These are the old solid ones.

This magic is called Qbert. It was designed by Pantazis Houlis and has 18 tiles.

This picture shows the magic in its flattened state.


This picture shows the magic in it's other solved state


18 Tiles: 53 mm 260 grams

ok... be honest here.... which photo did you take first? the top one or the bottom one?
(if you took the top one first, I salute you, as making the three cubes without the solution
sheet, is extremely tough, because of mathematical, mechanical, and balancing reasons!!!)




Pantazis

I won't even attempt to lie. It took me 2 hours this morning to get the darned thing flat!

What kind of a brain thinks up a puzzle like that!?! A demented one! I'll post another picture when I can get it back into the boxes again.

Hey... I only did three cubes. Next time I will include all 28 cubes (i.e. 28 x 6 sides = 168 tiles!!!)




Pantazis

As daft as this will sound, I would love to see that one!

Here are the Meffert's tiled 4x4's and 5x5's



Original 4x4 (he signed the old ones on 1 Nov 2008): 252 grams (missing 2 tiles)
New Black 4x4 circa 2008: 190 grams
New White 4x4 2008: 188 grams
Original 5x5: 328 grams
Original Prof.Cube solid pieces&tiles 2009: 348 grams

measurements will come tomorrow.

These are both tiled and untiled puzzles. This will be updated later when I dig out the other versions. There is still an untiled diamond and skewb to be photographed as well as a keychain skewb.



Tiled Skewb Diamond: 158 grams
Stickered Skewb Ultimate: 182 grams
Stickered Skewb 3D: 142 grams
Stickered Skewb Polymorphix: 172 grams
Tiled Skewb: 138 grams

measurements will come tomorrow

These Masterballs are all 77 mm.



Top Row
Rainbow: 140 grams
Duo: 136 grams
Circus: 140 grams

Bottom Row
Sat 1: 142 grams
Dragon: 142 grams
Soccer: 142 grams

The second set of balls.



Top Row
Crazee ball tennis: 64.25 mm 100 grams
Crazee basketball: 64.25 mm 98 grams
Crazee Soccer ball: 65 mm 98 grams

Second Row
China tiles: 70 mm 140 grams
China numbered tiles: 70 mm 116 grams
China Tiles: 70 mm 136 grams

Third Row
Mach ball: 69 mm 128 grams
Corona ball: 74 mm 140 grams
Szrhrnsekerek: 67.75 mm 112 grams

last row
3x3 mini: 55.5 mm 50 grams
3x3 mini with numbers: 52.5 mm 48 grams

These are made by Meffert's or a chinese company (to be updated tomorrow)



Top Row=all chinese made
Mickey mouse: 190 grams
Warner Bros:190 grams
Spiderman: 188 grams
Centrum Vitamins:190 grams
Stitch: 190 grams

Second Row-first three Meffert's last one China made
Colored cards: 192 grams
Black cards: 194 grams
White cards, signed 2004: 186 grams
Sponge Bob: 188 grams

Bottom Row-Meffert's electric
Clear cards, signed 2004: 202 grams
Colored cards, signed 2004: 198 grams

These come from Torito and Cube4you. They are all 90.5 mm.



Top Row-Torito
Flags: 144 grams
Yellow and pink: 144 grams

Bottom Row-Cube4you
Spiderman: 140 grams
Germany 2006: 138 grams

This comparison set will not be my normal weight and measurement commentary, but will be heavily loaded with photographs. One is an original Alexander's star from 1980, the other is nothing more than a knock off. I hope no one else will be purchasing this puzzle under false pretenses.



On the left is the 1980 puzzle, the one on the right was sold by a puzzle shop in HK. There are some of these showing up on ebay and they are even worse than the originals if that is possible.

The Original: 118 grams 80 mm on the flat sides, 85 mm from the points
The not-so original: 102 grams 77 mm on the flat sides, 83.25 mm from the points.

Aside from the lack of labels, the one on the right has a very vibrant green coloring. The orange stickers are so bad, that the gluing is showing through ala Oddzon cubes. The white stickers are actually a double sticker. I have pulled one up so you can see it.



They are so thin, the black plastic shows through if it is a single sticker. There is a very slight difference between the red and orange. If it is hard for me to see, I have a feeling a few men would have even greater problems. (I'm thinking about color blindness, nothing else)


I took both of these puzzles apart today to see if the second one was infact "an original without the stickers" as was told to me when I purchased it. I will now show you that it is not! I should have been able to tell by the packaging, and to be honest I was pretty convinced it wasn't real, but in the intrest of the twisty community and just plain curiosity I bought it anyway.



When I took it out of the package, the first thing I noticed was that it just would not turn. It took me a long time to just shift one layer half way to the next position. I could see the black plastic the puzzle is made of was that very thin brittle stuff you find on the $2 deal extreme 2 packs of the square 1's.

