Local artist producing TMNT chess boards and pieces

[aramconbrat]

I have put my order in... He is an amazing artist.... And each set (usually black and white) are either the good or the bad guys...

The pawns of the bad guy set were mousers, while the pawns of the good guys were different versions of the ninja turtles. I believe Shredder was the king of the "black" pieces and Splinter was the king of the "white". Casey, Hun, April, Leatherhead, etc also make an appearance. And he made more pieces than necessary... I put in an order today to get one.

Each piece is sculpted by him before they make multiples and he hand paints them. It was by far one of the most impressive TMNT things I have ever seen. It isn't cheap (over $100), but I had to put an order in. He says he expects to sell between 20-40 sets at most. But for small little chess pieces, they are amazingly accurate to the show and detailed far beyond what Playmates gives us.

I'll submit pics when I get my set (it is due in two months) as the artist prefered I didn't take photos of his display. They might appear in the paper though so I will scan it if this chess board shows up... He has about a dozen different chess boards, a bunch of sculptures, etc but this was the only turtle item! Very cool..

[Jed]

Aw man, that'd be so cool to get, do you think they'll still be available next summer? Can't wait to see pics though, these sound so cool!:D

[aramconbrat]

I am purely into the figures, but picking up these chess pieces and seeing the amazing accuracy and detail, I knew I had to splurge for Xmas.

I talked to the artist a bit (really nice guy) and the main reason he doesn't have a website for this kind of stuff is because he doesn't officially have license to be producing and selling copyrighted characters.

He sculpts and paints as a hobby and says he displays new work every season. I am on his mailing list now, and have become one of his greatest fans (although I only met him a few hours ago).

Just the fact that it will take 2+ months to produce another one shows how much work he puts into them. At this point, he can just produce molds of the sculpts, but to paint the board and the figures taking that long... I mean, that is insane!

I might have to take up playing chess again! But it is nice, and he made about 6 extra characters for each team so you can kinda mix it up.

I'm hoping the boards sell well (although at that price they are aimed at the adult market) because then he might produce more TMNT things... If I get any flyers showing his work before then, I'll post it, even if it isn't TMNT so you can see how talented this guy is and imagine the board.

[OA]

Sounds very interesting...definately post pics when you can