Vinco Tetrahedron

Vinco Tetrahedron

A few weeks ago I ordered a whole bunch of new puzzles from Vaclac Obsivac (Vinco). They arrived quite quickly and after admiring them for a while, I put them on the shelf for future puzzling (I try to keep a few aside for emergency use)! As mentioned before, I had to do the Sixi cube first because it arrived in pieces and every time I saw it like that it offended me!

The next one for me to have a go at was the Vinco tetrahedron - it is a really lovely 3 sided pyramid (obviously!) made from varicoloured Walnut. I really have a weakness for this wood so this was my personal preference but it was available in many other woods and a few are still available now. It is 64mm from apex to base and absolutely flawlessly made - you can barely see any joints at all. I did feel that I have enough coordinate motion puzzles and am pleased that this is just an assembly puzzle.

Having done the Vinco cube I had some idea what was required and just like the cube, the trick is to find out exactly where to place your fingers to pull it apart. However, it is a bit easier than the cube to open, once you do get the correct grip it is just a matter of pulling gently and it slides in half.

Two halves

From here the halves easily fall apart into the 4 pieces which are 2 pairs of mirror images of each other.

4 Pieces

Leaving the pieces for a while before attempting reassembly is a good idea to improve the challenge. It is not hugely difficult but can take a few minutes to get the 2 halves ready and then positioning for the final locking together is quite tricky as the tolerances are millimetre perfect.

Overall a really nice piece for your ornament display and well worth a place in any puzzler's collection. Considering the workmanship it is worth the €55!!