It took me a train ride to disassemble my original star, but I am just assuming that is because it is well used and getting loose with age. The not-so original took me 2 hours today to disassemble! It was very slow going, I thought because of my fear of breaking it, but instead, when I got the first piece out, I noticed a metal clip inside the legs that hold it in place.


You can almost see it in the picture here. (please no comments on my wrinkled hands-I'm not as old as they look.)

After all the pieces had been removed, you can see the cores.



I noticed some screws in the not-so original so I unscrewed them. Look what I found inside.



The only thing on the core of the original is (c) I.T.C. 1980.

If you see one of these on ebay, don't buy it! I put them back together, and again, the original was very quick, the non-original took a long time. Those internal screws are glued in so you cannot adjust the tension. My original turns much smoother now, the not-so original is just as stuck as it was before. It's been chucked in a box and will probably never see the light of day again.

here are 5 of my hard to find puzzles (ok, so maybe not the domino, but this is a size comparison)



Top Row
Trik Haus, 28 grams, roof 40mm x18 mm, base 29 mm x 17 mm

second row
Cheese: 48 grams diameter 60 mm height 28 mm
Rota: 98 grams diametr 53 mm height 55 mm

Third Row
Spindal Domino: 70 grams 52 mm across 33 mm tall
Majong Domino: 44 grams 42.25 mm across 27 mm tall

I have posted this picture before, but here are the stats.



Chewing gum inca: 10 grams, 2 cubes, 17 mm per cube
Blue maze: 46 grams, 8 cubes, 17 mm per cube
Inca type A: 46 grams, 8 cubes, 17 mm per cube
Inca type B: 46 grams, 8 cubes, 17 mm per cube
Rubik's maze: 82 grams, 6 cubes, 21 mm per side

These were sold by binary arts and are known as Diamond Bob's Billiards puzzles.



Long: 34 grams 145 mm
round: 40grams 88 mm
square: 48 grams 59 mm

Slide tile barrels.



black: 48 grams 70 mm
yellow: 40 grams 67 mm
black with pencil sharpener: 48 grams 60.25 mm
black 4 tile: 56 grams 87 mm
Black 6 tile: 52 grams 94.5 mm

atomic chaos keychain:32 grams 91 mm
entrapment: 92 grams 83 mm
nintendo barrel: 136 grams 82 mm
Nintendo star ten billion: 134 grams 82.5 mm
Atomic Kaos:106 grams 172 mm

Why do you tease me with this astounding collection? Someday I will have one to match

I'm grouping these pretty loosly here. No argueing with me.



Top Row
Magnif Saturn:84 grams ball 60 mm rings 105 mm
UFO:82 grams 90.5 mm x 35 mm
Netblock UFO: 68 grams 83.25 mm
Saturn: 102 grams 107 mm c 18 mm

Bottom Row
Warner brothers: 50 grams 89 mm
Grey Rubik's UFO: 60 grams 78 mm x 40 mm
Green Rubik's UFO: 60 grams 78 mm x 40 mm2
Color wheel: 74 grams 115 mm

you'll need about 20 more years Shua and a good job with no mortgage and a disposable income You're on to a good start. Collecting doesn't happen over night. It really does take years and lots of patience. I've had a good few months. And I'll take that as a positive comment on my collection. Thank you.

Again, a loose interpretation.



Rubik's rings: 40 grams 84 mm
Hungarian Rings: 46 grams 120.5 mm
Olympic Rings: 92 grams 194 mm

That is the end of the first box. Only 5 more to go! Look for the next batch next week.

Wow, your collection is absolutely amazing, I look forward to seeing the new pictures every time they are posted!
Also, sorry if this is a stupid question, but how does an Inca/Maze work? is it sort of like the kibble cube?
Thanks in advance!

Charlie

It works kind of like the Kibble cube. Pantazis has a good write up about it on his site. Kibble cubes are in another box. I'll go for that one next so I can make a size comparison with all of them before I send the Inca B on to it's new owner.

They say good things come to those who wait. I think I've been waiting for these since well before Christmas. They also say one good turn deserves another and these puzzles are the perfect example of that! Thanks Guys!



Top Row
Stellated pyraminx: 194 grams 103 mm
Trajber's Octahedron: 176 grams 93 mm points, 66 mm face
Egg: 174 grams 77 mm

Second Row
Tribulus: 90 grams, 54 mm top to bottom 62 mm face
Axis Cube: 188 grams 52.5 mm
Reuleaux Mastermorphix: 182 grams 69 mm top to bottom 71 mm face

Bottom Row
1x1: 6 grams 15 mm
Swirly 1x1: 6 grams 14mm x 20 mm

You're welcome

= Reuleaux Mastermorphix

Thanks to both Georges and Calzone for fixing my mistakes tonight. It's been a long day of examining very low level English speakers so I had to be on my toes. That and an hour long ferry ride back to HK from Macau and I'm brain dead. But I just had to post this batch of pictures! I just love them!

