Super interesting puzzles mom found at the thrift store! There are six 100 piece double sided puzzles to assemble and glue for use with a dry erase board calendar; a different image for each month.
The brand is Mega Puzzles, but they are much thicker than any Mega Puzzles I’ve done before. And the most amazing part? This is from the thrift store and everything is still inside the box! All puzzles (I’m hoping all the pieces are accounted for), the calendar, the dry erase marker, glue and a spreader to use with the glue. Wow!
The puzzles are thicker than the normal Mega Puzzle, but one side has an odd finish. I don’t know how to describe it, but you can tell which side of the puzzle you’re working on which I suppose is the reason for it. In my opinion one side looks better than the other, but it isn’t too bad. I enjoyed assembling the first puzzle (well, 2 puzzles) and have shown each side above along with the calendar. I haven’t glued the puzzles, but just placed it carefully so you can see what it looks like. Actually, pretty cool idea!
There are two different editions of this calendar kit that I was able to find online. Mega Puzzles aren’t a brand I would normally seek out, but this one is pretty neat and I wouldn’t mind finding the other edition to try. 🙂 I loved working on a 100 piece puzzle that had a more adult image; stay tuned for the other 5 puzzles!
Great Americans by James Mellett – White Mountain – 1000 pieces
It’s a complete coincidence that this was the puzzle that ended up being the one for review today – but a good thing. After the weekend we’ve had dealing with Hurricane Irma, and then the anniversary of 9-11 it seems like we need something uplifting. So it’s a good day to remember some of the great Americans that have helped to make this country a better place to live. ❤
Great Americans was an entertaining puzzle to assemble, and to be honest it led me to an internet search for the meanings and differences between collage and montage. Long story, and to be honest I don’t know that I fully grasp the difference. So whether you call this a montage or a collage I have no idea. Whichever it is though, I had a good time assembling it. 🙂
White Mountain Puzzles have some of the best collages in the industry in my opinion and I always enjoy assembling them. They’re hard for me to walk away from because one section or person always leads to assembling the adjoining one. They have an excellent catalog with collages for many tastes, along with fine art, educational puzzles and much more. Check out all of their puzzles available now at Puzzle Warehouse by clicking the link above.
They have larger pieces than most companies and their 1000 piece puzzles are quite large at 24 x 30 inches (61 x 76 cm) so be sure your work space is roomy enough before you start. There was a medium amount of puzzle dust in the bag, but all the pieces were separated with no damage. The pieces are a good thickness with a good variety of piece shapes and fit together very well. The image reproduction is bright and colorful with a matte finish to prevent glare. The name of the puzzle, manufacturer, piece count and a portion of the image is on all 4 sides.
This isn’t the typical collage that I like to assemble. I prefer the actual pictures or products rather than drawings. Although it’s not my taste it was still fun to assemble. It was an interesting puzzle and the assembly sucked me in; I found it hard to stop working at times. There are so many people to assemble and identify, it’s an extra little workout for your brain! You’ll find politicians, athletes, entertainers, authors, captains of industry, and many more. How many will you recognize?
The artwork is by James Mellett, whose collection of puzzles are amazingly detailed, informative, and very interesting. The amount of work that must go into each image he creates is impressive! His subjects include pop culture, sports, maps, and celebrities. And if you have any trouble recognizing anyone or anything in his puzzles, they have a page on the White Mountain website with the keys to his puzzles. Although they haven’t yet put up a key for this puzzle. 😐 Click to see all the James Mellett puzzles available at Puzzle Warehouse right now.
Great Americans was an entertaining assembly that had me guessing on a few people I wasn’t sure of. It was fun to work the puzzle while trying to identify everyone shown – I knew most of them but not all. (I’m hoping they put up the puzzle key soon!) It’s a great puzzle if you enjoy pop culture, history, collages, America, or even just a great image. Recommended 👍
I received this product at no cost to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.
Prehistoric Cave by Michael Digiorgio – Great American Puzzle Factory – 100 pieces
**This is a guest review – Stacey’s daughter here**
Hurricane Irma has us holed up in the house, waiting impatiently for her to pass through. While the men have spent the time watching movies, the ladies have been working on different puzzles. While my mother and grandmother are working on a 2000 piece puzzle, I asked for a smaller one to complete. Out of the two 100 pieces that she currently had, I chose this one for the colors and subject. Who doesn’t like dinosaurs?
This puzzle was enjoyable and only took around 30 minutes to complete. The pieces were sturdy, well constructed and fit together well. With it being a circular puzzle, there are random cuts throughout which kept me guessing whether I needed one or two pieces in certain areas. The only downside I could see was that they were very glossy, which required you to assemble the puzzle at a slight angle to be able to really see the images on the pieces. The colors were both bright and muted; the dinosaurs themselves were very vivid, while the scenery was calm and cooling. I would most definitely purchase this brand again!
Cat’s Got Mail by Bryan Moon – Ravensburger – 300 pieces
The large piece Ravensburger puzzles are so good! This is a 300 piece puzzle and the finished image is VERY big – 27 x 20 inches! (70 x 50 cm) That’s the average size of a 1000 piece puzzle. 😮 It’s quite impressive looking and feels like a big accomplishment!
I enjoyed the difficulty level of this puzzle, it was a bit of a challenge and took me longer than a 300 piece would normally take. Not too easy, not too hard – it was just right! I typically don’t do cat puzzles, but I enjoyed this one very much. Mom’s been finding some awesome images at the thrift stores lately and they’ve been so fun to work.
I am having a great time with the smaller piece puzzles. Maybe it’s because I spent the better part of 6 months working on one enormous puzzle, I’m not sure. But I really do enjoy the smaller piece counts as well as the puzzles 1000 pieces and above. Perhaps I just love to do puzzles, no matter the size! 🙂
Horrible Histories Cracking Castle by Martin Brown – Galt – 300 pieces
Horrible Histories are a series of books published in the UK that are designed to engage kids in history by presenting the gory, unpleasant, or unusual aspects in an amusing way. I hadn’t heard of them before, but actually they sound like a wonderful read! I’d be interested in checking them out. 😉
This puzzle reveals some of the truths about living in a castle long ago, and it’s a pretty fun assembly. The pieces are very thick and sturdy and the image reproduction is very sharp and colorful. The only problem I have with it is that the finish is extremely shiny and you can have glare on any of the pieces. Other than that minor detail, this was quite a fun puzzle that went together rather quickly. It comes with a “loathsome leaflet” filled with “foul facts” that will make you want to read the books to learn more horrible things!
Galt Toy jigsaw puzzles are mostly large floor puzzles for younger children, they do have a few 100 piece puzzles and they carry 4 puzzles from the Horrible History series. They are a UK based toy manufacturer, so it may not be easy to find more of them here in the US. I’m hoping to find more though, the quality was excellent and I love the concept. I’d love to find the Rotten Romans puzzle. 🙂
My Jigsaw Journal 