basically they put a knife at my throat.
Now I think about it, I had asked them to ask their manufacturer to make my replacement knights according to the old design. They refused to do that and I was already thinking for such a big powerhouse seller it should be easy for them to make this happen. The fact they won't shows their level of customer service. Now almost a year later they don't sell the set anymore and I'm wondering if I should contact them and ask what they're gonna do about it. Probably they will say they will give full refund but returning the set will be on my expense. This will not be the first time they pull that trick on me. This is just a joke.
I have three HOS Marshall sets, one ebonized, one rosewood, and one blood rosewood. The knights of any set don't match the knights of the others.Two are close but the third is considerably different. I wanted to return the blood rosewood set but they were discontinued and out of stock. I posted pictures here a few years ago but I have no idea which thread. The pictures are off on a semi-retired PC I'm too lazy to fire up right now.
Anyway, as carvers and suppliers change, it is inevitable the knights will differ. It's just a matter of how much difference a buyer can tolerate. It also seems that piece designs are being simplified to cut costs. For example: here's the current Marshall set from HOS and a picture of what is apparently an older set. Notice the hourglass shape of the stems on the older set versus the simpler tapering of the newer set. There are other design changes to the point that I don't believe the set should be called "Marshall" anymore.
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-marshall-series-chess-pieces-3-75-king.html
The older design is elegant with that curved stem and the difference in the knights are night and day. It seems indeed they went for a different cheaper manufacturer and butchered the original design by doing so. Indeed, they should give this new set different name.
I took another look at two imperfect Marshall 4.4" sets on their Imperfect page. I wonder where and when they got those sets. My knowledge of HOS offerings over the years is sparse but the Marshall set has always interested me. I don't remember it ever being made larger than 4". Does anyone know if they ever sold 4.4" Marshalls or did someone just assume 4.4" because they saw it was larger than 3.75"?
ManoloESBU wrote:
I had a similar experience with two Collector sets. I purchased one in genuine ebony and a second one in blood rosewood. The blood rosewood one was correct as you can see in the top picture but the ebony one looks quite different. Both were purchased around the same time, maybe with a couple of months difference.
That's where their 'famous' QC should come in and pick this one out.
It's funny when this kind of things are concerning indian sellers than you can bet your money certain people here would yell from the roof how this is their standard, no morals, bunch of thieves and they should go buy from HoS bla bla but when this kind of practices are coming from HoS than you'll hear nothing from them. I guess double standard as always.
TheOneCalledMichael wrote:
The older design is elegant with that curved stem and the difference in the knights are night and day. It seems indeed they went for a different cheaper manufacturer and butchered the original design by doing so. Indeed, they should give this new set different name.
It's the almost unique shape and cut of the older bishop that seems to attract me to the Marshall. It might be hard to tell from the pictures I posted how the miter has become a simpler, more oval shape.
Dec 3, 2022
0
#13
In the first picture, was this for an imperfect set, because the knight has a chunk out of its mane, and I can't imagine them using that for a promotional photo. Compared to what you got, it doesn't even look like the same type of wood, the knights are almost shaped differently from the first picture, etc. You definately got ripped off.
Here is the original photo:
Those knights look perfect. That’s the true Collector design. Now they changed the name and call it the 1849 Collector. Their knights are the correct type again. Here is a picture of a set I got recently. The ebony knight is from the new set and the padauk one is from 2015 which was very nice too. They are both from a 4” king set but the new ones are just a hair smaller.
MCH818 wrote:
ManoloESBU wrote:
I had a similar experience with two Collector sets. I purchased one in genuine ebony and a second one in blood rosewood. The blood rosewood one was correct as you can see in the top picture but the ebony one looks quite different. Both were purchased around the same time, maybe with a couple of months difference.
Were both sets the same size? I remember the 4.4” and the 4.0” looks similar to the first example in post #13. The 3.75 and 3” versions looks like the 2nd photo.
Here is the 4” Collectors II I had for a short period of time.
Yes they were both from 4” Collectors. The first picture is from a 4.4” one.
I would think that in order to know what the Collector knight should look like we must compare it to the plastic version. Being plastic they molded it into a perfect shape and there is no variation from piece to piece unlike wooden sets.
Here is an example from a late 90’s ebony Collector 4.4” king set At the time HOS was still owned by Frank Camaratta. As you can see the pieces used to be nearly perfect
Here you can see all the pieces. 
Part way down this link's page I posted pics of a boxwood/bloodwood 3.75" HoS Collector set.
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/reproduction-and-real-jaques-of-london-chess-set?page=201
There are some close-ups of the knights there but here is the whole set.
(edited because I'm an idiot)
A little while ago I purchased a set from HOS. The two pieces on top are what they showed on their website. The two on the bottom are what I actually got. As you can see they look very different. Is this common?