I can't see the image of custom puzzles...

I don't see any pic either, but I know what they look like. You're welcome Rox.

If you can't see a pic you can alwase hover over it, right click it, click on properties, copy the URL, and paste it into the URL bar

Fixed I think. it's the funniness of picassa

Sometimes it doesn't even show up then.
In that case select all text in the URL bar and click [ENTER]
This worked for me.

Well, it had to come sooner or later:



The one that started it all is first. see this post
Kabdalabda: 62 grams 80 mm
Large prototype for HK Toys and Games Fair: 162 grams 134 mm
Black prototype for HK Toys and Games Fair: 78 grams 65.25 mm
White collectors special: 68 grams 65.25 mm

Um, I don't want anyone posting that these are not puzzles (unlike the smart alec on my webpage)



Top row
skewb: 36 grams 38 mm
White ES: 9 grams 20 mm
black ES with ring: 14 grams 20 mm
Put together ball: 14 gras 30.25 mm
stickered earth ball: 8 grams 27 mm
ES 2x2x2x2: 18 grams
ES 3 layer: 26 grams
ES 4 layers: 32 grams

second row
Hello Kitty slide: 36 grams 76 mm
Think fun square: 24 grams
Think fun T: 14 grams
Whistle ball 10 grams ball only 31.25 mm whistle and ball 45.5 mm
Meffert's France 98: 44 grams 40 mm
Mefferts Challenge 46 grams 40 mm

Third row
tracy puzzle: 16 grams 43.5 mm
barrel: 17 grams 29 mm
barrel necklace: 9 grams 25.5 mm
Rubik's snake: 24 grams
red and white snake: 14 grams
missing link: 18 grams 56.25 mm
3x3x3 necklace: 10 grams 15 mm
ES black: 18 Grams 20 mm
Babylon tower: 18 grams 40 mm
Meffert's Pyramorphix: 28 grams 44 mm

More of the same. All keychains are not created equally.



Top row
Hong Kong Disneyland Chip n Dale: 34 grams 28 mm
Hong Kong Disneyland Mickey: 34 grams 29 mm8
Hong Kong Disneyland Minnie: 34 grams 29 mm
Hong Kong Disneyland Stitch: 34 grams 28.5 mm
Hong Kong Disneyland Pooh: 34 grams 28.5 mm
Snoopy: 44 grams 31.75 mm
My Melody: 44 grams 32 mm
Pudding Dog: 44 grams 31.5 mm
HK Jockey Club 42 grams 30 mm

Second row
Dog: 26 grams 26 mm
Ultra man: 28 grams 26 mm
DingDong: 22 grams 26 mm
Dragon ball: 24 grams 26 mm
Fox: 18 grams 26 mm
2 girls: 16 grams 25 mm
melody: 26 grams 26 mm
walle: 20 grams 25.75 mm
Ding Dong Movie: 12 grams 24 mm

Third Row
snoopy: 12 grams 24 mm
Santa: 14 grams 25 mm
old 3x3x3: 24 grams 26 mm
Dragonball: 24 grams 26 mm
Clown: 16 grams 26 mm
1 girl: 16 grams 25 mm
Hello Kitty without chain 22 grams 26 mm
Hello kitty with chain: 26 grams 26 mm
Dingdong with character: 14 grams 24 mm

Last row
?: 26 grams cube 29 mm ears 39.5 mm
Melody: 26 grams cube 28.75 mm ears 39.5 mm
Kitty: 26 grams 29 mm ears 34.5 mm
Dragon ball: 24 grams 26 mm
Large 3x3x3: 44 grams 33.75 mm
Mischen possible: 22 grams 30 mm
Sanrio characters: 26 grams 26 mm

I've a got a scale today and measured the Russian Domino that I had close by.
I actually had two, and both of them measured exactly the same.
The dimensions are 57x57x38mm, and the weight is 66 grams.

Hoefully this thread will be continued and updated over the Easter break. It's the end of the semester and with that comes a ton of work. Added to that, it's the week of the MUM's puzzle hunt and I've been on a team for the past 4 years and just can't let them down. http://www.ms.unimelb.edu.au/~mums/puzzlehunt/ Hopefully I'll get them updated before CISRA starts: http://puzzle.cisra.com.au/ (for those of you who are interested in a different type of puzzle)

I've a number of puzzles that have come in over the past month or so, and an even bigger number of KO cubes to add to the mix of puzzles already here.

