Interconnection by Richard Welker – Ceaco – 550 pieces
This puzzle is the last in a series of 3 by Richard Welker, all the images were so much fun to assemble! I love the look of all of them, and all three made for excellent puzzling. (Sorry about the glare, I usually do a better job with the pictures)
The quality was fair, but how I wish it were better! The board is made of many layers of board, and right out of the box some pieces were split and peeling. Why can’t Ceaco up the quality even just a little bit? They have some fantastic images, but the quality is great on one puzzle and terrible on another. The image reproduction was very good, as was the fit; but the quality of the chipboard used is a major component with puzzles, and it’s hard to ignore when it’s bad. 😦
These images by Richard Welker are eye-catching and interesting, and I bought them knowing the quality might be less than optimal. I’m not sorry I did, the image made up for a lot. There’s one more image by this artist that I’ve found, it’s not in the same series, but it’s been produced by Ceaco/Brainwright….
I think it looks like fun! Hopefully I’ll run across it one of these days, it’s interesting and calming and full of bright, beautiful colors. 🙂
The Village Tree by Steve Crisp – Wentworth Wooden Puzzles – 40 pieces
This puzzle has a wonderfully bright color scheme, it was fun to assemble and a pretty finished image. I love these micro puzzles; I can put them in my purse and take them anywhere that I know I’ll be waiting for a while. It’s much more fun to pass the time putting together a puzzle than just sitting and reading old magazines or staring at something on my phone.
I was a little disappointed that the whimsies were a rerun of the whimsies in the Yuletide Puppies micro puzzle that I assembled earlier this month. I also realize that there must be a limited number of whimsy pieces per subject. They probably didn’t think someone would go crazy and buy all of the micro puzzles they’ve got in one shot like I did!
This image would be fun to assemble in larger piece counts too, but it isn’t really my taste. It’s pretty and bright, but the subject matter just doesn’t do it for me. If you like Christmas puzzles, this might be a good one for you. It’s available up to 1500 pieces by Wentworth, and was also produced in a 1000 piece count by White Mountain. There’s also a slightly altered image (with no presents under the tree) from Gibsons in a 500 piece. It really is a beautiful puzzle, I would recommend it from any of these companies.
After putting together 4 of these winter themed micro puzzles in one day I remembered that I still have four more 250 piece Wentworth puzzles yet to assemble. I’m recovering today from another all day car trip to a doctor’s appointment yesterday – perhaps today’s the day to start one of those. 😎
I am absolutely in love with these small, separate, shaped puzzles from Lafayette Puzzle Factory. Assembling them is so much fun! I bought 8 of the series, and there are still more that I’d like to get my hands on.
The quality is about medium-level in my opinion. The chipboard has different colored backing for each mini puzzle, and sometimes the die doesn’t cut all the way through this backing. I enjoy these puzzles so much that it doesn’t really bother me that some pieces need to be separated. They are another example of how I’m willing to overlook certain quality issues if the image or assembly is particularly entertaining.
The pieces are a good thickness, there are an excellent variety of shapes, and the fit is very good. The image reproduction is excellent with bright, beautiful colors. They are truly stunning!
The shoes are beautiful as artwork, but there is NO WAY that I would be able to wear them. Perhaps I could sit down first and then put them on, I would look pretty but wouldn’t have to actually walk anywhere. These are my two favorites; I have nowhere to wear them, and nothing to wear them with, but I just love the look of them….
The whole time I was putting these together I kept thinking they would be a great idea for decorating a teenage girl’s room. Most young girls can’t wait to be older and high heels are definitely part of that – at least they were for me. I would have loved to have had these puzzles on my walls when I was younger.
If you’re interested in these gorgeous shaped shoe puzzles I highly recommend them. I had the best time assembling them – two heels kicked way up! 👠👠
Lots and Lots of Spots by John Donnell – Springbok – 550 pieces
Very cute puzzle, with lots of bright colors to help out with all those spots! If it wasn’t for the terribly tight fit I would have really enjoyed this puzzle. 😐
This was another Springbok with an EXTREMELY tight fit, and it makes the assembly much less entertaining for me. Some people enjoy a fit this tight, but I do not. Every piece needs quite a bit of work and pressure to make sure it’s properly connected. Ugh. The edges curl up and you can pick up the entire puzzle with two fingers. I’ve found that when the fit is this tight you can even stand the puzzle up on it’s bottom edge!
The puppies are so adorable, and the chunks of color on the floor, balls, and stools helped to make sure all those spots didn’t make the assembly too frustrating or tedious. Once all the color was assembled the random cut made it a little easier to find which spot went in which spot. 😁
According to the internet this is a “vintage” Springbok puzzle, so if you’re looking for one you might want to try thrift stores or online shops like ebay. This one had an awfully tight fit, but perhaps they’re not all that way. If the image is one that tickles your fancy, I hope you can find one out there!
The top half of this puzzle was actually pretty entertaining to assemble, but the bottom half – yikes! I had to call in the puzzle posse to help me get it done, good thing she was available.
The quality, other than the fit, was quite good. The pieces were thick with a very smooth matte finish. They feel good in your hands, but almost a bit dry – I don’t know how to explain it – perhaps the feel is more dusty than dry, I can’t seem to find the right words. Whatever the finish on them is, it doesn’t feel unpleasant to me, just different than the finish on most other puzzles.
The fit was loose, which was the most noticeable when trying to assemble the edges, it was a challenge to keep them together at times. Bumping them accidentally with my arms could upset many pieces, which was pretty annoying. Once I started to fill in the rest of the puzzle the fit didn’t seem quite as loose as before.
This was a thrift store find, mom brought it over a few weeks ago, and I decided it would be perfect for Christmas in July. I’m not much a fan of Santa images to be honest, but it was only 550 pieces so I figured it wouldn’t be that difficult. Boy was I wrong! The top half wasn’t bad, my daughter even helped me a little bit when she was visiting. But once I got to the bottom I have to admit I was intimidated.
I called mom over for an impromptu puzzle party and we made pretty short work of all those Christmas trees at the bottom. We both were working together at almost the same spot and we kept getting in each other’s way and laughing. Perhaps it’s a good thing those trees intimidated me, otherwise I might not have called mom for help – I would have missed out on all the fun of puzzling with her. 😉
It’s a beautifully detailed image, too bad no credit was given to the artist anywhere on the box. It seems to happen a lot, at least that I’ve noticed anyway. It’s an entertaining but challenging puzzle – if you’re up for it and can find it I would definitely recommend it.
