Review: Chevy Gold

On August 25, 2018November 4, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments

This post is sponsored by Gearheads Puzzles.

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

On August 24, 2018August 24, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

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…

1065_wacky_packs_1200

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

On August 23, 2018August 23, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles4 Comments

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. 👍

Review: More Ice Cream Please

On August 22, 2018August 22, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews, Thrift Store PuzzlesLeave a comment

More Ice Cream Please – Cobble Hill – 500 pieces

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! 🍨🍨

Details:

Title: More Ice Cream Please
Artist: Not credited
Brand: Cobble Hill
Piece count: 500 pieces
Size: Approx. 18 x 24 in. (46 x 61 cm)
Purchased: Used, thrift store

Quality:

Board: Very good
Cutting: Very good
Image: Very good
Box: Very good
Fit: Very good
Puzzle Dust: Small amount
Piece cut: Random cut
Piece shapes: Very good variety
Finish: Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating: Very good, recommended

Taking Pumpkins to Market

On August 21, 2018 By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Thrift Store Puzzles6 Comments

So I found a total of 20 puzzles that I’d previously assembled and posted pictures of on my completed puzzles pages, but had never written an entire post for. The only conclusion I can come up with is that the pictures are so unbelievably horrid that I was loathe to unleash them on the unsuspecting readers. Well, times being tough and all, I need puzzles to post and so here we are. With the “found” puzzle pictures I have now given myself a 3 week cushion in which to get off my lazy butt and get some serious puzzling done. The pictures are terrible, but a girl gots to do what a girl gots to do! 😇

Another stellar photograph – this time with my husband’s shoes showing up in the background. Yeesh.

Still, this is an exciting puzzle – it was my very first Cobble Hill! I remember being so excited about this puzzle, not only did the pieces look and feel amazing – the box did too! The linen paper they use on both the puzzle and the box gives a great feel in your hand. They do such a good job with quality, especially on their smaller piece count puzzles.

What fascinates me about this puzzle is that it seems quite bright and colorful, but I distinctly remember that all the pieces seemed rather dark with varying shades of brown/black/dark. It was much more of a challenge than it looks, but it was still entertaining and excellent quality.