Enjoy!

thanks joshua

but how does this rotate on all 6 axis?



anyone find the paint on the little colored thingys on the UFO is rubbing off? i just got mine yesterday!

It's a 3 armed spider in the center of teh mechanism, with 3 loose pieces that when complete, make teh center look like a complete circle. Note in the very center hub, you see 3 arms? those 3 arms are probably where the screws are put into place through the 3 pieces that stay with teh central hub. The 3 loose pieces just revolve around teh 3 arm pieces.

I know I've done a piss poor job of explaining but you may be able to figure it out anyway.

What I want to know is how the thing was taken apart...

Look a few pages back for the thread "Rubik's UFO - Strange new mechanism", and a reply titled "Not Cheese" by David on Feb 12, 2002

(Aside: We REALLY need a different forum system so that we can start a UFO thread and keep it going without a 3-day hiatus losing it in the mists of time.)

The short answer given by David:

"It's fairly easy to do without damaging the puzzle. Just begin a twist in one direction (not on the equator) and then start twisting on another slice. It'll pop apart after a few tries."

Again, though, I think doing this loosened one of the pins holding a fixed arm in place just enough for the spring to work its way out. I would advise against doing this, as there's no obvious way to repair the UFO once the spring is coming out.

Hi,

Do you have a picture of the location of the pin and spring. And how would you disassemble it, without damage?

I've done a quick illustration showing how the mechanism fits together:

Look at InsideUFO6.jpg - if you look closely, the lower left segment appears to have a dark smudge. This is actually the inner mechanism showing through the semi-translucent plastic.

The pin keeps the spring in place and is fixed to the inner mechanism (the pin's length is not depicted accurately). This provides tension which keeps the wedge tight against the central core of the puzzle, but allows the wedge to rotate freely and just enough slack for the free wedges to slip into place.