Oky Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) Hello, fellow adventurers! Here's my first entry for this epic contest, a Pharaoh's Quest Chess Set! The battle for the lost treasure between archeologists and mummies has begun! The battle takes place on top of a large tomb that is richly decorated with hieroglyphics. On each side, there's a treasure, and whichever faction wins, gets it! On the Adventurers side, Jake and Helena are the king and queen, while Mac and Prof. Hale serve as bishops. The knights are pilots riding ostriches and the rooks are crates of archeological equipment. Here we see Pharaoh Amset Ra and his resurrected wife leading their army of undead mummies into battle. Their Anubis guards are the bishops, the flying mummies are the knights, and cursed obelisks form the rooks. More pics in this brickshelf folder. Let me know what you think! I'm planning more PQ-themed entries, so this was only a taste of what's yet to come! And remember: "Adventure is out there!" Edited March 30, 2011 by Oky Wan Kenobi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tazmaniac Posted March 30, 2011 Great idea and well pulled off! You must have a fair bit of PQ, still not in stores here you may need to change your first pic due to the "box art" but the staff will let you know if that's an issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickdoctor Posted March 30, 2011 Lovely work, Oky! I especially like the choices of pieces, although maybe a throne for the Pharaoh (and wife) might make them stand out better. Sand dunes possibly for the same effect with Jake and Helena. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XimenaPaulina Posted March 30, 2011 Now this is something I will surely buy if this was an official set. Great choice of action theme, very nice selection of useful parts and minifigs, simply an outstanding entry overall. Impressive work once again Oky! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteFang Posted March 30, 2011 Looks real good! I am a huge fan of such big scale LEGO chess sets and this is definitely can works well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted March 30, 2011 Another AWESOME contest creation....man, voting will be hard ! Anyway, excellent work 'Oky Wan', have you played a game of chess on it yet ? Good luck and keep on searching for mummies ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skalldyr Posted March 30, 2011 Ohh yes! Thats a real D2C set. The idea is simply great and the execution even better. I hope the figures are glued....for the real LEGO Chess feeling! Well done, Oky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kris kelvin Posted March 30, 2011 Really good But I was thinking that I will be the only one who will build chess for this contest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe Posted March 30, 2011 That's a really sweet looking chess set. But i have just one question: which one is the mummy queen, or, to put it another way, "who's yr mummy?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scorpiox Posted March 30, 2011 This is great, it is of the same ilk of the Castle giant chess set with a detailed base. I would recommend building stands for the figs like in the TLC giant castle chess set. You could add transparant pieces for the flying mummies and ramps (like in the giant castle chess) for the ostriches so they can rear up. Sorry If i'm being rude but I was just suggesting ideas to improve. Wonderfull chess set Oky Wan Kenobi ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrlegoninja Posted March 30, 2011 Great job! Though just one HUGE problem. I'll let you try to guess it. Otherwise, I'll tell you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vindicare Posted March 30, 2011 Wow, good job on this one, reminds me of the bigger Castle set. But, if anyone never needed that series 5 Cleopatra mini fig to come out, it's you for this MOC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quy Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) This looks very official, and I love the assortment of minifigures here. The flying mummies as knights is a good choice, because the knight is the chess piece that is normally lifted the highest (to get over other pieces). Though it might be a little harder to play when they span 3 squares... Edited March 30, 2011 by quy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CorneliusMurdock Posted March 30, 2011 This is just awesome. I like to how the good pawns all have different faces. It would have been easy to just stick a generic smiley on them all but this gives them all a little bit of character. So when you have to sacrifice them you have to go, "Oh no, not Beard Guy!" Any guess as to how much Lego would charge for this if they were ever to make it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oky Posted March 31, 2011 Thanks everyone! You must have a fair bit of PQ, still not in stores here Actually, only 3 sets, along with some keychains and a Prof. A. Hale head. But I have a lot of the old desert Adventurers. Hopefully they'll show up Down Under soon. I especially like the choices of pieces, although maybe a throne for the Pharaoh (and wife) might make them stand out better. Sand dunes possibly for the same effect with Jake and Helena. I thought about that, but since usual regular-sized chess sets don't have thrones and because it would have made it difficult for them to hold their staffs, I decided against it. have you played a game of chess on it yet ? No, nobody I know really likes chess. I hope the figures are glued....for the real LEGO Chess feeling! Heavens no! This is great, it is of the same ilk of the Castle giant chess set with a detailed base. I would recommend building stands for the figs like in the TLC giant castle chess set. You could add transparant pieces for the flying mummies and ramps (like in the giant castle chess) for the ostriches so they can rear up. Sorry If i'm being rude but I was just suggesting ideas to improve. Thanks for your suggestions, I appreciate it, but I didn't really intend this to be like the giant chess set, more like a regular-sized one with a fancy base, so none of the things you suggested would fit on the board as it is now. Besides, why would ostriches rear up? That's a really sweet looking chess set. But i have just one question: which one is the mummy queen, or, to put it another way, "who's yr mummy?" It's the S2 Pharaoh. Great job! Though just one HUGE problem. I'll let you try to guess it. Otherwise, I'll tell you. Maybe the fact that Amset's "wife" isn't actually female? With the eyeliner and all, I thought he could pass for a woman. Not sure