Polyhedra Lab
The five Platonic solids, three Archimedean ones, and 612 struts and nodes to prove why there are only five of the first kind.
42 × 42 × 30 cm assembled · free shipping over $199
What is in the box
- 480 beech struts (4 lengths)
- 132 ply nodes (5 angle types)
- Brass insert set
- Display ring
- 64-page manual
Specification
- Pieces — 612 (480 struts, 132 multi-angle nodes)
- Material — Solid beech struts, 8 mm ply nodes, brass inserts
- Finish — Waxed, colour-coded by strut length
- Assembled size — 42 × 42 × 30 cm, all eight together
- Build time — 6–8 hours
- Age — 11+
- Models — 5 Platonic + 3 Archimedean solids
Shipping & returns
- Dispatched from Shenzhen within 3 working days.
- Duties prepaid to US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia.
- 30 days to return an opened set; parts replaced free at any time.
- Flat kraft box, 38 × 28 × 6 cm, 1.2–4.6 kg depending on the set.
The build
Every strut in this kit is one of four lengths, colour-coded by length rather than by model, because the point is that the same four lengths build all eight solids. Once you have noticed that, the kit stops being a puzzle and starts being an argument.
The nodes are cut at the exact dihedral angles, so a finished solid closes on itself with no flex. Build the tetrahedron first, then the octahedron, then the icosahedron, and watch the same triangle do three different jobs.
The last section of the manual is about the sixth Platonic solid and why there isn't one. It is four pages long and it is the best part.
Specification
| Pieces | 612 (480 struts, 132 multi-angle nodes) |
| Material | Solid beech struts, 8 mm ply nodes, brass inserts |
| Finish | Waxed, colour-coded by strut length |
| Assembled size | 42 × 42 × 30 cm, all eight together |
| Build time | 6–8 hours |
| Age | 11+ |
| Models | 5 Platonic + 3 Archimedean solids |
- 01Four colour-coded strut lengths build all eight solids
- 02Nodes cut at true dihedral angles — solids close without flex
- 03Covers 5 Platonic + 3 Archimedean solids
- 04Final chapter: why a sixth Platonic solid cannot exist
