Geometry:
Tetracopter 12 is in the same family of puzzles as my previous Tricopter 9 series. However, the Tetracopter 12 is based on a square prism, rather than triangular. The curvy cuts combined with the pillowed shape eliminates several parts and allows the geometry to be simplified to it's essence. The puzzle has octahedral symmetry at its' core, so it does not jumble, but it certainly shape-shifts! Tetracopter 12 has a total of twelve axes, one at every edge. Moves on these axes can be combined in any order, if bandaging allows. The puzzle is very complex to solve due to the constant shape shifting and bandaging.
Other Items Needed:
Dye: If you want the puzzle to be black, you can dye the pieces with a nylon dye such as RIT or Dylon.
Stickers: Template available in the
"Tips & How-tos" forum. If you want professionally cut stickers, I recommend
Oliver’s Stickers or
Chewie's Custom Stickers. Use a hair dryer or other heat source to get the curved stickers to conform to the spherical surfaces.
Screws: Twelve 12mm M3 pan head screws required, available in hardware stores or on the web.
Springs: Twelve springs needed, available in web puzzle shops. I get mine from
HK Now Store.
Degree of Difficulty:
Assembly: Inside-out core requires some dexterity to assemble.
Solving: Very difficult to solve.
Playability: Tetracopter 12 turns easily once broken in, and the mechanism is very stable.
Have fun!