Where are the older-style USCF plastic pieces?

The plastic chessmen that the USCF currently sells are only slightly different than the older ones. I'm looking for the older ones.

The new pieces:

The old pieces:

Pay particular attention to the differences in the queen and the bishop. Notice that in the older pieces, the queen has a knob sticking up from the crown, and that the crown is slightly smaller. The bishop is also a bit slimmer on the old pieces as well.

Does anyone notice these differences or what I'm talking about?

My Old Reliable is 40 years old now, and I can see the differences. I prefer the older design.

I have looked around some just now and haven't found a decent match for that very basic, old USCF design.

I have two sets I like, one is scratched, chipped and scarred from over 40 years of play.  a Windsor Castle Set - no longer manufactured.  the plastic was a bit brittle snd the edges would readily chip if hands were rough on them.   JBWeld works and holds and although the grey lines show - they make it a distinctive set indeed.    even kids walking by would sometimes tip a piece off and when it hit the floor it would split in half.

the other is a mint condition Windsor castle set.  I don't use it for practice at all  because people would damage it.   I still prefer my Windsor Castle set over all others.

http://www.chess.com/eq/chess+pieces/quality-club-chess-pieces-with-3-34quot-king

Looks close to me, though not in ivory. Small pic, and who knows if they are still shipping this exact design.

another point, minor but still, a point:  I do not believe that USCF designs chess pieces, they sell them.  Staunton - the primary chess piece manufacturer in USA manufactures the pieces.  

the uscf does choose which sets to market.. looking for profits from quantity of sales.

regards,

My old Cavalier Deluxe was a bit brittle too.

Of course the old USCF Special got chipped up from thousands of youthful blitz games, but that was its function, and it still is standing.

The old Dreuke Player's Choice much less chippable, and my HOS Collector seems pretty durable. Some resinous mixture I imagine.

Another good picture of the old pieces:

help! D:

Axmann:

I know EXACTLY the pieces you mean! I have several of those sets :) I know who manufacturers them, but it seems that they are no longer in style. Even WholesaleChess.com replaced them with these new ones which are worse: http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess/quality_club_chess_pieces 

They are made by the Wing Sing Plastic Factory:  http://www.wingsingchess.com/

Minimum order... 500 sets :(

There's definitely a big difference between the Club Specials that you get now and the ones you used to get!  I bought a set in the late 80s and it was the nicer kind that Axmann showed.  Got another one a few years ago, and it's definitely lower quality.  The plastic even feels less dense.

But I think even the 80s Club Specials were lower quality than the ones that came before!  They had even nicer ones in the 70s I think, when plastic sets started being common.  A while ago I played a guy in the nursing home, and his set was one of these.  It was the first time I actually got to use one, and it was fantastic!  It's hard to describe, but the pieces were a little bulkier, and there was more detail in the knights.  The plastic felt almost creamy to the touch.  And then the poor guy died, and I was never able to find out what happened to his stuff.  It probably went in a yard sale somewhere.  

Or am I totally dreaming here??  Does anyone remember if really really nice Club Specials were common in the 70s?  

This is kind of what I had in mind.  Though not as dirty!

http://picasaweb.google.com/chesspurr/PlasticSets#5618875057773737170

I have USCF catalogs through the 70s. I see nothing like the Picasa set in there. Not a Club Special, I think.

My set from 1971, typical for the time, is glossy ivory/black and was fairly nicely flocked on the bottoms. Cheaper feeling felted paper came a little later.

The first matte USCF Specials also seemed of a cheaper-feeling -looking type of plastic to me, though some years later the matte natural/black were nice, though still using felted paper of those I handled.

Post a pic? :)

I'll post some.

Here's what the USCF Club Special looked like in the early to mid 70s (maybe into the 80s). This one I got at a USCF sponsored tournament in 1971, new in a cloth bag, for $2. Considering all the games it's been through, it looks pretty good.

The pic from the 1971 catalog isn't much but I'll include it for curiosity:

Thanks for this!  Wow, they really didn't change for a long time, did they.  I got mine in '89 and it's identical.  I wonder what on earth made the powers that be decide to "improve" them.  You, me, and the OP all agree that the newer ones are worse.  

All of which doesn't help the OP at all, in trying to get hold of an older set.  All I can suggest is to hang around Ebay until one turns up.  

I also much prefer the old rook to the new one. Yeah, why change what wasn't broken in even the least way?

This is exactly what I'm looking for!!!

It's really depressing that I can't find one of these older style plastic sets... =(

Has anyone found out anything yet perhaps?

I'd really like to find some of the older pieces still.