More Vinco's! and I'm in trouble again!!

Latest batch of Vinco puzzles

At this moment in time I have a blackened area right between my eyes!!! No it's not dirt! During the week I received another parcel from Vaclav Obsivac (aka Vinco) - this parcel was not expected by the present Mrs S and I became victim of the laser stare!! I swear she has had the power increased! It's true, I probably deserved it - I hadn't actually told her they were coming and my study is now getting out of control! There are puzzles everywhere!

My Precioussssss!

My big problem is she won't let me keep them anywhere else in the house, despite them being beautiful. Every time I place some of my lovelies (preciousssssss!!!) on the coffee table in the living room they miraculously reappear in my study again within a few hours. For this reason I have also bought a Kindle - if I can get rid of my fiction/paperbacks then I will have more space for puzzles!!

So a week ago Vaclav opened his new website and let everyone know that he had more puzzles to post. I received the email at about 11pm and immediately disappeared from the living room to have a look (she wasn't suspicious at that time). The new website is really nice - definitely an improvement and he has really been hard at work designing and building more goodies. In fact there must have been a mad scramble initially because thing were disappearing even as I surfed and something went just as I tried to add it to my cart! I still managed to get some nice stuff - his prices are very reasonable. I do feel slightly guilty as I haven't actually managed to finish all the last batch yet! From the back left: Two U's, Prism halfcubes, Double pyramid, Kiss, Coming of age, Vinco Octahedron. I blame the voices!!!!

Vinco UFO

UFO

Amongst my last, rather large batch of puzzles from Václav Obšivač aka Vinco (note he has a brand new site) was the UFO. This is a rather lovely shape in Walnut and Maple made from 6 pieces which (for once) is not a coordinate motion puzzle. It is a really good size, being 11.5cm in diameter and is waxed but not highly polished like some of his other puzzles.

This came apart very easily into its 6 pieces. Interestingly it can only come apart initially into 2 triplets which will then separate into their components. I laid them all out and left it for half an hour to ensure that I couldn't remember what I had done. Here is what the pieces look like:

6 identical pieces (3 with inverted colours)

When I came back, I knew that it needed to be done in triplets but struggled to get them correctly aligned - in fact I couldn't remember whether I needed to combine like or inverted colours! I think it took me about 10 minutes before I was able to work it out and from there managed to slide it all together. I ended up piecing it together piece by piece until the final piece remained and then pulling it apart to put this final piece into a triplet.

This is not a particularly difficult puzzle but is very satisfying in both size and finish. It looks absolutely beautiful on the shelf. Václav still has one or two of these for sale at very reasonable prices - go for it, you won't be disappointed. Have a good surf around his site - there is always something to tempt you.

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.

Oh woe is me or... I think I broke my Vinco!

Ballerina

Whilst on my recent mini-break, I was cheeky and brought along a few puzzles to do whilst "relaxing" - this also slightly pissed off the wife. One of the puzzles I brought was the Ballerina by Vinco.

This was one of my recent batch from Vacláv Obsivac, one of the best artisan puzzle makers around. It is a 6 piece coordinate motion puzzle made from Walnut and Maple. I know I wasn't planning on buying any more coordinate motion puzzles but I couldn't resist it - after all, it is made of wood and you know how addicted I am to wooden puzzles (and metal ones... and plastic ones)!!!

Sixi Cube from Vinco

Sixi Cube Supplied In Pieces!!!

Vaclav Obsivac aka Vinco recently added a whole lot of new puzzles to his site. I have mentioned before how good his craftsmanship is so whenever something new comes up, I just cannot resist it. Recently he seems to have specialised in producing coordinate motion puzzles (both 4 and 6 pieces) and I have reviewed a few of these already. Whilst they are all very attractive and beautifully made, the mechanisms are all fairly similar and vary mainly in where the joins are and this alters the ease with which the pieces can be orientated for reassembly. Having a few of this type already, I did not feel any huge urge to increase my collection of this particular type of puzzle. This time the recent batch included a number of assembly and disassembly puzzles so I jumped at the chance to get something new and beautiful - in fact I got a bit carried away and spent an absolute fortune (whilst individual pieces are cheap - they add up when you buy 8 at once!!!)

Oh Dear! I'm in trouble again!!!

I have been on annual leave this last week and a bit and can't afford a holiday abroad due to the fitting of a rather nice new kitchen! So a few days were spent in London visiting my mother and the rest has been spent at home, tidying up and doing a little extra work on the side. During this time I made some purchases and didn't tell the present Mrs Sadler about all of them! Unfortunately, today they all got delivered at once! So now she has found out about all of them in one go! I may have to buy her another pair of shoes or a handbag to make up for it! It really gets expensive when I do that!!!!!