what else you could be referring to. But, if anyone never needed that series 5 Cleopatra mini fig to come out, it's you for this MOC. So... Are you saying it's good that I used the S2 pharaoh? I'm confused. Though it might be a little harder to play when they span 3 squares... Not really; most of the pieces can still be placed next to the flying mummies. But if the wings do get in the way, you can always just take them off. So when you have to sacrifice them you have to go, "Oh no, not Beard Guy!" Any guess as to how much Lego would charge for this if they were ever to make it? Hm, well regular-sized chess sets are normally $50, and the base is made out of approximately 240 pieces, so at 10 cents per piece, that would be... $74 USD? I bet TLC would round it up to $75 or even $80 though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ro87n Posted March 31, 2011 It's well made and done. Good job. Great job! Though just one HUGE problem. I'll let you try to guess it. Otherwise, I'll tell you. I think Mrlegoninja is reffering to a situation when the osterich and flying-mummy are standing next to eachother, which isn't possible (I guess). The wings can't stick trough the other chess piece unless you replace the flying mummy a few studs. In other words the wings could be very much in the way and especialy when both flying mummies are close next to each other. So I doubt the playability. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hewman Posted March 31, 2011 I love the game board, both the shape and the great use of colours and printed pieces. The ostriches are fantastic for the knights. The only letdown for me is the pawns of both sides, but I understand the difficulties in putting together 16 figs at a reasonable cost, sure 8 anubis figs would be great but we don't want to send you broke for a contest! I look forward to your other PQ entries, it's my favourite theme of the year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CorneliusMurdock Posted March 31, 2011 I thought the King was the pharaoh. The Amset Ra fig is across from Helena so that makes it the queen. In my opinion that makes it better because you could just say that the pharaoh has been fully revived but his wife hasn't and is still a mummy. Plus she's covered in bandages so it's not obviously a man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted March 31, 2011 Very nice, although I have to say I'd be far more impressed if it were on par with the Castle Giant Chess Set. My twin brother and I have tried designing three such chess sets (not for this contest, of course!) for the Pirates, Kingdoms, and Ninjago themes. I would feel no disappointment at all about losing to an entry based on that template! If this were to scale with the Castle Giant Chess Set, it would also allow you to fix a couple things I consider flaws with this set's design. For starters, for someone who doesn't know the characters there's no obvious distinction marking Jake and Helena as higher-ranking pieces than their two fellow explorers. Having a 4x4 base to the pieces could allow more differentiation of the pieces on a basis other than which characters they are. Likewise, there's no easy way to determine whether the living or undead Pharaoh would be the king. Some of these problems could perhaps be solved with a different choice of accessories-- while I like the two pharaohs wielding the two different egyptian scepter pieces, it's not obvious which is meant to be the more impressive. I like the design of the rooks and knights for both sides. Those pieces stand out really obviously as what they're supposed to be. The same goes for the pawns, although obviously they're not as creative as your "good guy" knights. It's also nice that you were able to incorporate both old-school Adventurers parts and modern Pharaoh's Quest parts without any major clashing. Most creative part use overall has got to be the scorpion oil lamps in the corners! I love that concept and don't remember it in any sets-- that sort of creative use of scorpions ought to be used more often in desert-themed sets. Overall, this isn't the best chess set I could envision LEGO releasing for this theme, but then again it's rare that the best a person can envision is realistic even in official sets. Good luck in the contest! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mrlegoninja Posted March 31, 2011 Maybe the fact that Amset's "wife" isn't actually female? With the eyeliner and all, I thought he could pass for a woman. Not sure what else you could be referring to. No way. That is totally minor. The problem is your setup. Look at this picture: As you can see, the bottom right hand corner is white, which is how it is supposed to be. Even in the Knight's chess set the bottom right hand corner is always white. So to sum it up, all your black spots should be white and all your white spots should be black. It may not make a difference to you, but to the chess players this could change what moves he/she'd be able to do. I'd say change it: If this was a real set, you'd want it to be accurate, wouldn't you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blondie-Wan Posted March 31, 2011 Good point! Also, I believe it's customary for the king to be the tallest piece on the board (and the queen the second tallest); therefore, the point others have expressed about putting Jake and Helena on pedestals would be good not only to help them stand out more, but to adhere to chess conventions (is that correct, Mrlegoninja?). That said... otherwise, this is truly fabulous, and I love it. I'd want this board for myself if it were an actual TLG product (of course, I'd be glad just to have all those wonderful printed elements from the old Adventurers sets ). Nicely done, Oky! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nieks Posted March 31, 2011 Great Idea! Nice Build! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tin7_creations Posted March 31, 2011 This is nice. But I would've used the lesser mummies as pawns rather than skeletons. Plus, the knights should be riding the scarab beetle! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vindicare Posted April 1, 2011 I was just saying I thought you'd rather have a proper queen(aka Cleopatra), instead of another pharaoh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-JD- Posted April 2, 2011 Ignoring the very minor error, this is a fantastic entry Oky! Simply outstanding as per usual, and I bet all those hyroglyphs must've cost a fair penny! Surely another winner. I honestly wouldn't have noticed the square mistake, and even if I did I wouldn't have cared. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
