For a Better Cube

April 4, 2006 8:00 PM

Where can i find a high quality Rubik's cube with colored panels instead of stickers?

I recently got back into cubing, but my old model's stickers are peeling off and I have seen some sites mention models that are made with colored panels instead of stickers. The only references I have come across so far are collectors willing to trade or people mentioning them in their collections. So far I have not been able to find an online store that sells them. Does anyone know?

posted by sophist to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 comments total)

On eBay you can occasionally find the '80s model Cube with the plastic panels. I don't recall what Ideal called it, but they did make it, and it's virtually indestructible.

It also looks like Mefferts.com has tiles which you can buy for cubes (look under "assembly puzzles"). Peel the stickers off your cube and epoxy the tiles on, it should work.
posted by kindall at 8:30 PM on April 4, 2006

You can also remove the stickers and paint your own. My friend did this, and added several coats of clear nail polish for a nice durable finish.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:44 PM on April 4, 2006

IMHO, as a totally inept cuber, the sticker ones are best because when you're totally stuck with the puzzle, you can peel off the stickers and put them back on again in such a way as to fool people that you've completed the puzzle.
posted by essexjan at 12:06 AM on April 5, 2006

Essexjan, you can disassemble the cube and put it back together again without removing any of the stickers. :0)
posted by lorbus at 2:00 AM on April 5, 2006

Ah yes, lorbus, but then someone might know I've cheated.
posted by essexjan at 3:29 AM on April 5, 2006

Check out local dollar stores, I've seen these cubes a few times.
posted by Marky at 3:50 AM on April 5, 2006

No, they know you've cheated if you take off the stickers and rearrange them, because you'll never get them on straight.

Taking the whole cube apart and putting it back together is undetectable and is something most people are likely to do anyway, just to see how it works.
posted by kindall at 10:54 AM on April 5, 2006

I got vinyl binder dividers and superglued them on place of the stickers. It took a whole afternoon, but it was way worth it.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 3:23 PM on April 5, 2006