Backyard Birds Chess Set

prusaprinters

<p>I liked <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/iggidee/designs">IggiDee</a>'s original idea, but I also had a few ideas of my own about a couple of the pieces. Having little to no sculpting talent of my own, I am very grateful for the talent and generosity of the designers whose work I have leveraged here.</p><p>With a little "cut and paste" help from 3D Builder and MeshMixer, I made the following adjustments to <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/iggidee/designs">IggiDee</a>'s original set:</p><ol><li>I added a crown to the King Fisher's head, using <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:41133">Crown Ring Size 10</a> by <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/mrplastic/designs">MrPlastic</a></li><li>I converted the Queen from a swan to a pigeon wearing a feather tiara, using <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:581185">"Two Bird Models by pmoews"</a></li><li>I created a new pawn piece by remixing the Rook piece and <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2831300">Parrot Egg</a> by <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/noahjbright15/designs">noahjbright15</a>, &nbsp;sitting the rook on the egg in a miniaturized version of <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4521671">Bird nest for Wingspan (holds eggs)</a> by <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/njeff/designs">njeff</a>.</li><li>I remixed the Bishop Bird Bishop into a Cardinal Bishop, using <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3129805">Cardinal on a branch (smoothed remake)</a> by <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/notazero/designs">notazero</a>.</li><li>I added a small crest to the head of the falcon knight piece, to echo the helmet worn by the squirrel knight piece in the <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/130012-woodland-squirrel-chess-set">"Woodland Squirrel Chess Set"</a> that I remixed and printed to play against these birds.&nbsp;</li><li>I scaled the relative heights of these pieces to my personal taste, by stretching their bases.</li><li>&nbsp;I added a hollow space into the base of each piece, into which I add BB's and Slingshot ammo for weight. The BASE pieces are for capping and sealing those holes.</li></ol><p>You may also be interested in my <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/130010-sectioned-magnetic-chessboard-box-with-chess-notat">Sectioned Magnetic Chessboard +Box, with Chess Notation Labels and 45mm Interlocking Squares</a>, which I designed to store these pieces.</p><h3>Print Settings</h3><p><strong>Printer Brand:</strong></p><p>Creality</p><p><strong>Printer:&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Ender 3</p><p><strong>Rafts:</strong></p><p>No</p><p><strong>Supports:&nbsp;</strong></p><p>Yes</p><p><strong>Resolution:</strong></p><p>0.12</p><p><strong>Infill:&nbsp;</strong></p><p>20%</p><p><strong>Filament:</strong> eSun PLA+ Bone White</p><p><br>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p>Each piece needs careful study to optimize the support. Printing at 0.12mm layer height allows printing the faces and beaks without support. Printing slowly and appropriate slicer settings may help stop the printer from knocking over the taller support structures.</p><p>Note: I have repeatedly printed the Pawn with no support, at 50mm/sec and 0.12mm layer height. The only post-processing was to sand the very tip of his beak and trim away a few wispy strings.</p><p>CAUTION: The King piece is particularly narrow at the point where the bird is standing on the base. If you print at 20% infill, you risk breaking the piece at that point as you wrestle the supports off. I recommend you print at least that part of the piece at 100% infill.</p><h3>Post-Printing (See photos)</h3><p><strong>Add BB’s to cavity. Apply superglue to discourage rattling and to affix base.</strong></p><p><strong>Glue base on, with letter to the inside.</strong></p><p><strong>Cut felt circle the size of the base and stick to 2-sided tape.</strong></p><p><strong>Tape felt to base.</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Category: Chess</p>