Star Trek Tridimensional Chess Set

[GamerMechanic81]

Found an older thread I might as well link to for more reference material.

Just finished: TOS Star Trek 3-D Chess Set

Bending and constructing the frame Test fitting the parts Aluminum disc that will become the base. The 3-D playing boards Painting the playing levels. Mating the frame to the machined based. The aftermath at my lathe machining the base parts. Making the smaller attack...

www.therpf.com

 

[Borg69]

From the original technical manual…

 

[GamerMechanic81]

No word from the one in Georgia. I'm going on a tour of the sets at the Ticonderoga NY museum armed with a revopoint miraco scanner. Hopefully Im allowed to use it.

 

[GamerMechanic81]

From the original technical manual…
View attachment 1821706

I have that book, and while it is somewhat informative for scale, it doesn't detail how the frame or base is constructed, what screws are used, thread count etc. also I know that peter gained gothic, and peter gaine classic chess pieces were used. Neither of which match the chess men in the Starfleet technical manual.

 

[feek61]

No word from the one in Georgia. I'm going on a tour of the sets at the Ticonderoga NY museum armed with a revopoint miraco scanner. Hopefully Im allowed to use it.

Sent you an PM

 

[GamerMechanic81]

My miraco failed to pick up the very reflective frame and base but I did get some detail shots of how various parts are joined together. In person it's clear that the very bottom is chromed and the frame is brushed finish. James Cawley wasn't around to answer questions about materials or construction

 

[feek61]

Steve Pielock built both chess boards for Cawley and for STC, unfortunately, he is not a member here.

 

[wtyler3]

wow this is so cool. I wanted one of these since I was a kid. I tried to make several, never really got it to look right. I had no idea the boards were parts from other sets. Once the sets came out from franklin mint I figured that was as good as I was going to get but now I can see that I can make one from the original parts. Sets already in route from ebay.

 

[GamerMechanic81]

wow this is so cool. I wanted one of these since I was a kid. I tried to make several, never really got it to look right. I had no idea the boards were parts from other sets. Once the sets came out from franklin mint I figured that was as good as I was going to get but now I can see that I can make one from the original parts. Sets already in route from ebay.

Did you find the space checkers with clear boards? What cake stand did you find? Some things about this are known, other things remain a little mysterious. Also several items are rare and hard to come by. When I get home from vacation I'll do what I can to share the 3d scan of the knight after I fill in holes, mirror it etc.

The gothic set is a lot more accessible

 

[wtyler3]

I found both the checkers and the tictack toe boards. The base, I have started a search. The curved stand parts, I was thinking it might be a food stand type thing like my wife has.

EDIT: I see a food stand is already mentioned.

 

[wtyler3]

Kinda close

 

[GamerMechanic81]

I found both the checkers and the tictack toe boards. The base, I have started a search. The curved stand parts, I was thinking it might be a food stand type thing like my wife has.

EDIT: I see a food stand is already mentioned.

Yes, I was either thinking a globe frame and base or food stand. I've scoured eBay for years trying to figure it out. Ultimately the ones on star Trek continues and new voyages were fabricated from bar stock and sheet metal or billet turned on a lathe. I keep trying to get accurate information on the type of bar stock and weather the base is solid or hollow. Most recently in a series of emails but as yet no response.

 

[alensatemybuick]

Probably the armature is going to have to be fabricated, but I thought the base is made of two different sized pot lids with the stepped part that fits into the corresponding pot cut off. And then a hand bell at the top.

A Space Checkers game with the clear boards was sold within the last month or so on Ebay for peanuts, but I missed out on it. I had my suspicions that the same game was re-listed afterwards for...macadamia nut money.

 

[wtyler3]

I got one for cheap too.

Looking at the reference pics the frame does seem to be barstock, and there are 2 screws/bolts holding the middle support. Just need to find some and figure out how to bend it correctly. Do we know the barstock dimensions?

EDIT: Been searching tea kettle lids, tea pot lids, antique pan lids and found a couple that are really really close to the shape of the base but no luck yet.

