Shinsei Mystery

My horseshoe friend spotted a puzzle in my sitting room. She had last played with it when she was in my class 36 (aaarrrgghhhh) years ago.

My classroom was bulging with puzzles, partly because I loved them and collected zillions of them, and partly because we got so much maths from them. I was a huge enthusiast, and wanted to share some of that with the kids. Of course.

In todays' schools I would probably be out of a job pretty quickly.

The puzzle she spotted yesterday was the Shinsei Mystery, and this is it.

The things unfolds:

 You suddenly realise there is a different shape within .....

..... and that it separates into two stars. The puzzle is sometimes known as the Twin Comets puzzle.

It's quite tricky to re-assemble ....

.... and with one further move you are back to the beginning.

The puzzle has a proper name, the Yoshimoto Cube, and it was invented, or perhaps discovered, in 1971 by a heavy-duty mathematician with serious intent. 

There are two things about this puzzle which are remarkable. 

The first is that it has an amazing tactile quality. It is almost mesmeric, like fiddling with a rosary. It folds so easily and so silently that you can manipulate it without even thinking about it. Very therapeutic.

The second thing is that this thing cost a few pounds in 1982, and after being handled by literally hundreds of kids over a period of 34 years it is still going strong. Sure, it has faded a bit, just like all red-spectrum colours do, but it works as well as it did when I bought it, and has never lost its appeal.

How much other stuff survives from 1982 in such good condition after intensive handling ?

I don't think you can get this puzzle any more, except on eBay where it seems to fetch about £50. It seems crackers that you can't buy it now.

If you know where I can get another, well, please let on !