Near a month ago the news of the mass production of mf8's Petaminx was announced here.
I see that the status has finally been changed from "out of stock" to available! Yayy
But the quantity field says only 4 remaining!
Maybe four units of Petaminx is considered a mass production considering the enormous size of this puzzle

(ps. By the way, I tried to place an order but apparently their system does not accept Canadian postal codes)

Thanks, I just ordered 1

Clause bought the last one.

Don't despair. I'm sure more will be for sale later. Just give it a little time.

Yes, I asked Calvin and apparently if there is no problem it will be available in his shop in a month or so.
And I would really appreciate it if Clause or the other people who got to place an order would give their opinion on the puzzle

A couple more were added to their shop yesterday and sold out again. It seems like they will continue to add a few whenever they have some ready. Keep in mind that these take a long time to assemble so they may only have 1 or 2 ready per day.

Pretty sure we have seen this pattern of availability and unavailability before and there was no need to be concerned.

Good news ! We shall have the petaminx black in a week.
Enjoy !

I just ordered it from Calvin. Keep up the good work

Will there be a white model too?

Great news! I can't wait to place my order! If only I could afford it

Calvin, thank you for the preorder!!!

101 stickers per face, 12 faces, 1212 stickers

At an average rate of 30 seconds per sticker...

Let me be the first one to ask, will there be a 12 colored version? How about a crazy planet version? I might be kidding about the last one.

If you did one sticker every thirty seconds, without stopping, it would take 10 hours and 6 minutes.

This is my first time ordering directly from MF8. How long does it typically take for them to ship? I am getting EMS shipping which should be somewhat quick compared to air mail but I am disappointed that it hasn't even shipped out yet.

edit: Mine has just shipped!

There are two available on the mf8 site right NOW In black & white.

Oh man, I am seriously considering it... But its so expensive... If I get this, I can't get that Multi-Dodec that I want so badly... What do you guys think? Petaminx or Multi-Docecahedron?

The only thing the MF8 Petaminx and the Multidodecahedron have in common is a high price. For me the Multidodecahedron wins hands down.

I'm rather torn about the Petaminx. I like MF8 and I hope it succeeds in the market but I worry that if it does, it will encourage more absurdly huge versions of puzzles we already have. I'd much rather see MF8 bring us new puzzles such as their upcoming Face Turning Icosahedron (Eitan's Star).

For example, I recently solved Eric's Unbandaged Rhomdo (hardest puzzle I have ever solved) and it would be a great candidate for mass production. The mechanism is very simple and the solving experience is novel and unique. Mechanically its hardly more complex than a Megaminx. With the current trajectory we're more likely to see an Examinx than a puzzle like this.

Comparing a Petaminx and Multi-Dodec is to compare apples and oranges. I can see both arguments. The Petaminx would be worth it just for the sheer amount of pieces and the huge amount of time it would take to solve that beast even though it's just a higher order minx and solving it wouldn't require anything new. The Multi-Dodec would be a more interesting solve and also very time-consuming with all the setup moves, however if you've solved a Master Pentultimate(which is basically a face-turning Starminx with corners) before it's not much different than that. All a matter of what you want.

I agree that it would be a shame if a successful Petaminx production caused the company to focus on big minx to the exclusion of novel puzzle configurations. I'd like to think that MF8 is using the Petaminx to see if there is a market for $200+ mass-produced puzzles, and that they will continue to innovate when they see that the development costs will be worthwhile. I believe that MF8 has already committed to Eitan's Star FTI, so that is something.

I would love to see some new big puzzles on the versatile icosahedron and its truncated and stellated variants, but if MF8 offered up a 14x14 cube or a Zettaminx (six layers, 2532 stickers), I would get one.

Alright- I have decided. I will get the Multi-Dodec! Thanks for the tips, guys!

I also see both arguments - But for me personally, I can't wait to get the petaminx - Just for shock value alone.

Also - I would gladly pay a slightly higher price for a pre-stickered puzzle...

