Blades - Private Card Club (3 Viewers)

[Phantom]

Hi all,

I have been looking for a theme for a CPC custom set for ages, and although I obviously like the Phantom, I wanted something more sophisticated. As well as being a Phantom phan, I am a James Bond fan (particularly the novels). Without starting a "who is the best Bond" argument ;-) , I actually believe Timothy Dalton was an accurate portrayal of the Bond character in the novels. The Daniel Craig stories (except Quantum of Solace) are quite entertaining and his potrayal is adequate .

My previous sets of China Clays have carried a 'Phantom' theme and a 'Phantom-Bond' theme repsectively. The latter was called "Casino de Bangalla". It was a tribute to the Phantom's homeland and the Casino de Isthmus City from "Licence to Kill" (see attached pics).



However, it is the fictional, exclusive London Gentleman's Club 'Blades', that I wish to base the chips on. Established in 1776, it is considered the finest of all the Clubs and boasts fine dining and high-stakes card games, including "a round poker table under a central chandelier where different variations of poker are hosted".

Unfortunately, money is an issue for me, plus shipping to Australia, so I cannot go for the extravagant spot-patterns or large numbers of chips. By the same token, I won't skimp on presentation for the sake of a few extra dollars. However, in any case, I believe that 'Blades' would would have chips with a more simple, and subdued look, and be less likley to have bright, gaudy colours and a variety of spots. It is a conservative Club with a rich history of members who are either statesmen, military heroes, or nobility.

We play poker once every 6-8weeks at the moment, and the stakes are 10c/20c (NLHE20). We would have a usual table of 6, sometimes 7, but I am happy with 6. The 3 denominations I usually have are 5, 25 & 100, but thought a 5, 20, 100 would be fine for 10/20, thereby limiting the number of 5's required (I still like having a third chip ).

At the moment, I have done the sums and believe I can budget for the following;
60 x 5c (Level 1);
325 x 20c (Level 3 - because it is going to be used the most and I thought, what the hell); and
60 x $1 (Level 3).

The colours are not set in stone, although I do like the 20c at the moment. I would be pleased to receive any comments or suggestions as to how I could best represent a 240-year old club.

5c - 'Navy Blue' ('M', Bond's boss is an Admiral and Bond is a Commander in the RN) and 'Gold' for the sheer opulence of the Club;
20c - 'Gunmetal Gray' (Bond's Walther PPK), 'Battleship Gray' (Bond's Aston Martin DB5), and 'Scarlett (The blood spilt by Bond, but also the predominant colour in the 'Blades' gambling room); and
$1 - Purple for nobility (royalty) and the lavender for a subdued look.

The labels: I wanted an aged look. Comments welcome, but I am pretty happy with how they came out.

Thanks for reading. Any comments welcome.

Kind regards,
Adam

 

[Phantom]

Oh, the B-diamond mold should suit the theme nicely, wouldn't you say?

 

[stocky]

Theme? YES
Inlays? YES
Mold? HELL YES

Knocked all these out of the park. You could work on the chips though IMO. Love the 5 but the others need work. I think you'll have problems with chips clashing with the colors chosen. I'll play around and mock up a couple of options if you don't mind. Breakdown could be better too IMO. I can't tell you how many of each to buy, but for future growth of your game I'd get more 100 and change the 20 to 25. Especially if you ever move to 50/100 blinds. It'll make life a lot easier.

 

[stocky]

Btw if you really want that old look consider the No Mold chips.

 

[Phantom]

Theme? YES
Inlays? YES
Mold? HELL YES

Knocked all these out of the park. You could work on the chips though IMO. Love the 5 but the others need work. I think you'll have problems with chips clashing with the colors chosen. I'll play around and mock up a couple of options if you don't mind. Breakdown could be better too IMO. I can't tell you how many of each to buy, but for future growth of your game I'd get more 100 and change the 20 to 25. Especially if you ever move to 50/100 blinds. It'll make life a lot easier.

Thanks for that mate. I wouldn't mind at all and would appreciate other mocks to consider. I don't think we'll ever go to 50/100, as it is a fairly conservative bunch, but perhaps 10c/25c at a stretch. I could change the 20 to a 25 then . I'll do some more sums to see if a few more 100s would be possible.

The stacks (with the 20) would be 8 x 5c, 53 x 20c and 9 x $1 (70 chips). With 25c instead, it could be 10 x 5c, 42 x 25c, and 9 x $1.00 (61 chips) . That means less chips needed, more money for spots perhaps.

I also considered the 'No Mold', as it really would say 'Old', but something made me think that 'centering' the label would be easier on the 'B-diamond' mold. However, ...

Cheers,
Ad

 

[stocky]

There should be no problem centering the inlay on any mold you choose. There can be some slight off centre ones but you can get that with any mold.

