This post is sponsored by Gearheads Puzzles.

Chevy Gold was a challenging image, but once I got myself under some good lighting it didn’t seem as difficult as I first thought. It’s definitely a puzzle I recommend, but please be sure you have adequate lighting, and be forewarned that it’s trickier than it looks!

Gearheads Puzzles is a new puzzle company that is woman/veteran owned – yay for us ladies and an even bigger YAY for a veteran owned business! (also, please accept a heartfelt thank you for your service 💖) They currently only have this one image, but a new 500 piece puzzle is in the works and should be available in about a month – it will be grid cut for those of you who aren’t random cut fans. They also offer custom photo puzzles and have recently added custom photo t-shirts as well. Click the link above to check them out.

I was impressed with the quality of the pieces; they were a good thickness with an excellent variety of shapes and have a good feel in your hands. The image reproduction is excellent with wonderful detail; though the finish is slightly shiny, which can cause glare under artificial lights. The fit did seem a little loose, but not too much so and you can see above that the finished image is almost seamless.

There were several pieces that weren’t completely separated, but I attribute both that and the loose fit to the puzzle being near the end of a run when the die is starting to dull. I’ve found this with every puzzle manufacturer and I don’t consider it a flaw in quality unless I’ve worked several different puzzles and they all have this problem. With this being the only Gearheads puzzle I’ve assembled I like to err on the side of positivity and say it was most likely the end of the run.

The first two sections (after the edge) that I assembled are shown above. This puzzle certainly gave me a run for my money, it was more difficult than I bargained for! There’s a lot of gray, brown, and black in the image and you have to sit with the pieces for a bit to familiarize yourself with the colors and shades before you start seeing where they belong. It’s not a puzzle for beginners, but it’s completely worth the effort. It would look AMAZING glued and framed for a lover of classic cars!

The random cut had me convinced several times that I had definitely, absolutely, without question lost a piece – I hadn’t. With a random cut you may think you know what piece shape you’re looking for, but many times it’s something completely different! It keeps my gray cells limber (hopefully) and makes me focus more on colors, shades, and textures to find the piece I’m looking for. Completely engrossing!

Chevy Gold is a challenging puzzle, and not for the faint-at-heart. Both the random cut and the color scheme add to the difficulty; so be sure you’ve got lots of good lighting and make sure your brain cells are ready for the random cut. Bottom line – if this image revs your engine it’s definitely recommended. 👍

Details:

• Title:                  Chevy Gold
• Artist:                Laura Hatcher
• Brand:               Gearheads Puzzles
• Piece count:     1000 pieces
• Size:                  Approx. 19 x 27 in. (48 x 69 cm)
• Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

• Board:               Very good
• Cutting:             Good
• Image:               Excellent
• Box:                   Average, quite compact for 1000 pieces
• Fit:                     Very good, though somewhat loose
• Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
• Piece cut:          Random cut
• Piece shapes:   Very good variety
• Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.