The Tronc Commun Series is a fairly unique twist on the standard TIC concept. Instead of having the usual puzzle of how to assemble the pieces into a cube, the solver has to figure out how to assemble the pieces around 2 core pieces for a final 5x5 cube! 5x5 tics have existed before, but they function like normal and this twist allowed Gregory to manufacture 3 puzzles in 1!
This puzzle was made by a hobbyist woodworker and he delivered quite well with the core pieces made in katalox (mexican ebony), #1 pieces in maple, #2 pieces in canarywood, and #3 pieces in katalox as well (the logic here is that it would be the most common default assembly after the solver has beaten the puzzle so it would best look like a complete 5x5 tic cube in only one wood type).
I had a blast with this puzzle and it was really interesting how Gregory upped the challenge as I progressed through the series. #1 felt trivial, #2 took some thinking, and #3 is a monster that loves to torture me!
The woods are dense and very nice to handle, but there are some minor flaws with this puzzle. There are tiny chips in the wood from tear-out when the blocks were cut, leftover glue marks that were made more visible after lacquer was applied, and the fit of the pieces can be tight. The rotations are nice and easy to do with room if they can be found, but the final moves can be tight with #1 being the worst of the 3. But the puzzles are very solid and holds together well. Dowels were only used for constructing the core pieces, and the rest is only held together with glue, but it's solid and has held up for over a year without issues.
Please keep in
mind that next week is the Thanksgiving celebration so I may be delayed
in shipping out puzzles until the Monday after Thanksgiving at the
earliest.
I accept and prefer using Zelle as my payment method of choice.
I
accept Paypal. I prefer Friends & Family due to the IRS tax rules.
But if you rather pay with Goods & Services, I will accommodate that
preference.
I accept Wise for international buyers.
I am willing to consider other payment methods.
Shipping is USPS or UPS
Buyer chooses the shipping service and shipping speed, First Class or
Priority (assuming the package is under the weight limit for First
Class).
Insurance is optional, but buyer has to cover it if it is desired.
I ask the winner to hold off on paying until after I calculate and
message final shipping costs to be added to the final bid.
