So, I love playing Settlers of Catan, especially the expansion scenario "Seafarers of Catan" where you can explore islands with boats.
My uncle is an even bigger Settlers fan and just recently retired, so I thought of a neat retirement gift for him: Gold Settlers of Catan pieces!
Most companies give you a gold watch or something when you retire, but these will be something he can actually use!
My friend Matt is going to precision cut the pieces for me on his CNC machine out of aluminum, then we're going to anodize them to be gold colored (no I'm not using real gold)
I couldn't find any dimensions for the settlers pieces, so I got out my trusty school ruler and drew up some plans (someone out there might find these measurements useful):
Settlement: http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/77 73badb41127bdacf6deaa9d084c36b
City: http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/42 f0b83b800a16b6e8341a8ad934da09
Road: http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/49 e6919d00845f0b83c2e0e6c557aa39
Boat: http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/ca 785e5c6629a17dea6e2d5c05c4b650
Bridge: http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/ed b4c196707dd7127d0a1ca3e4ace0cb
I'm pumped to see how these turn out, I'll post pics when they're done :-D
Kenney
You could also try 3D printing, it's getting cheaper by the day. It isn't as personal though.
BoMToons (Updated )
My friend is donating his machine and time, so I'm just buying the materials, 3D printing seems a little overboard when the pieces are such simple shapes.