The pieces are large; milled iron for "black", milled copper for "white". The board is made of lighter and darker squares of rock and slate.

The attribute that keeps it from the "well-baked" pile is that the set can be manufactured with or without a protective plastic coating to keep the pieces from oxidizing. (The board itself is coated to prevent staining.)

Thus, as it sits on the porch year after year, the colours change from black to red, and copper to green.

As a further advantage, when a piece is inevitably lost it can be replaced in a couple minutes by simple duplication lathe-work.
-- FlyingToaster, Oct 06 2008

DU turns a lovely purple-plum colour when it oxidises .....

Better to make the pieces from different metals. Platinum for the King on one side, Gold on the other ..... Cadmium gives a nice red colour ..... Uranium pawns ...... [+]
-- 8th of 7, Oct 06 2008


Frozen mercury pieces, for timed games.
-- Srimech, Oct 06 2008


I like the frozen mercury. I like the whole thing!

but the implication of the lathe duplicator is that these chest pieces are simple lathe turned items. Statuary-themed pieces would be wonderful. They could be based on real statues. Or unreal statues - a king comprised only of shattered visage and two vast and trunkless legs would be in keeping with the theme of gradual dissolution and all-conquering time.
-- bungston, Oct 06 2008


Oh. I was expecting maybe Metallica.
-- normzone, Oct 06 2008


I had in mind a motif that retains the "bar of solid iron/copper" feel while tending towards a "regulation" look, all without crossing over into a dissociative modern art thing or looking crude.

For statuary a good fit would be Easter Island figures... but they'd have to be well detailed to avoid looking like "my primary school shop project" with no relation to the famous icons. § x1
-- FlyingToaster, Feb 23 2009



random, halfbakery