Santa Claus Rubik's Cube

The Rubik's Cube is a great Christmas gift for any generation and its trend is always peaking around Christmas. This year we celebrated Christmas with a Santa Claus Rubik's Cube shape mod, created with a 3D pen.

Watch it on YouTube

I wrapped an old 3x3 puzzle cube with PLA filament using a 3D pen. First I had to remove the stickers and all the loose parts, like the center caps. The filament didn't stick to the plastic of the cube so I had to make holes in the pieces to help the attachments stay in place. I wrapped all pieces with a thin layer of skin-colored PLA and filled the holes. Next, I added the colored layers to this base coat.

santa claus rubik's cube

I inserted a palette knife between the pieces while I was working close to the edges to prevent the pieces from sticking together.

happy holidays rubiks cube

Time Lapse Video

On 4th December I'll publish a "how it's made" video on our YouTube channel.

In the time-lapse video you can see the process of making the shape mod, using a 3D pen. I edited the one-minute-long video to match the rhythm of Holly Dazed by RKVC, available in the free YouTube Audio Library in YouTube Studio. The video is recorded with an iPhone 12 Mini in portrait mode to allow me to post it as a YoutTube "short".

I used DaVinci Resolve 17 to edit the video which I just discovered to be a great free alternative for Adobe Premiere Pro.

The Solution

The solution of the Santa Claus Cube is similar to the solution of the 3x3 Rubik's Cube, however, there are some differences.

  1. Unlike the classic 3x3, the orientation of some centerpieces matters (the nose can't stay upside down, and the ears have to face forward). To orient the centerpieces we need to use the method known form the solution of picture cubes.
  2. Two "hair" edge pieces behind the ears are identical and can be swapped, which can cause parity issues.

christmas rubiks cube scramble

scrambles

Below you can see the cube, taken apart. See how the colored plastic is wrapping a black unstickered Rubik's Cube.

christmas santa cube pieces

If you enjoyed this project, please check out the Sponge BobTrump and other custom 3D prints.

Gallery

president trump rubiks cube
 
3d printed trump drawing
Interesting scrambles

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