Fantasy Golf (What If? No. 18) by Geoff Tristram- Ravensburger – 1000 pieces
Obviously I cannot show you the puzzle that I’m currently assembling; it’s a mystery puzzle and showing the image, even just in progress, is a spoiler. Instead I’m sharing the picture on the back of the box. This is the artist, Geoff Tristram; his photo is on the back of every What If? puzzle that he draws, and he’s always dressed up in outfits that relate to the theme of the artwork.
The box says “What If? Golf suddenly became easier to play? Just imagine how delightful a round could be…” From what I can see so far, it’s going to be another beautiful bit of cartooning from the artist, and more fun and funny characters and situations to assemble.
Hubby is off at a golf tournament today, so I’m hoping working on this puzzle brings him good luck. 🍀⛳
*If he wins, we can use the cash prize to buy more puzzles! 😎*
If you’re a long-time reader you would probably think that this image is absolutely my pile of pieces – and it is. The problem here lies in the puzzle that it was attached to – the worst quality wooden puzzle I have ever come across.
There was/is a “going out of business sale” on Crafthub’s website, and I wanted to try them out so I bought 3 small puzzles (to make shipping worthwhile). Suffice it to say I was not looking forward to the other two after completing this one.
So let me tell you about the quality of this puzzle…
The pieces are way too small – they are hard to pick up, hold, and fit into the puzzle. With a detailed image like this one the small pieces make it extremely difficult to see if the patterns or colors match properly when trying to find the right piece.
The fit is too loose, and some pieces don’t even attach at all. Most wooden puzzles have a loose fit, but this was unbelievably, over the top loose; the slightest touch would move every piece already “attached”.
The wood has no heft to it, the pieces are light as a feather; when I was blowing on the sheet of paper on my tray to get rid of some dust all the pieces went flying because they were so light. I’ve never worked with a wooden puzzle that was so “delicate”.
Because the pieces are so small, the whimsy pieces are as well, and there are several shapes with the thinnest cuts I’ve ever seen. Some of those pieces had to be bent back into shape to fit into the puzzle correctly, and if it were assembled more than once they will most likely break off.
There were several pieces that weren’t cut all the way through, to separate them would have meant damaging them. If there was adequate quality control this should have been caught.
There was no name on the plastic box it came in and no piece count either, I had to count all the pieces myself to give you an accurate number. In addition, the size I chose said that there would be 70-80 pieces in the puzzle – there were 146 – either I got the wrong size or the website was just wrong.
The whimsies and the pieces that fit around them; uh…not great. Just because you can cut interesting shapes with a laser it doesn’t mean you should, especially when the pieces are so small. Several of the pieces that fit around these whimsies (mostly the ones that go underneath the animals) were bent almost to the point of breaking because they are so thin. These aren’t all the whimsy pieces, but once the puzzle was assembled I was so over working with it that I didn’t bother to find the others and take better pictures.
On the right is a piece from one of my MicroPuzzles and on the left is a piece of this puzzle; as you can see the pieces of this puzzle are smaller – too small for a wooden puzzle if you ask me. They’re hard to pick up, hard to place correctly, and in general just annoying to work with.
It also came with a poster bigger than the actual puzzle, and with colors much brighter than the puzzle itself. Because the colors were so different I found it easier to put the poster away and just work with the puzzle; when I was using the poster I ended up looking for brighter colors that weren’t anywhere on the puzzle I had. Frustrating and annoying.
I’ve done wooden puzzles whose pieces didn’t excite my imagination, puzzles that have had a bit of image break off at the edges, and puzzles with image alignment problems. I’ve worked with many brands from Artifact to Zen; but until now I’ve NEVER come across a wooden puzzle of poor all around quality – this was my first. I honestly have nothing good to say about this brand, this puzzle; and if you know me or have been a long-time reader you know that is something I rarely say. Even when there are problems with quality I normally find something positive; but that is not going to happen here. Crafthub has great images to choose from, but if they are attached to puzzles of such poor quality it is most definitely not worth the low, low prices on their website.
