Little Chop V2 – Successful Skirting Rails Mechanism – 11/2013

The following article is taken from the original announcement on TwistyPuzzles.com in 11/2013.  Assembly photos have also been added at the end.

The first version of my Little Chop using skirting rails was promising, but in the end it was unstable. This version is stable! I’m very excited to have a working Little Chop using a unique mechanism.

This new version is 100mm instead of 67mm to an edge. The additional 33mm really do make the puzzle feel much larger, but they also make it stable, even allowing new structures inside that increase stability.

Jumbling on this puzzle is blocked by the mechanism, allowing some partial jumbling turns before blocking is complete.

You might notice in the photos that I have managed to scramble it in my excitement. See the deed in the video:

Video is uploading here.

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To understand the skirting rails mechanism, please see the Pentultimate V2 article, and the Pentultimate V3 article first.

Also check out first version of the Little Chop for discussion of the mechanism.  The same skirting pattern was used on this puzzle, but the void master mechanism was much improved by making the puzzle larger.

Again, we can see the blocked equator here:

LittleChop.8.100mm.V2.b

The following mechanism pictures were not included in the original post:

SGS4 722 SGS4 723 SGS4 724 SGS4 725 SGS4 726 SGS4 727SGS4 721

Radiolarian 11 – The Radio Star – 11/2013

If you haven’t seen it, I recommend watching the making of video first:

Making of the Radio Star

 

The following article is taken from the original announcement on TwistyPuzzles.com in 11/2013.

 

 

 

The Radiolarian puzzles have all been made, but my first version of the Radio Star (Radiolarian 11) was a total failure.
I started it in September of 2012, so I’ve been working on it on and off for over a year.
Here’s the thread on the topic of the failed first version:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=25248&hilit=radiolarian+11

The new second version is a success!

Video uploading here.

There’s a long, long story behind this one. I did record some making-of material that I may cut into a short video sometime. The sad truth is that there may be more time in this puzzle than I put into the Petaminx.

I call it the Radio Star because this puzzle is to an icosahedron what a StarMinx is to a dodecahedron. It is the cut depth at which the corners have fully disappeared.

As you can see, the puzzle is huge. The edge lengths are 102mm. It uses the “Shells on Rails” mechanism, which combines traditional shells with void-style rails internally. This allows me to build a much deeper puzzle internally for larger stable corners, and then go shallower on the outside using shells.

Here’s a part that illustrates the concept.
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The Radiolarians have had two types of jumbling. This one is the first that I have noticed the ability to double-jumble. Both types of jumbling can be set up on opposing faces before being jumbled simultaneously. I’m sure Radiolarian 10 must also have this ability. There are pictures of this below.

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