Paladin's Chess set 2013

I wanted a very classy chess board that I could use and display in my office, I looked everywhere but didn't find anything like what I had in mind. This is what I envisioned.

All the game pieces with exception of the Rook are Minifigs, But the board can be used with regular pieces as well and both can be stored in the board. All the minifigs are standard lego but mixed and matched to be custom; for example all the pawns legs are short legs and I gave them all armor from a collectible knight. the evil queen has Rocker hair. But in the final design my intention is for the minfigs to be custom, the owner can use any pieces he wishes and mix/match his own set. For example my black knights are from Collector Series 7, the black queen is designed from a few different minifiges and designed to look pure evil, and my white queen is custom minifig designed to look like my real life queen (my wife), To all the minifigs I have added two 1x2 plates with the single jumper stud to provide stability during play.

All the game pieces will fit in two storage trays on the side of the board. The storage trays are hinged and can close flush with the board. A second set of regular chess pieces can be stored underneath the reversible/removable board.

The board is double sided - one side is the familiar Black/White squares, and the other is regulation Blue/White squares. The board can be lifted out turned over and slid back down into place with the storage tray doors open. Both sides are smooth tiles. If desired you could build onside regulation blue and the other regulation green.

Altogether the kit (not including Minifigs) is about 1500 pieces.

Top Down View with blue side up, notice the white side is marked with a white tile on the left side. I originally intended to use handles where the white tile is but had trouble figuring out how to secure the handle so that it could be used without glue. (I wanted the project to be sturdy, stable, movable without glue)

Side View notice the smooth sloped sides and accented white stripe around the bottom and mid peak. The top hinged doors are angled just right so that they can be easily opened. They are sturdy and can easily be opened and closed without coming loose. The hinges as secured and locked with overlapping tiles.

Flip side board, blue side up. the finished project is studless except for the floor under the board and in the Play piece trays. The floor is constructed of 2 layers of overlapping large white tiles for solid construction.

Open Tray, all minifigs fit in their own side for storage or when captured during play. An extra set of regular pieces can be stored underneath the board.