4Chan
Premium Member
Here on speedsolving, we just care about solving fast-- but in a distant land, there's a place called "TwistyPuzzles". They don't care about solving things, just making new exotic puzzles. However, they don't really care about designing or making speedcubes.
But really, there's nothing stopping us from specifically tailoring our own cubes to our liking! Sure, we do mods and stuff by removing plastic, but how about completely molding our own unique pieces?
For a long time now, I've been toying with the idea of combining good qualities and traits of various cubes.
I wanted to combine the feel and "depth" of the Gans 357, the wide wings of the Fangshi, and the smooth surface of the QiYi Thunderclap.
So I ended up spending over $100 in supplies, and 20+ hours of work, and ended up making this thing!
I made the original piece by cutting up a Gans 357 piece and building onto it with polymer clay. TwistyPuzzles really likes to use Milliput. I got rid of the ridges because I like a smoooooth surface.
If you want the wings of a fangshi piece, just make a replica with milliput, and then attach it to the original. Simple simple.
I checked several times to make sure everything fit nice and tight.
Here you can see the similarities and differences between the original Gans, and Fangshi:
After making the molds, there were several failed batches. LOTS OF FAILURES.
But eventually, I got the knack of it, and started producing pieces!
It started to come together, and for a little while, it looked pretty nice! Here are some pieces before cleaning/finishing touches:
HOWEVER, when assembled, I realised that each piece expanded by about half a mm in volume. Multiply that by 20 pieces, and the cube was crap, the pieces were bigger than the core, and I had failed because I'm bad at this and I'm a total nub at puzzle building.
I had dreams of making special unique tailored cubes for people, but puzzle making is tough.
It would be so awesome if someone from TwistyPuzzles could start a custom speedcube business though!
Thanks for reading!
But really, there's nothing stopping us from specifically tailoring our own cubes to our liking! Sure, we do mods and stuff by removing plastic, but how about completely molding our own unique pieces?
For a long time now, I've been toying with the idea of combining good qualities and traits of various cubes.
I wanted to combine the feel and "depth" of the Gans 357, the wide wings of the Fangshi, and the smooth surface of the QiYi Thunderclap.
So I ended up spending over $100 in supplies, and 20+ hours of work, and ended up making this thing!
I made the original piece by cutting up a Gans 357 piece and building onto it with polymer clay. TwistyPuzzles really likes to use Milliput. I got rid of the ridges because I like a smoooooth surface.
If you want the wings of a fangshi piece, just make a replica with milliput, and then attach it to the original. Simple simple.
I checked several times to make sure everything fit nice and tight.
Here you can see the similarities and differences between the original Gans, and Fangshi:
After making the molds, there were several failed batches. LOTS OF FAILURES.
But eventually, I got the knack of it, and started producing pieces!
It started to come together, and for a little while, it looked pretty nice! Here are some pieces before cleaning/finishing touches:
HOWEVER, when assembled, I realised that each piece expanded by about half a mm in volume. Multiply that by 20 pieces, and the cube was crap, the pieces were bigger than the core, and I had failed because I'm bad at this and I'm a total nub at puzzle building.
I had dreams of making special unique tailored cubes for people, but puzzle making is tough.
It would be so awesome if someone from TwistyPuzzles could start a custom speedcube business though!
Thanks for reading!