The Gadgets Page

One of the side effects of being a geek is that you like geeky things, like Star Wars, Chess, and Legos. Of course, combining three of those things together is an opportunity a mildly obsessive geek like me can’t pass up.

It would be prohibitively expensive to buy all the necessary sets to get a decent collection of the right mini-figures, but Lego’s new Star Wars magnet sets provides the opportunity to get many of the right figures without the overhead of buying full sets.

For about $180 (thanks to some Black Friday sales prices on Lego.com) I put together all the mini-figures necessary to make a “Light vs. Dark Star Wars Lego Chess Set”. MSRP for everything is $250. I put together this set using just one actual Lego set, a number of magnet sets, and one Star Wars Lego Watch.

Here are the Lego part numbers, all of which can be purchased on shop.lego.com:

(1) 6212: X-Wing Fighter (Luke parts, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2D2)
(1) 2851192: C3PO Child’s Watch (C3PO)
(8) 852553: Magnet Set Storm Trooper (Storm Trooper, Rebel Pilot, AT-ST Driver)
(1) 852554: Magnet Set Chewbacca (Chewbacca, Obi Wan, Darth Vader)
(1) 852552: Magnet Set Royal Guard (Boba Fett, Imperial Royal Guard)
(1) 852715: Magnet Set Darth Vader (Emperor parts, Snow Trooper, Shadow Trooper)
(1) 852551: Magnet Set Darth Maul (Emperor and Luke parts)

Light Side:

King: Luke (constructed from Luke Pilot & Anakin mini-figs: see photo above)
Queen: Leia
K Bishop: Obi Wan Kenobi (pants swapped with Luke)
Q Bishop: Han Solo (Shirt swapped with Anakin)
K Knight: Chewbacca w/crossbow laser
Q Knight: Chewbacca w/blaster
K Rook: R2D2
Q Rook: C3PO
Pawns: Rebel Pilots

Dark Side:

King: Emperor (constructed from Darth Vader and Darth Maul mini-figs. See photo below.)
Queen: Darth Vader
K Bishop: Imperial Guard
Q Bishop: Boba Fett
K Knight: Shadow Trooper
Q Knight: Snow Trooper
K Rook: AT-SD Driver
Q Rook: AT-SD Driver
Pawns: Storm Troopers

The leftovers are: Child Anakin hybrid, Princess Leia in Slave Costume, Darth Maul/Damaged Vader hybrid, six AT-ST drivers, and two extra Rebel Pilots left over from Luke in Pilot suit and Wedge Antilles. Oh, and an X-Wing fighter and watch.

The choices of some pieces are driven by what can be purchased inexpensively: The AT-ST Driver rooks are there simply because they came free with the pawn pieces. I could obtain an “actual” Emperor as a Lego keychain, but he’d have a metal knob in his head and come glued together, whereas the mini-figures that come with the magnet sets are the real McCoy. I actually like my constructed Emperor better anyway.

I am considering demoting Han Solo to Q Knight and introducing Yoda as Q Bishop from another magnet set, eliminating the “extra” Chewbacca. This will leave Count Duku and Mace Windu leftovers.

With a little bit of Lego Know-How, you can have a full Star Wars Lego Chess Set. Not only is this a fun project to construct with your family, but it will be a workable chess game that they can enjoy for years to come. Not to mention the serious geek cred you’ll get from displaying it!