 

[Phantom]

There should be no problem centering the inlay on any mold you choose. There can be some slight off centre ones but you can get that with any mold.

It is also more expensive per chip than B as well, which was surprising. I am sure the label issue would be fine, just my OCD, and I have seen Paulsons with labels off centre .

 

[Phantom]

updated with 25 instead of 20.

 

[stocky]

Ok here goes

Now personally when I think of old classic chips, I think simple colors and spots. When done right it's is simply stunning. Now these are your chips, so the only person who needs to like them is you. So feel free to take my advice or completely leave it

I used a plain chip for your 5, it was common practice and still is at casinos to use solids as the lowest denomination.

I swapped your 5 to the 20/25. IMO this chip is stunning and why not have more of these than any other chip.

Went for a more simple spot for the 100 also. A really common spot in the old days.

This means you have 1 plain chip and 2 level 1 chips. The best part? They're cheaper which means more chips can be ordered

 

[stocky]

It is also more expensive per chip than B as well, which was surprising. I am sure the label issue would be fine, just my OCD, and I have seen Paulsons with labels off centre .

Yes more expensive. But it WILL take a larger inlay than the b-mold so it has that going for it.

 

[Phantom]

Thanks Stocky, really appreciate your input. Glad you like the 25 chip. I was thinking a solid for the 5 as well and was tossing between light gray, charcoal or butterscotch . I am not sure about the red and yellow, but I like the simple approach, which is what I am going for . The plain with 1" inlay really does look the goods, thanks mate.

 

[stocky]

Light grey over charcoal. The charcoal is dark, and next to the dark blue it can get mixed up.

 

[stocky]

I'm guessing you don't have a color sample set also? If you need to borrow one maybe when can come to some sort of rental agreement.

 

[Phantom]

I'm guessing you don't have a color sample set also? If you need to borrow one maybe when can come to some sort of rental agreement.

I have a sample set from a couple of years ago. It is missing the maroon and some of the more recent additions. I agree about the charcoal and dark blue. I thought the edge spots might off-set that, but I will play around some more and take on board your advice. Cheers mate, Ad

 

[Phantom]

Here is another look with the simpler edge-spots (B-mold and No-mold w/ 1" inlays).

 

[Poker Zombie]

I had also considered a Blades set at one point (also a fan of the novels, not a fan of the Dalton portrayal). I like where you are going with the inlay design, but I doubt anyone would see the B without being prompted. My logo design involved crossed Halberds, but I never finished it as I moved onto a different theme.

The B mold is the way to go here. Bs, and diamonds in a circle (forever). Apt, don't you think?

If you do not intend to move up your stakes, I would keep with the 20s, but you know how the betting action goes at your games.

Stocky's solid nickle great, but your grey was the winner in your OP. The blue is still very sharp. However, I was thinking a suit and tie look for the 100:

Good luck with this set!

 

[atomiktoaster]

The inlay is very nice on the B-mold, but something about the stone texture of the background doesn't work for me on the no molds. Some sort of aged-parchment might work better. I thought of the background for Lar's FDLs:

The breakdown is unusual as well. You have a ton of middle denom workhorse chips, but your bank is only going to cover one buy-in per person. Your workhorse is also at 1 BB, which means you need a lot of them for betting (not that I disagree with MOAR CHIPES! as a philosophy). It's tempting to recommend 10/50/200 at these stakes, as unconventional as that may be. Some more info on how your game plays might be helpful.

 

[stocky]

One thing that may improve the inlay is to get rid of the aged look and just keep it all beige.

 

[stocky]

The B mold is the way to go here. Bs, and diamonds in a circle (forever). Apt, don't you think?


Stocky's solid nickle great, but your grey was the winner in your OP. The blue is still very sharp.

Good luck with this set!

B-mold is a great choice, but no mold IMO beats it. If it was a straight up bond chip set yes B-Mold. But as representing a 240yr old classy ass club no mold wins out. Either way can't go wrong.

Also with all due respect, have to disagree with the charcoal being the winner. Worse in the OP IMHO. To much going on with it, over the top and doesn't look "classy" at all to me. Don't get me wrong, it's a cool chip, I just don't like it with the theme and inlay.

I do like the white/maroon chip.

 

[atomiktoaster]

One thing that may improve the inlay is to get rid of the aged look and just keep it all beige.

Might not be bad either. Some of the variation in the stone just ends up looking like dirty smudges. I don't think the woodgrain makes sense for these, but I do like the radial gradient on the Hitching Post background too.

 

[MrBo]

Here is another look with the simpler edge-spots (B-mold and No-mold w/ 1" inlays).

Really liking these, especially the inlay and that dark blue w/ butterscotch. Mmmmm mmmmm!

