YongJun

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YongJun Plastic Products Factory
Yongjun logo.png
Company
Founded: unknown
Location: Guangdong, China
Years Active: 2010-present
Areas served: Worldwide
Website: [1]
Production
Products: Twisty Puzzles, Stacking Cups, Spining Pens

YongJun (Chinese: 永骏, and often known as YJ) are a Chinese toy manufacturer who make stacking cups, spinning pens, and cubes. They first came to prominence as the manufacturer of the Type D Cube around 2008, although they have produced many other models since then. Around 2012 they also created a separate sub-brand called MoYu as a production platform for third-party puzzle designers, which is why you can see a YJ logo on all MoYu boxes today.[2] The Yongjun Plastic Products Factory is located in Chenghai District, Shantou city, Guangdong Province, China. The company specializes in educational toys and puzzles.[3]

Type D

Ratings for Type-D I Cube
Based on 4 ratings
Smoothness/Speed: 8.38
Lockup Resistance: 6.38
Cutting Corners: 6.38
Pop Resistance: 5.0
Quietness: 4.5
Reliability: 6.0
Weight: 109g
Overall: 6.63

Type D cubes (also called GuoYou) were shipped fully assembled and stickered by Cube4You. The color scheme varied, but generally used either the Japanese color scheme or a mirrored version of the Western color scheme. The original stickers were generally not considered robust so Cube4You shipped a set of better stickers with each cube. Later Type D orders came stickered with better vinyl stickers in the Western color scheme. Type D cubes were comparable to Type A cubes, with decent corner-cutting and a reputation for popping less often than Type A cubes. Some people replaced the Type D core with a Type A core, or built a hybrid of this cube with Type C cubies.

Type-D I Cube

Different Types

There were two different types of Type-D cubes. Generation one Type-D's came in many different colors: Pink, Green and Black and White. The generation 2 Type-D's, also known as Type-D II were white. The stickers that come with the Type-D II were somewhat textured and did not peel off easily. The spinning was thought smooth, with rare lock-ups, good corner-cutting, but sometimes popping if spinning too violently. Each cubie is fully closed and has caps that rarely fall off. There were many types of YJ D-II type cubes produced such as the Finhop 3x3 and the crazy foot cube. All had similar performance.

2x2x2

YJ 2x2

Available c. 2010, this cube was a GhostHand clone. It had a very similar plastic shape, but the YJ came with tiles like the YuXin 2x2 (an East Sheen clone). The YJ 2x2 turned similar to an East Sheen, which was very fast, and almost uncontrollable. Unlike the Eastsheen, this cube had a screw/spring structure which helped a bit with corner cutting. Turning out of box was not very good, but after a few hundred solves the cube turned smoothly. The size is the typical 50mm x 50mm. This cube was much cheaper than the GhostHand on lightake.

The YJ 2x2 Glow in the Dark

YJ YuPo 2x2

Released October 2015. The YuPo was the first cube in YJ's line of Yu-budget cubes. Out of the box, it was very tight, however after loosening it and lubricating the cube would become very fast. Due to the unique 'divided edge' pops were almost non-existent on this cube, making it a very reliable, fast, and smooth budget cube. However, the major critique of this cube was the plastic quality, which made the the white variant of the YuPo sound very crunchy, while in the black version it was just smooth, no crunchiness. This cube retailed at $8 originally but it is now $6.

YJ GuanPo 2x2

Released March 2016 as part of the 'Guan' line of cubes. The GuanPo had a very unique feel compared to other 2x2s, which provided for a controversial opinion by cubers. Although never setting any records, it was a beginner cube. According to some, it felt like a LingPo mixed with a Dayan; super smooth, spectacular corner-utting, but also a subtle crunchy feel. Later, a cube called the GuanPo Plus was released which premiered a redesigned edge.