I think the Petaminx's value is not in it's solving experience (cause it could be rather boring for some people), but in it being the huge puzzle that it is. Kind of like Oscar's Over the Top. No one buys a 17x17 for it's solving experience!
Personally I'm getting one to be the center piece of my collection, showing the complexity of twisty puzzles
Now I could also get the 17x17 but that's pricier by a zero

So that's $219 + $0 = $219, great value

Same for me, but I have made my decision five minutes ago: I have prordered one from Calvin!
Maybe I'll be the first one who has got both, the Multi Dodecahedron and the Petaminx?
How many have solved the Multi-D so far? (I needed several days to solve it once, because I had to keep up my concentration very high and allowed myself many breaks. )
Yes, the Petaminx provides no real new solving experience, but the same is true for the 6x6x6, 7x7x7, Gigaminx and Teraminx. What attracts me here is the breaking of physical barriers.
I will solve the beast only once, though
Once it has to be, because that is the policy of my collection

I made my decision too, I ordered one from MF8

The benefit to the Petaminx is that you can solve it in stages and by using reduction mistakes don't set you back more than a few minutes. I'll probably reduce one center at a time over the course of a few days.

I have tried to solve my MD several times but I always mess up undoing setup moves in the Starminx points phase. I have tried both solving one at a time (about 50 3-cycles would be needed) and solving two at a time (about 25 3-cycles would be needed) but I haven't gotten past about 40 points solved before I mess up.

I have no trouble solving the Starminx points on Eric's Master Starminx in part because there are duplicates (the points don't have the super stickers like my MD) and in part because I do a reduction to Megaminx so I don't have to worry about undoing Megaminx setup moves.

When I get the Petaminx it'll probably sit unstickered for more than a month. I have been too busy to complete a number of twisty projects and I have a lot of things that have a higher priority than stickering the beast.

This is gonna take forever to solve, but I have to get one.

For the record - I still haven't put stickers on my (second) teraminx...

When I get mine I'm going to put all the stickers on any which way to save me time scrambling it

Will it be always in a solvable state ?

The centers would be solvable (all of the 1-sticker pieces). The probability of stickering the edges and corners randomly into solvable position is vanishingly small (basically zero).

Sorry Alacoume, I'd better clarify, this is my idea of a funny joke . I would have to be very lucky indeed for it to be solvable with such a strategy!

Interesting that all of the 1 pieces would be solvable Brandon. Provided I didn't make a mistake in their rows I guess.

I can't afford a petaminx, but here's how I would sticker it.
1st- Sticker all of the centers to define your color scheme
2nd- Sticker all of the corners correctly
3rd- Sticker all of the centers randomly
4th- Sticker all of the edges correctly

I've just ordered mine,as I've got a long coach journey coming up it will be solved there and back.

right zero, wrong place!
I preordered mine as well. fingers crossed... I hope it's worth the price since it will be my most expensive puzzle yet

I see that Calvin is selling sticker sets for the MF8 Petaminx. With so many stickers on this puzzle, I will be happy to have some proper spares.

Would such a large puzzle make a good canvas for sticker variants (e.g. pictures, super, spirals) or would it be too tedious?

I can't imagine a super Petaminx. It would certainly look nice with a set of super stickers but solving that would take an extraordinary amount of PATIENCE. A little too much I think.

Thanks for the hint Pete! I ordered a set immediately.

Eh, I'll be excited when Eitan's Star finally comes, not to mention the still out-of-stock Rex Dodecahedron. Not that the Petaminx isn't a cool achievement, but I've been waiting patiently for so long for those other puzzles that I find this release almost marginally annoying. Although obviously I'm sure mf8 works on more than just one puzzle at a time. Still...

I completely agree.

I received mine today. I'm happy to find that it came without any lube. It can actually use a small amount but I'd rather put in my own lube instead of having a large puzzle like this come full of smelly oily stuff that I would have to spend time cleaning out.

It turns pretty well but the inner most slices are a bit tight. I'm not sure if adjusting the screws will help. This is where a little bit of good lube will be helpful.

The stickers do look like they came from Cubesmith. They are the MF8 colors which I'm not a fan of so I hope that Cubesmith sells sets and stand alone colors soon (I will replace the light purple, light yellow, and gray with regular purple, tan, and cyan/light blue to match all my other minxes).

