I decided to do a simple mod based on the Hanayama 1x2x5 puzzle:



Just a little bit of cutting, sanding, glueing, polishing, dyeing and sticker cutting.

The hardest part was getting the Hanayama puzzle apart. The centre cubies had caps, but they were glued on, so took considerable force to remove. Then I could see that they had not used a screw for the central pivot, but a force-fit rivet thing. This took even more force to remove, but luckily I did not damage the plastic too much. I replaced this with a normal M3 screw when I put the puzzle back together.

Wow, I was wondering whether it was possible to do this with a hanayama 1x2x5. Now I'm ordering half a docen

Well done!

Cisco, my thoughts exactly, except I will only be getting one
Gus would you care to share how you built this one?

Well, as I said the first hurdle is getting the thing apart. I just used brute force on the centre caps, using the edge of a knife to prise them off. (Actually, you only have to take one cap off, the one which allows access to the "screw", but you can't tell which is which. I was unlucky, and had to remove both.)

To separate the centre cubies, at first I tried to pull the rivet out using a pair of pliers, but I couldn't move it. So forced a flat blade screwdriver between the cubies to lever them apart, which worked. You have to be careful not to damage the plastic too much. If the "hole" for the screw thread is damaged, you may have to repair it using some epoxy and then drill it out for the new screw thread.

After removing the stickers, the cubies have to be trimmed to a length of about 19.8mm to make them cubical. I could have just cut them to the right size and capped or filled the open ends, but I did the following. Using a flat surface and a ruler, I placed the cube on the surface, stood the ruler upright against the face of the cubie and marked a horizontal line using a sharp blade on all four faces. I then cut the top off the cubie using a razor saw.

When you do the two central pivot cubies, don't cut all of the way through because there is a central circular structure inside both, one to hold the screw and spring, the other for the screw thread - you can see these when you take the cap(s) off.

Now, I trimmed the remaining part of the cubie to the right length (plus a little bit for sanding) using the same method as above, but raising the cut part slightly using any flat items (I used the body of a small set-square, two metal rulers and a "dead" DVD!) and keeping what was the top of the cubie pressed onto the flat items to make sure that the lines are horizontal. Remember, the centre cubies are missing their caps (you could glue one back on at this point to make it the final height) to you have to allow for this.

I carefully sanded the exposed edges of the cube flat until the two parts together were 19.8mm, and then superglued them together, sanding and polishing the faces until the join lines disappeared. This process was repeated until all the cubies were done. This is more tedious than difficult. The hard part is making sure the faces are aligned as closely as possible to minimise the join.

Hint: Some of the cubies have an internal asymmetrical structure which you can use to make sure that the two parts can be glued back together as they were originally. Others don’t, so just put a mark using a Sharpie across one face so you can identify which faces go together.

I dyed the (blue) pieces using the acetone and Rit method, but don’t leave them in the solution too long (mine were in about 2.5 hours) because I think that the acetone will attack the superglue and weaken the joints.

Re-assembly is straightforward, and I used a spare M3 screw and the original spring to fix the centre cubies together, and finally gluing the two caps on.

Wouldn't it just be easier to take their propotional 1x2x5 and go from there?
I'm not sure where you can get one, but it's a lot easier than modding one of the rectangular ones.

http://www.hanayamatoys.co.jp/product/pazzle/505/phi-brain.html

Is it just me, but that doesn't look proportional? Maybe it is just the angle of the picture. If it is proportional, then I have just wasted my time

If you look at the dimensions (W92×H180×D22) you find that a cubie is 46 x 36 x 22. Unless my math is off I don’t think this is proportional.
Edit: I found the proportions of the cube Gus used were 90x180x22 mm. So I think it is closer to proportional.

Good spot on those dimensions. So my mod is still the only proportional 1x2x5

Nope, actually olz made the first 1x2x5, you'll find a link in his signature. I'm the lucky owner of one of them.

Oh yes, I forgot about this monster

Did you miss the best part on the backside of the Hanayama 1x2x5 pakage?

Yes I did. I'm delighted you get the credit you deserve!
I think I'm going to buy one now.

Ola maybe you can confirm that it is proportional?

No idea
I've only got the first 15 versions they made yet. This one came later, although it looks like it should be propotional in the picture. And some of their keychain 1x2x5s that I have are propotional as well.

I'm an idiot, I've bought the keychain version accidentally. I think I'll bandage and extend it to build a proportional 1x2x3. Wish me luck (I'm not a good modder at all )

I felt like bumping this topic due to a box that I just got contaning a bunch of 1x2x5s.
One of which was very intresting in this cause.

The 1x2x5 that I mentioned earlier was one of them.
It has a black body and every cubie is 20mm squared.
So all you need is to find somewere to get one and a set of stickers and you're done

If anyone finds a site that sells and ships to the US...I would love to know. I've been waiting for a black one.

Thanks