How does the existence of Platonic graphs imply the existence of Platonic solids?

Question

I will use the following definitions

Platonic graph: A 3-connected planar graph with faces bounded by the same number of edges and vertices having the same number of incident edges.

(remark: the faces of a 3-connected planar graph are well-defined due to Whitney's theorem)

Combinatorially regular polyhedron: A polyhedron with Platonic vertex-edge graph.

Platonic solid: A combinatorially regular convex polyhedron with congruent faces of regular polygons.

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Suppose we know the existence of the 5 Platonic graphs, but we don't know the existence of Platonic solids. How can we prove that they exist?

The existence of combinatorially regular convex polyhedra follows from the existence of the Platonic graphs by Steinitz's theorem.

But how can we know, that every combinatorially regular convex polyhedron can be continuosly deformed so that their faces become congruent regular polygons?

Answer 1

Consider the docecahedron as an example: Between a minuscule regular pentagon on $S^2$ having angles slightly over $108^\circ$ at the vertices and a hemispherical regular pentagon with angles $180^\circ$ at the vertices there is a regular pentagon on $S^2$ with angles $120^\circ$ at the vertices. Twelve such pentagons will tile $S^2$ in the desired way: Just place one such pentagon anywhere on $S^2$. Five more will precisely fit around it. Put another five into the five indentations on the outside of this configuration, and a hole will remain for the twelfth pentagon.