YJ MGC 2x2

Released August 2018. The MGC 2x2 is the second cube in the MGC line of flagship cubes, and the first to have a stickerless option. It was praised for the strong magnets and fast feel. Just like the previous YJ 2x2s, it was buttery smooth after lubrication, but sandy before. At $10, many still considered it the best 2x2s , even over the premium WeiPos, however a frequent complaint was corner-twisting. At about one in 300 solves, this was much higher than many other 2x2s. Although this could be fixed with tensioning, it would become pretty useless at a high tension.

YJ RuiPo

Released October 2018 as part of the 'Rui' line of budget cubes. The RuiPo features a quick, light, and slightly crunchy feel, which has been previously unseen in YJ 2x2s. It features a higher quality plastic that the GuanPo making it easier to handle and turn. It is seen as very similar to the Qiyi Qidi S, however is slightly more expensive at $5.

3x3x3

YJ SuLong

Released October 2013. Considered a good budget cube, with a unique light, smooth, and crispy feel and had very good corner-cutting for the time, at 45 degrees standard and 3/4 piece reverse. It turned well, but noticeably slower than equivalent MoYu or Dayan cubes. It only popped on very loose tensions. Considered a very 'safe' first cube for YJ at the time, unlike the MoYu cubes produced at the time. Although it was relatively popular, it never became a top speedcube. It was uniquely offered as a glow in the dark cube which made up a large chunk of the sales.

YJ ChiLong

Released November 2013. The ChiLong is very similar to the SuLong, except it has extra grooves on the corners and edges. It is slightly faster than the SuLong. The SuLong was usually cheaper, so probably better value-for-money.

YJ YuLong

Released December 2013. The mechanism was largely adapted from the ChiLong but with some slight changes that looked more like a modern speedcube, and less like an old budget cube, however the edges looked very basic as seen on the ChiLong. Sometimes bore the MoYu logo. A budget cube with a light, crunchy feel. The edges pop & the corners twist fairly easily when set up loose. The pieces of the stickerless version are pressed together without glue, and can fall apart when they pop out. Notably, the cube was YJ's first stickerless cube however it also came in white, black, and primary. As well as this, it came in a very unique transparent stickerless with visible internals, and also in 'Phantom Stickers' - Carbon Fiber.

YJ YuLong V2 M

A factory magnetized and updated version of the YJ YuLong. Considered to be great budget magnetic 3x3, with competitors including the QiYi MS and the MoYu RS3M 2020.

YJ GuanLong

Released October 2014. The YJ GuanLong was a popular budget cube from YJ. It featured a simple, blocky mechanism and was popular for modding. Although YJ intended for it to be ajn ultra-chep, ultra-lightweight speedcube, it was rarely ever used for speedcubing, except by beginners. It's primary use was for modding, due to it's favourable mechanism and lack of many grooves, and this made it rival the Qiyi Sail. Due to it's low price, a meme was started on the /r/cubers subreddit about how 'everybody has a couple of Guanlongs laying around!' YJ would later release the YJ Guanlong V2 also known as the YJ Guanlong Plus, another version called the YJ Guanlong V3, and now the YJ Guanlong V4.

YJ MGC

Released May 2018, supposedly after 3 years of design and improvement, it is only available in magnetic, black and white. The MGC comes at a slightly-smaller-than-usual size of 55mm and features a strong magnetic positioning system, primary internals, and stellar all-around performance. The MGC has a smooth, bubbly feel and delivers many qualities typically attributed to flagship cubes at an economical price of $12. The plastic feel was very unique due to the primary internals, feeling very unique compared to previous YJ flagships. All of this combined achieves a smooth, tactile feel. It has also been described as a faster, magnetic YueXiao Pro. It's main rival is emerging to be the GAN356R, which it completely outstrips. It is the only decent budget magnetic cube. Unusually, the cube only comes in black plastic. The cube has been described as a so-call "school cube" since it is one of the quietest, muted speedcubes you will ever hear, even rivaling the GAN 356X in terms of volume.