 

[wtyler3]

I got the space checkers set in today and I should have paid a bit more attention. It is not the clear version. Does anyone know what the clear version set number is?

EDIT: I found one on Etsy for 450 (whoa), it is the same version number 1350.

 

[SamCogley]

The goal, build as near flawless screen accurate prop as possible while avoiding having to buy expensive unobtainum materials such as original Ganine 1494 Classic chess pieces or clear space checkers boards.

Some hunches as follows
1. Space checkers changed from screen accurate clear plastic boards to orange very early in production, but plesentime never changed the molds used for injection molding. So in other words, if I can make a silicone rubber mold and make casts of the small boards in clear resin or polyurethane or something I might stand a chance. Also considering having the boards scanned using a very high precision 3d scanner somehow so that there's a possibility of having them made in clear material other ways.

2. Versions of checkline that have clear connecting tubes are hard to find, but I assume that it's relatively simple to buy acrylic tubing of appropriate size and cut to match the ones in checkline with a reasonable level of precision

3. The base will be something either 3d printable, or something that could be fabricated somehow without much difficulty. I could buy a tubing roller that makes hoops and try running 1/4" square bar stock through it, but I need better measurements of the original. If this was actually a kit bashed globe or astrolabe from the early 1960's I should probably buy one. If anyone has information let me know.

Challenges ahead.
1. Budget
2. I'm not sure what paint to use to tint squares red on the checkline boards.
3. Never cast anything in resin or anything before. Not sure if there will be shrinkage.
4. I live in Chicago, frustratingly far from a screen accurate Tridimensional chess set that can be used for reference.
5. Mitering metal bar stock on hoops so that the angles come out right and the boards end up level is scary.
6 I don't have any measurements of the original, just screen shots of the star fleet technical manual.
7. I can't afford a Ganine 1494 classic set, let alone find one that is for sale. Current 3d printable options are lacking. At the very least I need lots of highly detailed photos of the king, queen, knight, Bishop, rook and pawn so I can make better 3d printable models than what is currently available. I am willing to settle for the Gothic set for now, or maybe the as yet unidentified set from episode 3

As noted on the Flickr page referenced here, the Classic 1494 set of chess pieces wasn't the only Ganine set that appeared on-screen on the 3D chess board. The "Sculptured" No. 1475 Ganine chess set also appeared in several episodes. I have that set, in the "salon" size (which is what we'd be looking for here, the "tournament" size are huge and very rare), found in a thrift store in the original box for about $20. I currently have the pieces set up on a pretty generic 2D chessboard on my desk.

 

[alensatemybuick]

I got the space checkers set in today and I should have paid a bit more attention. It is not the clear version. Does anyone know what the clear version set number is?

EDIT: I found one on Etsy for 450 (whoa), it is the same version number 1350.

Yeah, you can't tell for sure based on the the box art; seems they changed to the red color early on due to an issue with stress cracking, and I guess they figured no one would be disappointed (just us Trek fans, decades later). That's the one I mentioned earlier in this thread. The original asking price was twice as much.

 

[GamerMechanic81]

As noted on the Flickr page referenced here, the Classic 1494 set of chess pieces wasn't the only Ganine set that appeared on-screen on the 3D chess board. The "Sculptured" No. 1475 Ganine chess set also appeared in several episodes. I have that set, in the "salon" size (which is what we'd be looking for here, the "tournament" size are huge and very rare), found in a thrift store in the original box for about $20. I currently have the pieces set up on a pretty generic 2D chessboard on my desk.

I found a "supurba" set of these on eBay salon size manufactured 1957. I didn't want to go more recent than 1966 for obvious reasons. These are lightly weighted and have nice felt pads underneath.

 

[GamerMechanic81]

From the original technical manual…
View attachment 1821706

So I figured just for fun I'd do some analysis on the technical manual images.

