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Are there any modern plastic reproductions of Soviet sets?

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WandelKoningin

I know there are plenty vintage Soviet sets, but I believe most of them aren’t heavily weighted. Are there any modern Russian sets in plastic? I’m not finding any…

I can’t be the only one who would appreciate a triple-weighted plastic Baku set, right?

Or a heavily weighted plastic Botvinnik–Flohr I.

Or a plastic Botvinnik–Flohr II…

Or what about a plastic Dubrovnik? House of Staunton offers a plastic Zagreb, but why not a plastic 1950s Dubrovnik?

Or with the increased popularity of Mordovian sets (of ethically questionable provenance considering they were made in Gulags), why not produce a plastic version?

Heck, why not a cute little Valdai (Nobles) as an analysis set?

Or an Averbakh? A Smyslov? An Egyptian? A Tal set? A Ferocious knight (Kultsport) set in plastic would be wild!

Am I the only one who would get a kick out of some plastic Soviet reproductions? Doesn’t this constitute a gap in the market? I’m so confused why it hasn’t been done yet.

mjeman

"hasn't been done yet"

Here's my guess. Commercial molds are expensive and the market for non-Staunton plastic sets is likely limited.

I stumbled across someone's page recently on a STL sharing site where he had STLs of many historical chess set designs. 3-D printing (possibly from a service) a historic design may be a more approachable alternative if you want a plastic Soviet design. If I can find the page again, I'll add a link. If he doesn't have an STL yet, maybe he'd be interested in a commission.

mjeman

https://www.printables.com/@JeffBurton/models

Coincidentally, he also has an STL for the Man Ray design that I printed for my avatar. I modeled mine from the same drawing.

FWIW, I came across Burton's site following references to the da Vinci pieces.

Yenster1

Not a Soviet reproduction, but this does seem to be a modern Soviet inspired set. This Ecliptic set by Prevision is actually on sale now for 20 bucks.

ungewichtet

Plastic pieces are usually taken for everyday, everywhere play, and for fast play. Why would you want plastic versions of these legendary pieces that were historically played in wood? For my guts, that would be all misled. It's just as absurd as having plastic Fischer pieces, only that we are used to that faux pas. It is kind of funny, because they may be the first to commit it, it's original happy.png