Wooden tray board

This xiangqi set looked a bit different from the sets I already have in the collection, so, as you might expect, I got it for not very much at all.

I reckon it dates to at least a few decades back. Maybe 80s, but I'm really guessing now. Made of wood, with two trays on either side to store the pieces when not used, or keep captured pieces.

The pieces themselves are pretty basic wooden pieces.

And this is what it looks like with all the pieces stored in the two trays at either end.

'Scroll' board for a very large xiangqi set

Saw this very large xiangqi set listed on Temu, and, judging from the details in the listing, it would be the set with the largest pieces in the collection.

Pieces really are big!

The set comes with a large (obviously!) plastic sheet for a board, and I decided to do a bit more with that, but, for a while, wasn't sure what exactly.

Until I hit upon the idea of incorporating the sheet into a scroll of sorts. Would that work?

So got myself a pair of basic broom handles and painted the two ends of each with pine wood stain. Also got a roll of adhesive 'wood effect' vinyl.

I wasn't planning to use the vinyl as 'adhesive', so didn't remove the backing. Rather, I simply attached it at both ends to the 'scroll handles'.

Final stage of creating the 'scroll board' is then to attach the plastic sheet to the vinyl 'scroll', using pretty much invisible magic tape. 

And this is what it looks like when the very large pieces are placed on the 'scroll' board!

I feel it worked out pretty well!

Adding a silk ribbon to secure the rolled-up 'scroll' board adds a nice finishing touch.

Given that the pieces of this set are definitely the largest in the collection (so far?), I thought it would be nice to line up the black/green generals from a few sets to show the current size range. From left to right, the dollhouse set, the pocket set, the beechwood set, my first xiangqi set, the ebony set, the large jade 'garden' set, and the current very large set: 

Set in a leather-covered case

This xiangqi set comes in a slim, leather-covered case.

As usual in sets such as this, the case opens up to show a board inside.

The pieces are pretty standard wooden pieces.

Not much more to say about this set, but the leather-covered case makes it unique in the collection, so pleased I got it!

Rough wooden set

Stumbled across an eBay listing of a janggi set, for very little. Made an offer, which was immediately accepted, so here it is!

The pieces are wooden, very roughly made, and certainly not 'commercial' in any sense. Seller said that a family member had picked it up many years ago in North Korea. So a truly hand-made set from the home of janggi!

As the pieces were so 'rough', I wanted to make a board that matched that. So, basically, a board that looked like it was quickly put together, from material that was just lying around. 

Looking for such material that was 'just lying around', I saw in our shed some wood panels that were part of a box for a fancy wine bottle. Perfect for my rough janggi board!

Joined up the panels, and noticed that they were slightly warped, surely due to the humidity in the shed. Rather than trying to flatten them, I decided not to try and get rid of the warping, and regard it as a design feature rather than a flaw.

Keeping with the 'rough' nature of the board, I simply hand-pained the lines on it, using brown paint.

So this is what the full set looks like!

And to show the slight warping of the board from another angle:

I think the board really fits the pieces, and the warping really does add something unique!

A more fancy Terracotta Warriors set

One of the earlier xiangqi sets in the collection was one with pieces resembling Terracotta Warriors. Those pieces were pretty basic, made from some sort of resin or plastic. 

I was aware that a much more fancy version of this set was on the market, with metal pieces, made from copper and brass. As you might expect, usually with asking prices well above what I was willing to pay. Until one day ...

The set comes with a wooden box, containing the pieces nicely embedded. 

The box opens up to serve as the board.

And here is the full set, with all pieces in their starting position.

Same figures as my earlier, more basic, Terracotta Warriors set. Same size, but just higher up the 'fancy scale'!

Pocket set

Saw this small pocket xiangqi set on Temu, and, well, couldn't resist ... Comes in a wee plastic box:

And the board is a transparent plastic film:

It's not the smallest xiangqi set in the collection. That 'honour' still goes to the dollhouse set I got a few years ago.

Two Chess Bazaar xiangqi sets

A number of years ago, I got my hands on replicas of two Chess Bazaar sets: one 'Space Age' set and one 'Chavel Karpov' set. Both sets came from the same seller, and he was pleased they remained together.

These two sets also came with extra queens, and that made me realise that I could actually use them for xiangqi, by using the two queens per side as cannons, and, given that xiangqi uses five soldiers (= pawns) rather than eight, use two of the three 'left-over' pawns as guards within the palace.

So here is the 'Space Age' set on a large faux-leather xiangqi board:

I do think that works nicely!

The 'Chavel Karpov' set is a bit bigger and chunkier, so I decided to put that on the XL xiangqi board I created recently:

Again, works very well!

In case you're wondering whether having pawns for soldiers as well as guards causes confusion .... no, it doesn't. As the guards can't leave the palace, and soldiers can't move backwards into their own palace, a white 'pawn' in the 'black' palace has to be a soldier. And a black 'pawn' in the 'black' palace has to be a guard. And vice versa. So no source for confusion!