I got my ASTROLABACUS today.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1719245458&r=0&t=0&showTutorial=0&ed=1018423325&indexURL=0&rd=1

It is taking me some time to get used to the way it twists. It is not equivalent to the Rubik's Shells, as far as I can tell

After further inspection I can only say this puzzle is really, really, really cool.

The puzzle itself has 6 sections with 2 sides each and 3 balls per side - for a total of 36 balls. The sections are joined in a clever way that permits to form complete cycles of 18 balls using different sides of each section. I wonder how Jaap is finally going to describe the moves when he posts the solution. I have not come up with an obvious description yet.

By the way, for the winners, the eBay auction price of $22.50 is cheap compared to the $51 price at http://astrolabacus.com/

Did I mention that this puzzle is cool?