First of all the shape of the base at the bottom looks pretty close. The chessmen detailed in it are not ganine classic 1494 but are of a unique design, the attack boards are scaled such that the squares are all the same size. Checkline has 2" squares, space checkers has 1 7/16" squares, and the technical manual comes in at 2.15" squares. Technical manual specifies that attack boards are tinted red for dark squares (TOS screen used ones are untinted space checkers boards which have some textured squares in place of tinting) Technical manual specifies a gold finish for the stand and arms. Screen accurate stand is silver or chromed and all the replicas Ive seen have the curved arms in a brushed finish and the round base in a high polished mirror chrome finish. There are no joints between the middle and upper/lower arms.

Diameter of the base in the technical manual is about 10", neutral board and both defense boards are about 8.5" (.5" larger than on screen), and the attack board posts are 3.92" (almost an inch longer than on screen in tos). Attack boards are 4.31" square. Middle arm has a radius of 4.5" in the manual, Upper/lower arm has a radius of 9". Arms are about 0.5"x0.5" and since arent joined together but made of one piece would likely have been cut out of a single flat sheet of material 0.5" thick. Just like in TOS pins are used on the corners of the defending boards and neutral board for holding the attack boards in place. Corners of the neutral board and defending boards have radiused corners with a 3/16" radius just like the checkline boards. neutral board and defense boards appear to be attached to the frame with two screws each (instead of the screen accurate 1 screw each) and do not have any kind of round spacer or washer between the frame and boards. Overall height in the technical manual is 26" high from bottom of base to top of attack board as shown. There is 7.6" of clearance between the defense boards and the neutral board. Round base is about 3.88" high.

In short, the chess set as described has never existed as afar as I know. The chessmen appear to have eventually been made by Franklin Mint and included in their chess set. The manual does state that the pieces should be white and black instead of gold and silver. The Franklin mint also gives the stand a high gloss gold finish as specified in the technical manual but doesnt get the shape of the base right, and the squares are also the wrong tint. Essentially what the manual is describing could most easily be achieved by purchasing a noble collection tridemensional chess set, having the stand and base gold plated, gluing pins in the corners of the defense and neutral boards while drilling out the attack board posts somehow, and replacing the chessmen with franlkin mint ones painted white and black. Even then the noble coolection attaches their boards with one screw instead of two.

I cant help but wonder if the technical manual is the original concept for the prop which then had to be fabricate don the cheap and thus meant making changes to the design in order to make it using repurposed materials, or if the design comes from phase II development, or if it was made specifically for the book without intense scrutiny of screenshots and or perhaps the ganine chessmen were still copyrighted in 1974 when the book was published. any way you slice it, making a set accurate to whats in the manual would be an interesting exercise all its own, but it cant really be used as an accurate reference point for any screen accurate build. It does remain a good overview of how its all supposed to work and how things should line up, but adjustments will need to be made for the parts that were actually used

 

[GamerMechanic81]

My miraco failed to pick up the very reflective frame and base but I did get some detail shots of how various parts are joined together. In person it's clear that the very bottom is chromed and the frame is brushed finish. James Cawley wasn't around to answer questions about materials or construction

Based upon the photos here and measuring against the actual parts, Im pretty confident that the frame is made of 1/4" square stock. The replicas were definately brushed. Im guessing its aluminum since that might be easier to shape than steel. I loaded the picture below into photoshop and started measuring. The photo has been rescaled to show accurate dimensions at 72 dpi with the attack board posts at 3" high. There appears to be a total of 6.77"-7.25" of clearance between the defense boards and neutral boards. It appears that there may be less clearence between whites defending board and the neutral board than between blacks defending board and the neutral board. Its possible my measurements are off. If the props department were going for making the attack boards centered between the neutral and defense boards but all the pictures Ive seen do seem to show that the attack boards are a bit low of center. Overall height is about 19.8"-20" base is 7.8"-8.25" The two replicas in the photos appear to have very slight differences. Bases appear to be about 2.5" high. Also measuring pixles seems to confirm that the arms are in fact 1/4" square stock