First of all, no trip to London is complete without a trip to Village Games in Camden to search for anything new and interesting. I could have spent a fortune there but I was aware that I had already placed orders elsewhere! I only came away with 4 puzzles and Mrs S breathed a sigh of relief as she didn't know about the others!

Village Games Selection

Here we have (from top left) Coffin's half hour puzzle, IQ18, Lox in Box II and Großmaul.

Recently Vinco had put up some new puzzles for sale and after my last little set of purchases (Dual tetrahedron, Tetrahedron 2 and an assortment of others) I new about the tremendous quality and beauty of these puzzles. I felt I had enough of the 4 and 6 piece coordinate motion puzzles so went for some others!

Vinco Selection

From the top left in rows we have: Duo Burr, Four Marbles, 3 Boxy, UFO, Ballerina, Ball Room, Vinco Tetrahedron and Sixi Cube (received unassembled). Droool!!!!

If that was not enough I received a little consignment from Wil Strijbos (I may as well just set up an automatic transfer of my salary straight to his account!)

Strijbos Selection

From the top: Melting block (with the lid and extra cube to the right), The Moon, Medal Maze, Aluminium Dovetail and finally Poplock T6 with copper rivets.

I am thoroughly in the doghouse now but at least I will have plenty of puzzles to keep me occupied whilst she is refusing to speak to me!! I have only just rearranged my puzzle collection and am not actually sure whether I have enough space for this lot!

Flattrick by Vinco

Flattrick

This is the last of my Vinco puzzles - I am sure I will be buying plenty more. The craftsmanship from this man has just got to be seen to be believed! Plus as well as being a true artisan, he is also an absolute pleasure to deal with. He responds very quickly and is very fair (see my previous discussion about how he is a true gentleman).

This is the Flattrick - it is another of his coordinate movement puzzles - but this time has 6 pieces and therefore must have a different design internally than the other 4 piece puzzles I have described. After a previous comment by me he has now begun putting the woods used in each puzzle down on the website. This particular version is made of Plum and Acacia woods and looks absolutely gorgeous, just like all his others. Nothing made by this man looks anything other than beautiful (sorry - I'm gushing!!!)

Vinco's Diagra and Handed Halfcubes

Diagra

Vaclav Obsivac (Vinco) is not only an exquisite craftsman but he is also a true gentleman! How do I know this? Well, when there was an error during my recent purchase which led to me owing him ever so slightly more than expected (which was not an issue at all) he spontaneously decided to give me an extra puzzle for free!! This was the Handed halfcubes and despite being free it is a really good puzzle too!

Vinco's Matrioshka and Cube Vinco

Next amongst the puzzles received from Vinco is the Matrioshka.

This one also looks absolutely spectacular in multiple colours of wood with the outermost layer being a beautiful red wood. It is nicely polished. This puzzle is another coordinate motion puzzle but this time not just 4 pieces.

In fact this is 3 puzzles for the price of one!!

Explosion cube from Vinco

First up from my recent delivery is the Explosion cube from Vinco. This is an absolutely gorgeous wooden "sculpture" with a combination of light and dark woods. My only criticism of Vinco's goods are that he does not state which woods he uses.

The finish is perfect and it looks great on display.

New arrivals

From top left:
Matrioshka, Pagoda 3 (Makishi/Dawson), Flattrick
Handed half cubes, Explosion cube, Diagra
Cube Vinco

Just a quick entry - these arrived in the post yesterday. Had to work all evening so had no time to play - only got to unpack and take a quick photo. I will review them over the next few days and weeks as I learn what how they work.

Vinco's Tetrahedron 2

I received the tetrahedron 2 at the same time as the dual tetrahedron. It is a beautifully tactile shape with a lovely mixture of light and dark woods. Unlike the other puzzle it is impossible to see the seams where the 4 parts join. To open it there are only so many places to grab so it is just a matter of holding it in each hand and pulling apart. When you have the right orientation then it suddenly pulls partially open.

Vinco's dual tetrahedron

Today (at the same time that I ordered some new ones from the Vinco site) postie arrived with my previous order from Vaclav Obsevic.

I was aware of what to expect but was not really ready for the breathtaking craftsmanship that has gone into making these objects of beauty. Even if they weren't puzzles they would be worth owning just to be lovely wooden ornaments. I started with the Dual Tetrahedron 12

Oooh! Shiny! More stuff coming!!

I had hoped to give the bank account a rest really but I can't stop surfing around other puzzle blogs and on line stores!

Today whilst at work, I noticed that Vaclav Obsivac, a tremendous artisan puzzle maker, from the Czech Republic had put some new puzzles up for sale on his site. You have got to see this stuff! The quality is second to none.

The last order has not yet arrived and I had to buy something from the new selection. I have ordered  4  (make that 5) new puzzles....