From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Mon Mar 8 22:00:14 1999 Return-Path: Received: from sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil (sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil [132.250.84.38]) by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1a/8.9.1-mod) with SMTP id WAA27135 for ; Mon, 8 Mar 1999 22:00:13 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 10:56:09 -0700 (MST) From: Paul Hart To: cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu Subject: Re: Oddzon version of the cube In-Reply-To: <4.1.19990224195654.0092e1c0@mail.vt.edu> Message-Id: On Wed, 24 Feb 1999, Kevin Young wrote: > I noticed that there was a clear sticker overtop of each of the colored > stickers. In less than a month this clear sticker peeled up. I just > don't remember the original cubes by Ideal wearing down that fast. In > fact I still have a couple cubes from Ideal with stickers still intact. [...] > They have claimed that this concern about the stickers is not common. > Maybe I just got a bad cube, I don't know. No, it's not just you. I had this exact problem with an Oddzon cube. Eventually all Oddzon cubes will develop this problem after any extended use, I believe. The "stickers" appear to be actually nothing more than some sort of colored paper glued to the cube surface, with a thin transparent plastic film covering the paper. Like Kevin mentions, this plastic film begins to peel up at the corners and edges of the stickers after extended usage of the cube, perhaps due to fingerprint oils. Eventually the film will fall off (or it gets to the point where it must be deliberately removed), and the underlying colored paper is completely ruined not long after. I noticed this very same phenomenon with one of the "C4" cubes, those cubes with Rubik's profile in the center of the one of the sides. It seems that these newly manufactured cubes are not up the level of quality of cubes from "back in the day". All of the original Ideal cubes that I have seen have stickers that appear to be made of straight colored plastic. Even the clone knock-offs from that era used these stickers. These solid plastic stickers seem to hold up much better than the paper-based ones used on the Oddzon products. After my disappointing results with my Oddzon cube, I pledged to never again buy one of their products until they change or improve their sticker design. Paul Hart -- Paul Robert Hart ><8> ><8> ><8> Verio Web Hosting, Inc. hart@iserver.com ><8> ><8> ><8> http://www.iserver.com/