Reef Fish (2) – Lafayette Puzzle Factory – 500 pieces
I loved this puzzle! You’re shocked right? It’s just so hard to believe. 😉
Perhaps my love of collages has something to do with how much I enjoy these puzzles. The fun of assembling a collage for me is finding and putting together each small section at a time; it’s like having a bunch of mini puzzles that all connect together. Even when I’m not feeling well and can’t puzzle for long periods of time I can assemble a little part of the puzzle and it feels more like an accomplishment when I see one section finished.
The only difference here is that these small “sections” don’t connect together. You can separate them by the colored backing and put together one whole little puzzle and you have a sense of completion – for me it’s wonderfully entertaining and I can’t get enough of them.
The big girl with the large mouth is my favorite, the colors and overall look of the fish just make me smile. (I’ve made this fish female in my mind because the colors are so pretty. Could be wrong, but she’s a she to me 🙂 ) The box tells me that she is a Picasso Triggerfish – what a fabulous name! From my small amount of research online I have found that she’s an aggressive carnivore that can sometimes be quite small – that definitely sounds like a few females I know! I think she’s beautifully colored and it definitely made for a fun assembly.
Sadly, I only have one more of these shaped puzzles yet to assemble. But I’m sure I’ll enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed the others, they really are such a good time!
Chevy Gold by Laura Hatcher- Gearheads Puzzles – 1000 pieces
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.
Wacky Packages by Charlie Girard – White Mountain Puzzles – 1000 pieces
I enjoyed Wacky Packages so much I can’t believe I never posted about it! (This was completed several years ago) The fit was amazingly tight, but it didn’t bother me that much because the image was so engaging and entertaining. My daughter started to assemble it herself and gave up because the fit was so snug, but I absolutely loved it. When the fit is this tight I like to stand them up on the bottom edge and take a picture that way – it just makes me smile. 😁
The quality of this White Mountain puzzle was good; the artwork seemed a bit fuzzy and the fit was EXTREMELY tight, but otherwise it was very nice. The pieces were thick with a very good variety of shapes. The image reproduction was very good; I think the fuzziness was the artwork itself rather than the reproduction – the colors were excellent! My picture is a bit fuzzy, here’s a better image…
Collages are my favorite type of puzzle image, I love being able to complete one section at a time and finding where it fits into the overall picture. Charlie Girard is one of the best collage artists around (in my very humble opinion), and I always enjoy his work. This one was not only fun to assemble, it was amusing to read – Neveready batteries and Weakies cereal! 😂
I’m surprised how fondly I remember this puzzle, because the fit was so snug. Normally that’s something that I don’t care for at all, but when the image sucks me in and I’m having such a good time I seem to be completely unconcerned with any quality issues. This was definitely one of those times. The image overcame all, and despite my disdain for a super tight fit I had a wonderful time putting this puzzle together.
A Ruff Life by Brooke Faulder, Bits and Pieces – 1000 pieces
This puzzle was from a 3 in 1 box set by Bits and Pieces, it was great fun! It’s another puzzle that I completed several years ago; it’s funny how I can specifically recall puzzles from more than 2 years ago, but can’t remember what I had for lunch 2 days ago. 😐
A Ruff Life was the main reason I purchased the set, the other two were nice enough, but this was the puzzle I wanted to assemble most. The bright colors, cute puppies and interesting patterns made for an entertaining but challenging assembly. Challenging is not always a bad thing, many times the complexity draws me in and I find myself completely absorbed in figuring out. Other times the challenge seems overwhelming and tedious, and I’m only interested in finishing it so that I can move on to a more “amusing” puzzle. Fortunately this puzzle was the absorbing type of challenge.
Bits and Pieces quality isn’t always consistent, but the quality of this particular puzzle was very good. The pieces were a good thickness, the random cut meant there were a very good variety of shapes, and the image reproduction was quite good as well. The end result is almost seamless – the fit was excellent.
The lighter browns and darker areas were the most challenging (although there doesn’t seem to be much darkness looking at the completed puzzle). I still remember how much I enjoyed this puzzle; the random cut kept it interesting, the dogs are extremely cute, and the overall image is perfect for puzzling.
A Ruff Life is no longer in print, but if you come across a copy it’s definitely recommended. 👍
This was quite fun, but very challenging. It’s got a few missing pieces, but them’s the chances you take when you purchase used. It didn’t detract much from my enjoyment of the assembly, and the puzzle was such good quality that I didn’t mind that much. Fun puzzle!
For being a used thrift store puzzle, the quality held up quite well. The pieces still had a great feel and fit together very well. Sometimes you buy a pre-loved puzzle and it’s been beat up by it’s previous owner; this one seems to have been taken care of (if you don’t count the missing pieces). I do love a Cobble Hill puzzle, especially the smaller piece counts – the quality is excellent!
Once the edge was assembled it seemed that there may be a few missing pieces, but you can never be sure with a random cut – sometimes the edges don’t look like edges. Blue ice cream was the first to be assembled, and when those were finished I knew for sure that there were some pieces that seem to have melted away 😉
Mom came over and helped me finish this one up, with her help the pieces seem to fly into place! For me it’s so nice working a puzzle with someone else; there’s the fun of working together on a common goal, good conversation, and just spending time together. In the words of one of my favorite puzzle companies – Sit long. Talk much. Turn off that screen.
It’s more challenging than it looks, but absolutely worth it! Definitely recommended, two sundaes way up! 🍨🍨
My Jigsaw Journal 