Custom Chess Sets: Themed 3D Printed Pieces for Every Fandom

Figurative chess sets go back at least to the Lewis chessmen, carved mostly from walrus ivory in the twelfth century. What 3D printing changed is who gets to have a one-off set. A set based on your favourite game, series, city or even your company can now be designed and printed in a few weeks, in an edition of one. Here is how it works and what to think through before you order.

What "custom" can mean

Custom chess sets fall into a few types, and the type sets the amount of design work involved.

• Fandom-inspired sets. Fans love the idea of Warhammer 40K, Star Wars, The Witcher or Zelda on a chessboard, but those characters belong to their rights holders. A studio cannot sculpt or sell copies of them; the legal routes are an officially licensed model, an original set in a similar genre mood (knights, orcs, elves, robots), or your own file printed for personal use. Our Lord of the Rings chess set article looks at the idea from a fan's perspective.
• Architectural sets. Landmarks as pieces: towers as rooks, a cathedral as king. Almaty versus Astana would make a great set.
• Corporate and club sets. Pieces built around a logo, a product or a mascot, usually in brand colours, for an office or as an award.
• Abstract and modern sets. Geometric, minimalist pieces in two contrasting filaments. Fast to print and very striking in silk or marble.
• Personal sets. Family members, pets, a couple's story. These need sculpting from photos and take the most time.

Where the models come from

There are three sources, and the choice affects cost and timeline.

1. Existing designs. Marketplaces offer many original chess sets designed to print well. Fast and affordable, but the designer's licence must allow commercial printing, and a fan-made set of a franchise's characters is not covered by any designer licence. Read our post on licences and commercial use for the details.
2. Adapted designs. Original or properly licensed figures are rescaled, given matching bases and unified in style so the set looks coherent, as far as the licence allows modifications.
3. Full custom sculpting. A 3D modeller sculpts each piece from references. Necessary for personal, corporate or original sets. This is the most expensive route, but the result exists nowhere else. See I have an idea but no 3D model for how that process starts.

Design rules that keep a set playable

A themed set still needs to work as chess. We follow a few rules:

• Pieces must be identifiable by silhouette. The knight should read as a knight from across the table even if it is a wolf rider.
• Heights should follow the hierarchy: king tallest, then queen, bishops, knights, rooks, pawns.
• Bases should be round or square and consistent. A common guideline is a king's base of about 75 to 80 percent of the square's width, with other pieces scaled down from it.
• No thin, protruding parts at hand height. Swords and staffs break; keep them close to the body.
• Weighted bases if the set will be played, not just displayed.

Printing method and finish

Set type	Usual method	Typical finish
Abstract or geometric	FDM, two filaments	Raw silk, matte or marble
Detailed character figures	Resin figures, FDM board	Primed and washed, or painted
Corporate	FDM in brand colours	Raw or with painted logo
Personal sculpted	Resin	Painted

FDM is the layer-by-layer plastic method that suits simple, sturdy shapes; resin gives fine detail for faces and armour. Our FDM vs resin comparison explains when each wins. Fantasy Lab 3D uses both and often mixes them within one set.

Board options

A board can be printed in tiles, cut from wood or acrylic, or made as a themed relief: a map, a battlefield, a city plan. The simplest and most popular is a two-filament printed board in a case that also stores the pieces, which makes the whole set a single gift box.

Timeline

An abstract set from existing models can be printed in days. A character set with 32 resin figures, priming and washing takes a couple of weeks. A fully sculpted and painted set is a project of a month or more. If it is a gift with a date, tell us the date first and we will plan backwards.

Ready to order?

Send us the theme, the level of detail you want and whether the set will be played or displayed through the contact form, or DM Instagram @fantasylab3d.almaty. Pricing depends on the source of the models, the print method and the finish, and we will give you a clear quote once those are settled.