This might take me a little while to sticker as I don't have a ton of free time right now.

I received mine a couple days ago. Everything is good except for one side. It looks like I'm the unlucky one to have a broken center piece. I popped the center cap off and there are two big cracks on the center arm piece and the pieces are barely hanging on. I contacted the mf8 shop to see what they can do and am waiting for a response. I'm very upset about this as this is very EXPENSIVE! Not sure if a replacement part would help me-I have no idea how to reassemble even part of this. Really wish they can just send me another cube. Especially when you spend a good chunk of money on it. Well, I'll have to wait and see.

Mine came a few days ago too. As with almost all packages I get from China / Hong Kong the box was thrashed.

The puzzle is not damaged though.

Yours was probably damaged during shipping.

That is very distressing. I wonder if it was from shipping?

I'm not sure if this applies to the petaminx, but I was able to carefully remove and reinsert the centre piece on my teraminx by removing the central screw and carefully prying it out with a small screwdriver (really just pushing the pieces aside, not prying). The pieces have some give but they are quite well interlocked and the teraminx certainly didn't collapse. Getting the centre piece, screw/spring and collar back in was tricky (flipped the teraminx upside down and inserted that way), but really straightforward.

You could also apply a bunch of low adhesive tape (such as painters tape) to the surfaces if you are worried about it falling apart.

I've had a chance now to hold an turn the puzzle for several minutes. I'm quite pleased. It seems sturdier than the MF8 Teraminx. On that puzzle the layers were a bit loose and gaps would form when you turned them. On the Petaminx the layers are held together better. This makes for slightly better turning. It turns much better than it actually needs to turn to still be solvable.

As for solving it, I noticed while holding it with my left hand and turning it with my right that the puzzle is too heavy for me to hold for more than about 15 minutes. When I finally get around to stickering and scrambling it, I'll probably have to use a table to support the puzzle or take frequent breaks. My biggest scale maxes out at 500 grams so I can't weigh it but I'd estimate that it's in the 1500 gram range.

I'm anticipating a ~4 hour solve.

Hello 77mouser,

I have assembled my mf8 teraminx several times, so if it comes down to it and you need help, let me know. I do like the tips provided by oBNoo and Pete the Geek and I've used both with some success. As for oBNoo's suggestion, check out this video and the title says it all, "Cube4You Teraminx Core Replacement Surgery".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrsEVYGlyvc&list=FLPa-WLVgPnftLmhPGRHqhoQ&index=76&feature=plpp_video

My Petaminx has arrived today (from hknowstore). It was perfectly packed in a strong cardbox.
The puzzle is in perfect condition and turns excellently. It turns at least as good as my mf8 Teraminx.
So far, I have stickered two faces. The stickers are of high quality (much better than the original mf8 Teraminx stickers). They look very much like Cubesmith stickers.

That is all great to hear, Konrad! Mine should arrive tomorrow. I asked Cubesmith and they are not Cubesmith stickers, so I'm glad they are high quality. I think that good turning and high quality stickers are essential qualities for such a big puzzle that will take a long time and many turns to solve. How long did stickering the two faces take you?

I have now done 4 faces. I did not use a stop watch but would estimate three to four hours for the four faces.
Has anybody tried an application sheet? I do it sticker by sticker and I think the result is nice and worth the effort.

BTW, I used C4U stickers on my mf8 Teraminx and they are really nice, much nicer than the originals. (It was discussed at the time that those are made by Cubesmith. Anyway, the Petaminx stickers are quite similar.)

I have just recieved mine, and the puzzle is very well made; turning is excellent.
MF8 has done a great job, as great as their precedent work on the giga and teraminx !
I am very happy with this puzzle, altough I think my hands are abit too little to handle this huge puzzle !!
As a idea, MF8 "minx-leader" could now maybe offering us a kilominx or an elite kilominx...

I will stickering it in a month, the time my wounded right hand heals. It is also time to make a break in my starminx solve, because I am not able yet to turn the puzzle...