YJ MGC V2

Released November 2018. At $20, the MGC V2 was undoubtedly the best value for money 3x3 that was available and offered customization which made the MGC V2 even more appealing than the original MGC. The flagship feature by YJ was a new spring system which is very similar to the Gans Elasticity System - three spring options were available - Light (Yellow), Medium (pre-installed), and Strong (Blue) - that will change the flexibility and overall feel of your cube, just like GES in Gan cubes. Medium strength magnets are installed by YJ which are slightly lighter than we have seen in the MGC. The turning on the MGC was very similar to the original; buttery smooth, fast, controllable, and very quiet. Just like on the original MGC, we see primary plastic internals however the black externals extend a bit further into the piece on the V2. A feature previously unseen on the MGC is a stickerless variant. A frequent complaint about the MGC was that it was limited to black plastic, however YJ later added a stickerless option. The stickers on the YJ MGC V2 have been designed in a collaboration with SpeedCubeShop and have been chosen by Cameron Brown and are the very vibrant SCS full-bright shades, and are also cut by Speedcubeshop.

YJ MGC Elite

The YJ MGC Elite which was released in 2019, is the first YJ cube to have customisable magnets.

YJ RuiLong

Released October 2018 as part of the 'Rui' line of budget cubes. The RuiLong is insanely fast, sturdy, with a clicky feel and features similar design motifs as the classic MoYu AoLong v2 cube, however it is almost uncontrollable.

YJ JinJiao

Released December 2018. The YJ JinJiao is an interesting, non-comp-legal 3x3 which has a strange concaveness, the corners spiking out from the rest of the cube, somewhat like the Super Floppy Fidget Spinners. Due to the ergonomics of having a 3x3 that could pierce a heart, this cube is more of a collection piece than anything else.

Tiled 3x3s

YJ LingGan

A 3x3 cube with circular tiles embedded into the pieces

YJ Diamond Cube

The Diamond Cube features diamond-like shaped tiles on the pieces in place of stickers.

YJ Love Cube

The Love Cube features heart-shaped tiles on the pieces in place of stickers.

YJ Spade Cube

The Spade Cube features spade-shaped tiles on the pieces in place of stickers.

4x4x4

YJ ShenSu 4x4

Released June 2013. This 4x4 was simply 'horrible, rivaling the Rubik's Revenge... if you like 4x4s that are as stiff as a brick, then the YJ ShenSu is for you. Out of the box, cubers described the inner layers as the total opposite of perfect - stiff and clacky. The outer layers also leave something to be desired as they have a strange feeling that's a mix between smooth and clicky.

YJ YuSu 4x4

Released July 2015. The YuSu was described as being a good, smooth 4x4, but it had one downside: popping, specifically, exploding popping. The inner edges would pop seemingly at random, and due to being very loose out of the box, it could simply explode at your first turn, which happened to some people.

YJ YuSu R 4x4

Released April 2016. The YJ YuSu R 4x4 is the updated version of the YJ YuSu 4x4, which seeks to improve upon the performance of the YJ YuSu and YJ GuanSu 4x4 by combining the best aspects of the 2 predecessors. It is also available in Transparent Stickerless, which was previously not available on the YuSu or GuanSu. Despite it seeking to improve on the GuanSu, it was discontinued by YJ in 2017 while the Guansu is still available.

YJ YuSu V2 M 4x4

A factory magnetized and updated version of the YJ YuSu 4x4. Like most budget cubes, it's perfect...if the definition of perfect was utter garbage.

YJ GuanSu 4x4

Released January 2016. The GuanSu was practically a YuSu, but it didn't pop. With a smooth, fast, and clacky feel. At $8, it was a great budget 4x4, but was overshadowed by the QiYi Thunderclap Mini, which is considered the best budget 4x4 in the market.

YJ RuiSu 4x4

Released October 2018. The RuiSu is a relatively quick cube with a clean and slightly crunchy turn. The feel is similar to older MoYu 4x4s, such as the original AoSu. It is considered the only good 4x4 YJ have released thus far.