 

[Poker Jedi]

not a lot to add except you've got a great theme and I'm following with interest to see how it turns out. When I get around to designing my chips I'll do the same thing. With a little advise from the good folks here your sure to get some great chips.

 

[BGinGA]

With your dark blue 5c already in play, I'd go with something just a tad lighter for the $1 chip -- I really think using lavender as the base (same regal effect) with a dark edgespot (blurple highly recommended) would look marvelous.

The charcoal/maroon/gray 20c chip rocks, but I'd probably substitute retro blue for dark blue on the 5c chip -- it's a much prettier color, and combines well with butterscotch. Dark blue is almost black, and lacks ample character for a base color imo.

Get color samples, if you haven't already. Colors look a lot different irl than on a monitor, especially combinations. Maroon is also very dark.

FWIW, I like your inlay as-is on the B-mold. B-mold has a much nicer feel than FDL, imo. If you don't already have mold samples from CPC, I'd advise getting them, too.

 

[Phantom]

Thanks everyone for your input, it is really appreciated. A lot of great points to consider.

I will try to address all comments thus far .

PZ - thanks for the input, love the 'diamonds' reference, pretty sure it will be B-diamond. The mock looks cool - suit and tie . I read the books many years ago, and just recently read them all again. The Blades idea just struck me when I was reading ....... Fill in the blank .

Stocky - Thanks for your interest mate. I did actually start with a light parchment background, but thought it lacked character. When I searched for 'aged paper', one of the images that caught my eye was the background I have used. It is actually paper. The club is 240 years old, but I confused the issue I am sorry. The chips aren't meant to look that old . The chips are for a classy-ass club , but the labels are to have a 'yester-year' look. Having said that, another style of parchment with character could be possible, but for some reason, I just like that look. However, even though the club is 240 years old, the labels probably wouldn't look that 'dirty', as the club would change them out regularly to maintain a high standard. I appreciate your comments regarding the grey chip not fitting that style. I am considering all input, otherwise I would not have asked for it . I think the white could go well with an alternative set-up.

Atomic - Thanks, same as Stocky mate, it actually was old paper . I take the point though, thanks. The breakdown is unusual, but as you say, the crew bet a certain way ;-), and if I use the 25, I can up it a little, and need less chips . Very little raising, a lot of calling etc... the chips are for my enjoyment as opposed to the actual card play .

BG - thanks for the input, much appreciated. Yes, the dark colours would be a concern. I have a sample set, so will check the retro blue when I get home. I did mock that colour at one stage . I like the 100, looks good. I do like the 25 as well. I am reasonably happy with the inlay as well, having mocked several with various backgrounds, including parchment and old stationary. Even though it is a prestigious club, I like the 'battered' paper look .

I will have a fiddle with it when I get home, then I will look at sorting the mocks ;-).

Keep any ideas coming as it is all good stuff .

Cheers,
Ad

 

[bivey]

Absolutely love your inlay design. Smashing

 

[Phantom]

With your dark blue 5c already in play, I'd go with something just a tad lighter for the $1 chip -- I really think using lavender as the base (same regal effect) with a dark edgespot (blurple highly recommended) would look marvelous.

The charcoal/maroon/gray 20c chip rocks, but I'd probably substitute retro blue for dark blue on the 5c chip -- it's a much prettier color, and combines well with butterscotch. Dark blue is almost black, and lacks ample character for a base color imo.

Get color samples, if you haven't already. Colors look a lot different irl than on a monitor, especially combinations. Maroon is also very dark.

View attachment 15384


FWIW, I like your inlay as-is on the B-mold. B-mold has a much nicer feel than FDL, imo. If you don't already have mold samples from CPC, I'd advise getting them, too.

Hi BG, do you think the 'lighter' butterscotch spots and limited use of the 5c chip could off-set the dark blue v the charcoal. I just really like the contrast of the dark blue and the butterscotch .

 

[Phantom]

Absolutely love your inlay design. Smashing

Thanks a lot Bivey. That means a lot considering how good your chips look - great theme and execution mate.

 

[Mental Nomad]

Will you be offering samples? I know someone who is a huge fan of the books and would love, love, love these. (Not actually a poker player.)

 

[Phantom]

Will you be offering samples? I know someone who is a huge fan of the books and would love, love, love these. (Not actually a poker player.)

I think that would be a great idea as I am sure it will resonate with many of the Bond book fans. I would have to work out a way of having samples stay in the US for distribution, rather than come to Australia and then go back again .

Just had a flash of all the great pron shots I could take with the books, a Walther PPK, scantily-clad women ...

 

[Phantom]

A bit of an update with the chips and colours from the OP. I have added a couple of minor variations for comment. I will still try a few others I think.