Two cubane-type tetranuclearnickel(II) and copper(II) complexes, [Ni4(L1)4(CH3OH)4] (1) and [Cu4(L2)4]·H2O (2), where L1 and L2 are the dianionic forms of the tridentate Schiff bases 4-nitro-2-[(2-hydroxyethylimino)methyl]phenol (H2L1) and 5-methoxy-2-[(2-hydroxyethylimino)methyl]phenol (H2L2), respectively, have been synthesized and characterized by physicochemical methods and single-crystal X-ray