5x5x5

YJ 5x5

The original YJ 5x5. Also came in a smaller size. Not much known about it, however it was said to be smooth out of the box but got stiffer with solves.

YJ YuChuang 5x5

Released April 2016. Out of the box this cube was said to be a bit tight and felt pretty stiff, just like the original YJ 5x5, since they had the same bulky core. After a bit of tensioning that was fixed. This puzzle has a very smooth feeling and flows well however it's biggest issue is the catches and lockups, seemingly at random no matter how lightly you turn, this puzzle catches more than any 5x5 since 2014. Corner-cutting is average for a 5x5, it gets that annoying typical 5x5 lockup we see on almost every 5x5 due to it's design. Reverse corner-cutting is non existent.

YJ GuanChuang 5x5

Released December 2018. The YJ GuanChuang 5x5 is the new and updated version of the YJ YuChuang. This cube is very smooth right out of the box. It is very light and slightly smaller compared to other 5x5s, at 62mm which is the standard 4x4 size. However, when turning through multiple layers it tends to lock up pretty bad and can be a little difficult to realign the layers but it shouldn’t lock up if you aren’t too rough with it. Overall this puzzle is great for solvers who are new to 5x5 but is less ideal for more experienced solvers.

YJ RuiChuang

Relesed October 2018 as part of the 'Rui' line of budget cubes. The RuiChuang has moderately quick speed, a bubbly feel, and narrowed outer layers.

6x6x6

YJ 6x6

Released August 2013. The original 6x6 by YJ, however we can safely assume it wasn't very good. This cube was awful, arguably worse than a VCube. It had no curner-cutting whatsoever, and locked up pretty much all the time. It advertised textured stickers for better grip, almost like Carbon-Fiber stickers - however this was basically a lie. There is nothing special about the stickers.

YJ GuanShi 6x6 and YJ YuShi 6x6

Released around the same time in April 2017. The GuanShi is a stickered cube, whereas the YuShi comes in stickerless plastic. The GuanShi was certainly a beginner speedcube, and moving on from a VCube. Coming in at $15, it is very cheap for a 6x6. However, the cube is almost impossible to speedcube - when it was released, people complained it would barely turn. Also, this cube has zero corner cutting and I mean zero. If the cube isn't perfectly aligned it just won't turn. This doesn't mean that the turning is bad, but its hard to start the turn. As well as this, some complained of a popping problem but not all. The most common complaint is that changing the stock tensions would automatically ruin the cube, and you could not change it back easily. It would either be way too tight, and the plastic would rub together, or it would pop if trying to speedsolve at all. Despite this, the GuanShi sold fairly well as a cube for people learning 6x6 and big cubes. The YuShi was very similar to the GuanShi. Having a very similar mechanism and pieces, they felt very similar. However due to a slight piece redesign, the YuShi was considered slightly better.

YJ RuiShi

Relesed October 2018 as part of the 'Rui' line of budget cubes. The RuiShi is one of the cheapest 6x6s, coming in at $14. A fast turner, it is YJ's first good 6x6. It is good, fast, and stable and does not deform in your hands like some faster 6x6s. The pieces had large ridges that have been unseen on 6x6s and have been implemented by YJ to add to the stable feel of the cube.

7x7x7

YJ 7x7

YJ GuanFu 7x7 and YJ YuFu 7x7

The GuanFu and YuFu were released at the same time in January 2017. They use the same mechanism, but the GuanFu comes in black or white plastic with stickers while the YuFu comes in stickerless plastic.

YJ RuiFu

Relesed October 2018 as part of the 'Rui' line of budget cubes.

Other twisty puzzles

  • YJ YuLong Pyraminx
  • YJ GuanLong Skewb
  • YJ Guanhu Megaminx
  • YJ Guanlong Square-1
  • YJ RuiLong Pyrminx
  • YJ RuiLong Skewb
  • YJ RuiHu Pyraminx
  • YJ Floppy Cube v1
  • YJ Floppy Cube v2
  • YJ MGC Megaminx

See also

External links