MF8 Bauhinia Dodecahedron

MF8 Bauhinia Dodecahedron

MF8 Bauhinia Dodecahedron (also known as Rex Dodecahedron and BauhiniaMinx) brings the Rex Cube mechanism to a dodecahedron. On each of the 12 faces, rounded cuts form a flower-like pattern, and in the middle of each face you can see a small star made of additional center pieces. The Rex Cube doesn't have these pieces. The puzzle has a black body and comes unstickered. It includes two sets of stickers, so you apply them yourself.

How this puzzle works

Despite a name that brings the Megaminx to mind, this is a corner-turning puzzle: you turn it around its vertices, not its faces. Mechanically, it is equivalent to a face-turning icosahedron. The dodecahedron shape also allows jumbling, i.e. moves you can't make on a Rex Cube. According to people who have solved it, however, these moves don't create any new positions, so they don't make solving harder. The solution relies mainly on commutators and setup moves. If you already know the Rex Cube or Master Skewb, you'll find your way around this puzzle faster.

Turning and stickering

This is a collector's puzzle, not a speed cube. Out of the box, turning is stiff and crunchy, and catching happens often. If you turn too hard, the small triangular pieces may pop out. Reviewers say that lubing and breaking it in noticeably improve the mechanism, but don't expect the smoothness of speedcubing puzzles.

Stickering takes quite a while, because each sticker is applied separately and there are a lot of pieces. Before you start, wipe the surface with a damp cloth to remove any leftover factory lube. Otherwise the stickers may not stick as well.

Who is it for?

For collectors and anyone who has already tackled corner-turning puzzles and is looking for another challenge with interesting geometry. It also looks great on a shelf. For your first non-cube puzzle, it's better to choose something simpler, e.g. a Skewb, Rex Cube or Megaminx.

Specifications

• Manufacturer: MF8
• Type: corner-turning dodecahedron (Rex Cube mechanism), jumbling possible
• Dimensions: approx. 105 × 105 × 90 mm
• Weight: approx. 308 g
• Body color: black
• Finish: DIY stickering
• In the box: puzzle, two sets of stickers