Hi,

You probably all know the crazy 2x2x4 from Witeden / ShengShou

http://twistypuzzles.com/cgi-bin/puzzle.cgi?pkey=1913

I never really understood why they used extensions on just 2 faces, instead of on all faces which would result in a more interesting cube, a real (junior) cross cube.

So I decided to build it myself. Main issue is managing to find 3 suitable puzzles (or 2 in my case, since one was already modified) to cover all faces:





As you can see, the white and yellow faces are covered. So we just need to empty the white/yellow face, and replace the normal pieces with extended ones.

Empty face


Both pieces


Empty corner



Normal pieces corner



Extended pieces corner




Unfortunately, though taking out the pieces is fairly easy, inserting the extended versions on an assembled cube is not. In fact, you'll need to fully dissasemble the puzzle and build it again.

Not a big deal, but getting the last piece in is quite complex. You need to be careful not to move the internal 3x3 edges, otherwise it's back to the starting point. It's based on a 3x3, here you can see the core:



Nevertheless, after a bit of work, here are the resulting puzzles:

Before:




After:




And the final result, with better quality pictures. A junior cross cube, in which you can also see (and solve) the supporting 2x2










An easy mod, since you just need to replace pieces, and with a very satisfying result.

Nevertheless you have to be careful when inserting the last pieces, and of course, you will definitely need good luck finding the 3 required sets.

Good idea! Maybe this could be an approach of building a Rhombiminx.

Well done!

There is already a Junior Cross Cube in the museum:
http://twistypuzzles.com/cgi-bin/puzzle.cgi?pkey=2919

I know.

There are two fundamental differences though:

1. This is quite a simple mod. You just need to swap pieces (once you get them), while the one in the museum seems to have much more work involved.

2. In this version you can see the internal 2x2, and you have to solve it also.

(and this one is not proportional)


Junior Super Cross Cube could be a naming option, though I don't really like it.

Any suggestions?

MUCH more work indeed
However, I'm sure this turns a heck of a lot better, I might make one for myself one day.

A non-proportional version of the 3x3x3 cross cube was also made, and named the shallow cross cube.
Maybe this could be named similarly (Junior Shallow Cross Cube)?

So what is the trick to finding 3 puzzles with all the parts needed? The one here appears to have the parts for the yellow and white faces. There are a couple on eBay which appear to have the parts for the blue and green faces. And the one here appears to have the parts for the red and orange faces.

The thing is if all three types are out there and you order one can you have any faith in the one which you will get. With eBay I guess you could request a picture of the actual puzzle for sale but I'm not sure about elsewhere.

Carl

Junior Shallow Cross Cube sounds great. Thanks! Just edited the thread title

You can either hope to be lucky (after all, you have 33% chance in each buy) or find a seller you trust (and who understand your needs).


From my side, I can help you get halfway there. I have an extra 4 faces puzzle I built sometime ago, that I'm willing to sell for a reasonable price. You'd only be missing a white and yellow face then.

If anyone is interested, either to build this mod or to keep as another puzzle in the series, you may see the details together with pictures in the marketplace:

Crazy 2x2x4 - 4 faces extended mod - for sale

Thanks.