I put this picture first because I love the way it turned out.Who knew I could take a decent picture?
First of all, Thanks go to Jess of CSN stores for allowing me to review this product.
This is the picture located on their site.
Features:
•Includes medieval themed chess pieces made from faux soapstone
•Black and multi-colored art squares
•Folds for easy storage
•Handles for easy transport
•Drawers to store chess pieces
•Medieval themed chess pieces made from imitation soapstone
•King height is 2.25"
List Price:$94.21
You Save:$42.22 (45%)
Sale Price:$51.99
Shipping:Free
Total Price:(1 item)$51.99
The pictures below are what it looked like directly out of the small box it was sent in. As you can see the bottom of the chess set( 2nd picture) looks like it is a small piece of plywood ( not very sturdy). The sides of the chess board feel like real wood and was really what I was expecting for the entire chess set to be made of.
This picture is of the handles. The only issue I had with the handles is that the screws that attached them to the chess board weren't completely screwed in.
I like the way the chess board looks laid out like this. With the chessboard sitting on a flat surface we noticed that the 2 halves of the board itself are not flush. One side bows a little when open and doesn't completely touch when you close the board.
I do like the designs that are carved on the sides of the board. 2 corners appear to be phoenixes and the other 2 sides are dragons. They are very nicely done. You can also see what the board itself looks like. The tiles are very nicely carved in an Asian theme. The tiles themselves make it hard to move the pieces over the board. The carving in the white tiles as well as the edges of many of the tiles make it very hard to play without picking each piece up completely from the board.
This picture shows how nicely packaged the drawers were. The pieces were set in styrofoam and then wrapped in celophane before being placed in the drawers. I am not sure if you can see it but the red part in the 2nd picture. When I placed all of the pieces in it at the first piece on the second row it tore.
I do so love the way the board looks all set up this way, although not being a chess player, I am not entirely sure that I set it up correctly.
Close-up pictures of the pieces are below.
The pictures below are some more of the pieces. Looking at the pieces side by side I must say that my husband and I prefer the dark wood pieces. They were heavier and I could see the details better in them. The green pieces were very light and almost had a plastic feel to them. I really wish that all of the pieces had been the dark wood.
I am not totally sure that you can see it clearly in the picture below but a couple of the pieces has something dark smeared on them, almost as if the stain used from the wood pieces had gotten on them. Not sure what it is but I am sure that it takes away from the beauty that could have been with these pieces. I even tried to clean it off, but had no luck. Some of the faux soapstone pieces also appear to be glued together. Now this wouldn't normally bother me but if you're going to glue pieces together that should at least look whole, to the naked eye.
One thing I did notice as I was taking the pieces out of the packaging is the darker pieces appear to have been put into the styrofoam not completely dry. The styrofoam as well as the celophane covering it was stained.
Is it bad to say that with all of the above considered, we both wish that this had been the set we picked to review.?
On the whole I hate to give the product this rating but since I wanted it to be something nice my husband and I could share, I have to be honest to a fault. My ratings are out of 5 stars and here is the breakdown:
+1 star awesome customer service/ shipping is tracked so I know where it is most of the time
+1 star because I love the designs etched into the side as well as the heavy dark wood that half of the pieces were made of.
-1 because the different parts of it were not flush and would make it hard when you were playing
-1 because the soapstone pieces seemed to be glued together in half of the pieces
-1 because the whole board was not made of good wood. If you're going to make a wood chess
board you should use a decent kind of wood for the ENTIRE board. For the cost of this board, I think the quality should have been better.
Overall although from a picture it looks like a nice chess set, in reality it looks like a chess set put together in a hurry.
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I am sorry to say that this is the first time that I have been disappointed in what I received from CSN stores. While this won't stop me from purchasing something from them it will make me look more closely at what I am purchasing in the future.
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2 of 5 stars
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-Breia-
This product was given to me strictly for review by CSN stores. That did not obligate me to give a good review, only an honest one.
Looking at the photos doesn't do these wonderful journals justice. The leather is so soft to the touch.
Book 1 in the Blood Singer Series