There are also the 3x3's to compare, and hopefully some easter eggs to add soon. My appologies to everyone looking for updates on the measurements, and new additions, I just really haven't had much time.

This is a long overdue update. Tonights first post is the void cube!

Until I learn to use the calipers properly, I will only post pictures and weights.



Top Row
Original void 112 grams

second row
First generation knock offs-notice the different sticker color
black and white both 112 grams

third row
second generation knock offs-notice the similar sticker color to the original
black and white both 112 grams

bottom row
Tiled knock offs
black and white both 124 grams

some pictures of internal seams:
originals



Knock offs
Color doesn't matter, they are all the same



This post and the next are not to upset anyone, they are here for comparison purposes that will be used in an upcoming article.

Bump cubes


Top row
Original gold 86 grams
Original silver 86 grams

second row
All are copied puzzles
gold and silver stickered bump 92 grams
gold bump 82 grams
silver bump 78 grams

Some internal comparisons
Original tension


KO tension-you will notice that it is non-existant and just pops.


original seams


KO seams

Yay, I had been waiting for that update.

Amazing, that there are already three different kind of Void Cube knock-offs!

I know of five so far:
white plastic stickered
white plastic tiled
black plastic tiled with standard colours
black plastic 'we try to get the Void Cube colours' stickered in packaging #1
black plastic stickered in packaging #2

One of the last two comes in a similar packaging then the Gentosha Void Cube,
the other come in a cardboard box with holes and eyes (?) on the box

Hi Roxanne,

thanks for your great work with all your puzzle pictures and for all relevant comments.

Could you sometime make a picture from the core/spring/screw of a Bump Cube KO. I think this is another
significant difference between the KO Bump Cube and the Original.

I can take a picture of the internals of the copies, but I won't take apart my originals
For that matter, I can do the same for the v-cube copies, but the originals stay intact.

I have no problem with taking apart old puzzles, and copies, but I don't want to mess up the newer ones. I'm really a coward.

I'll get on it early next week.

As promised. internals of the bump copies. They look the same as any other 3x3. I'm not sure why you wanted them.

The inside of a Tsukuda 4x4

I'm on a cleaning kick and you are so lucky I got a new phone

Here's the inside of a uriblock

I don't normally measure my puzzles, but I do weigh some. My interest was caught by the difference in the Masterball weights. Indeed the Circus is heavier than the Duo - I too registered a 4g difference the same way.

However the diameter is 82mm.

The difference in diameter is because Roxanne had unknowingly done something with her caliper that made all measures off by 5mm.

(edited for spelling)

360's

They finally got to HK. Still not knowing how to use the calipers, I'll give you the weights and a brief description of the differences.

Frustration Ball (left) 196 grams
Rubik's 360 (center) 136 grams-142 grams with stand
China 360 (right) 126 grams-no stand

These are two different sizes. The China one is a bit smaller. But the biggest difference is the weight and the design. You can see it, and feel it. The Rubik's 360 has larger colored balls to manipulate, and it also has two small metal ball bearrings/weights in each of the inner two plastic spheres. The opening to release the small colored balls is on the opposite side to the weights. This makes turning the puzzle a bit more challenging. The inner sphere has one opening, while the middle sphere has two. The inner sphere is permanantly attached to the middle sphere which in turn is attached to the outer sphere. The gluing of the pieces is terrible. I can see cracks in it, and I've just now taken it out of the box. This isn't a puzzle to let drop. A dollar says it would break to bits.

The China 360 can be taken apart. There are no weights and to be honest, it is a very trivial puzzle that can be solved within minutes. The inner sphere is free floating with holes on oppposite ends, while the middle sphere is attached to the outer sphere. Again, with holes on opposite ends. This one I know breaks when dropped. I've broken off a couple of the outside holding spheres.

The black rings you see in both 360's trivialize the puzzle even more. They can be rotated so that once you have a ball in the correct outter sphere you can lock it in place. The balls won't move out. These rings move independant of each other, so you can work with one side of the puzzle at a time.

The first puzzle in this group is called a Frustration ball. It was made by Remco in 1969. The object is to move the red ball through a series of cups following the numbered arrows. This gets progressively more difficult as the cups spacing increases with each move. I put this puzzle in the grouping, because to be brutally frank, the two 360's are just copies of this older puzzle. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed with Ideal toys. After all this time, you would have thought they could have come up with something interesting. Or if they had to remake an old puzzle they could have gone for a domino, or the cheese, or maybe even the 'betcha can't'. Dollar for dollar, I think the frustration ball is more fun.

Skewb variations

After a conversation the other day, I realized that not all skewbs are created equally. I've decided to post some pictures of the internal bits of these so you all can see some of the differences.