Please spend your puzzle budget elsewhere, Crafthub puzzles aren’t worth it – and we all deserve so much better.
Kuala Lumpur by Harimao Lee – Blanc Puzzles (Buffalo) – 300 pieces
There was something about this image that I couldn’t pass up, even though photographic puzzles aren’t usually my taste. Thankfully it was as much fun as I thought it would be and the assembly was truly entertaining.
Blanc Puzzles are very good quality, though this was a bit different than the previous puzzle by this brand that I assembled. The box was different (no clamshell lid or magnetic clasp) and the backing was different (no artist signature or brand name printed on the backing paper). Otherwise it seemed to be the same quality of chipboard, pieces, image reproduction, and fit.
There isn’t much that need focusing in on with this image, so I documented the assembly instead…
It wasn’t as challenging as I thought it would be, but in the end that was a good thing for me. Getting ready for our vacation was foremost in my mind, and it was nice to have an easy puzzle that didn’t require too much brain power.
I enjoyed this puzzle and it’s quality very much.💜
Vintage Summer Books by Aimee Stewart – Buffalo – 1000 pieces
Once again I’m working on a puzzle with an image by Aimee Stewart, and I can’t seem to keep myself away from it! It’s too much fun, and it keeps calling me back. 😊
This picture is only one small bit of the puzzle, because the only way to get a good picture of the whole thing without glare from the lights is to stand the board against the wall the way I do when I finish a puzzle. Taking off all my trays and containers of pieces wasn’t something I felt like doing this morning, so you just get to see one corner. I would apologize, but…I don’t want to.
Finishing up the sorting yesterday I kept having an argument with myself about whether or not this was the puzzle to assemble next. Watching all the pieces line up on the trays, seeing all those flowers and all that greenery – I kept thinking that it’ll be too difficult and maybe I should do something else. As you can see I decided to keep going (or I couldn’t decide whether or not to stop and got caught in a loop of indecision). 🤷♀️
There have been one or two puzzles with Aimee’s artwork that were full of flowers and vines and lots of green things; they were the most challenging puzzles of hers that I’ve done. It looks like this one might get difficult once all the books are done, but for now I’m REALLY enjoying myself!
What are you working on? Any fantastic images that I might want to see? Do tell!
1960s Flower Power by Andrew Farley – Wentworth – 250 pieces
This beauty was a fantastic puzzle that I enjoyed from the first piece to the last – even with all the chaos on my board! There was something very soothing about the way I assembled this one, thank goodness I listened to myself and did things so contrary to the way I normally puzzle.
When I started puzzling again after my extended break I went a LITTLE crazy and ordered many, many wooden puzzles, including quite a few 250 piece puzzles from Wentworth. For me it’s the perfect size for one of their wooden puzzles – not too overwhelming, not so small that it’s over too soon – it’s Goldilocks baby….just right! 👱♀️ The quality is excellent, and even with a “normal” cut rather than a Victorian one the assembly is challenging and satisfying.
I absolutely love these whimsies! They even got that funky 60s font for the letters just right and made sure that Ms. Thing on the right had on some big ‘ol bellbottoms. Yikes. It really was one of the worst decades for fashion if you ask me. 🤮
I mean, look at the fabric of this tote bag – hideous! So many fabrics, patterns, and clothes were unflattering or just plain ugly. I still remember taking my mother to task when we would look at old family photos; I would say “Mom, how could you have dressed me like that? That is so ugly!” Her response was always the same, “It was the style, that’s what was in fashion.” Thank goodness the fashion of the 60s has passed us by – and here’s hoping it’s NOT one of those trends that comes back around again.
It’s been almost six years since I’ve assembled a puzzle with artwork by Andrew Farley, and this image is very different than that previous one – African Splendor. The colors in this image, and the way it’s put together reminds me of Aimee Stewart’s art; perhaps that’s why I love it so much. 💗
Great quality puzzle, beautiful artwork, and a chaotic assembly that I adored. There’s not much more to for a puzzle geek to ask for.
My Jigsaw Journal 