From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Wed Nov 12 21:40:03 1997 Return-Path: Received: from sun30.aic.nrl.navy.mil by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.8.1/mc) with SMTP id VAA01451; Wed, 12 Nov 1997 21:40:03 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Mail-from: From ck1@home.com Tue Nov 11 22:26:29 1997 From: "Chris and Kori Pelley" To: Subject: Colors and other variations between brands Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 22:26:17 -0500 Message-Id: <01bcef1a$bcbe2f60$da460318@CC623255-A.srst1.fl.home.com> Most of the early "clone" cubes had the Blue/Green arrangement instead of the Blue/White. Most Ideal cubes seemed to have the Blue/White. There were exceptions, though... I remember there were several factories where Ideal had their cubes made. Some factories were better than others in terms of their quality. My favorites were the ones that said "Made in Korea" on a little peel-off gold sticker. Back in those days I would refer to "my Korean cube." Believe it or not, these all had the Blue/Green arrangement but they were genuine Ideal cubes! Their cubes were also the smoothest. I still have one of them that is in near perfect condition. It was the cube I used in the competitions. The other factories included Japan and Hong Kong. The Japanese cubes seemed more prevalent and I still have at least three of those-- all featuring the Blue/White arrangement. The earliest Rubik's Cube I ever saw had strange colors-- grey instead of white and the shades of green and blue were very different from later cubes. I don't think it was an Ideal cube. The Blue/White arrangement definitely won out as Ideal's "standard" arrangement since their 4x4x4 Revenge and 2x2x2 Pocket Cubes featured the identical coloring. Some Ideal 3x3x3 cubes were Blue/White but "non-standard" because the Yellow/Green would be reversed (mirror image). Who knows why these variations existed-- probably something as simple as some factory tech switching the sticker feeds accidentally? The new "Rubik's Cubes" made by Oddz-On are not all that great, in my opinion. They look shiny and great in the box, but after mild use the stickers get ruined. The Square-1 puzzles suffer the same fate. Also their turning mechanism is nowhere near the quality of the "Korean cubes." Their 2x2x2 "Mini-Cube" as it is now called also lacks in quality compared to the old Ideal Pocket Cubes. Still, it warms my heart to see them back in toy stores again! Much better are the "Magic Cube" clones that appeared last year. I have purchased several of these (only $3.99 at Walgreen's!) and they turn very smoothly. The holographic stickers are different, but they don't wear out like the Oddz-On cubes. Also, mine feature the Blue/White arrangement! I recently saw a post that Ideal is now making cubes again. This seems strange since I thought they went out of business, but I could be wrong. Anybody know the real scoop? Finally, Square-1 seems to have made a reappearance. I thought they only made one batch of these, but maybe they've made another lately? Chris Pelley ck1@home.com http://members.home.net/ck1