Superstar / Third Stellation - Interlocking puzzle by Stewart Coffin (STC #50)

Last crawled date: 4 years, 1 month ago

Superstar / Third Stellation
Interlocking puzzle by Stewart Coffin (STC #50)
Assemble the six pieces into the polyhedral shape shown in the cover photo. If properly assembled with colors aligned as shown, Superstar creates the appearance of triangular sticks running continuously through the length of the puzzle, although this is an illusion: the individual pieces are formed entirely from half-stick segments.
Superstar is related to Coffin's earlier designs Sirius and Nova. All three use the same essential assembly mechanism, but with increasingly rich ornamentation: mathematically, Sirius has the shape of the first stellation of the rhombic dodecahedron, Nova the second stellation, and Superstar the third.
If you've already done Sirius or Nova, don't expect a radically new solving experience out of this one, but it does make for a striking polyhedral sculpture that completes the "trilogy" in a satisfying way. Coffin wrote:
"The six identical pieces mesh together easily in two identical subassemblies to form what is known by geometers as the third and final stellation of the rhombic dodecahedron. It is really more of a polyhedral sculpture than a puzzle, but it does create the interesting illusion of 12 triangular sticks, even though they are discontinuous .... To convert Superstar into more of a puzzle, I proposed making it in four contrasting woods which must then be matched so that the sticks will not appear 'broken,' and I published that scheme in my book Geometric Puzzle Design. I must have then wandered off to other projects, for evidently I never actually made one."
Coffin published the multi-color design under the alternate name Third Stellation, STC #50-B. Other woodworkers subsequently realized his vision and crafted copies of it, but it remains very rare. I hope this printable model enables many more people to enjoy this striking and beautiful design. Models are included for both the original, one-color Superstar, as well as the multi-color Third Stellation.
Printing Instructions
Two variants of this puzzle are provided with different color arrangements. The "monochrome" version is especially easy to print; just print six copies of coffin.superstar.solid.stl. (You can, of course, print the copies in different colors, and you might get an interesting color pattern out of it; but the colors won't follow the geometry of the puzzle in the way Coffin intended.)
The five-color version (aka Third Stellation) is more involved, but it has the most satisfying final appearance. Print one copy of coffin.superstar.fivecolor-bases.stl and one copy each of coffin.superstar.fivecolor-tips-1.stl through coffin.superstar.fivecolor-tips-4.stl, each in a different color. Ideally, use a neutral color (such as white or grey) for the bases.
The colored variant uses "snap joints" to enable printing in multiple colors, and you will need to connect all the joints before attempting to solve the puzzle. Press the male connector on each tip into an indentation on one of the bases. If they end up too loose, they can be reinforced with a drop of superglue (but this is usually not necessary). The joints are designed to be printed without supports.
You must connect the joints in the combinations shown in the second photo, or you will not get the intended color arrangement. To help keep things straight, the joints are labeled "A" through "H"; be sure to connect each male joint to a female joint of matching letter. (Each of the four colors comes in mirror-image pairs, for a total of eight distinct types of tip.)
The puzzle is modeled using puzzlecad, and I have included the .scad file in case you want to remix it.
About the Designer
Stewart Coffin has been called "the most outstanding designer and maker of interlocking puzzles that the world has ever seen". He is credited with over four hundred designs, has pioneered numerous ingenious puzzle forms, and has written extensively about puzzle design and manufacture. More information on Coffin, and a variety of other printable models of his designs, are available in the Stewart Coffin Puzzles collection.
Happy puzzling!