This puzzle is beautiful, fun, and relatively easy to assemble. That being said, there is a quality issue with it that’s quite disappointing for me, and I’ve already sent an email to the company about it.
There are rips in the image on the puzzle, as if it weren’t cut all the way through and when the pieces came apart they peeled off. I haven’t had a quality issue like this with a Buffalo puzzle before, and it’s a bit of a bummer for me as I really love the image.
Still, it shouldn’t take too long to finish, and the colors really are lovely.
Rocks, Crystals and Minerals by Lars Stewart – Wentworth – 250 pieces
This beautiful collection of rocks and crystals is absolutely stunning, even more so than the picture can show. It made for such an interesting and entertaining assembly that I was really sad when it was over so quickly – I wished I had purchased a larger piece count!
Beautiful whimsy pieces that go along with the puzzle, although I was surprised to see the excavator along with the other digging tools. It does make sense though, there has to be some way to get those beautiful stones out of the Earth, and the excavator would make it much easier than hand tools.
I think I got the image upside down when I took this picture, although I didn’t notice it until right this moment. I could go back and fix it, but it would take time to change the image and then re-upload it, and to be honest in my opinion it doesn’t matter enough to take the time. I’d rather spend that time working on my next puzzle!
This beautiful image by Lars Stewart (Aimee’s boo) is absolutely striking and the colors are amazingly lovely in person – pictures definitely don’t capture it properly. This is one puzzle that will definitely be assembled again.
Stephen King Books (?) – Unknown Brand – 1000 pieces
This puzzle from an unknown brand had terrible quality, but the collage image was still entertaining to put together. Entertaining or not though, it isn’t one that I would recommend – I just couldn’t get past the thin pieces and terrible fit and the frustration of trying to move pieces around that crumble and fall apart like they weren’t even connected.
Although I searched every inch of the box, I could find no brand name at all. It says “Jigsaw Puzzle” and “1000 pieces” and there is a grid that has letters in it but that seems to be showing that this puzzle is lettered on the back to help with sorting and assembly. There’s no title for the puzzle either, so I just went with the obvious. This seems to be a quickly made puzzle to take advantage of the increased demand during the pandemic.
The pieces are unbelievably thin, and the fit was quite loose. The image reproduction was slightly blurry in some places and the finish was quite shiny. All the pieces were ballerinas (2 prong, 2 hole) in two different shapes – one thinner that was assembled vertically, and one thicker that was placed horizontally. There was also an extra piece, and one missing; usually both problems in one puzzle are from pieces sticking in the die that is used to cut the shapes. The nicest thing I have to report about this puzzle is that it lies flat, that’s the extent of this puzzle’s virtues.
You can see in the first picture both the extra piece, and how incredibly thin the pieces of this puzzle are. The second picture is showing the first section to be assembled. I used the letters on the back to both sort and assemble this puzzle. Normally I don’t do that, but there are so many words repeated (Stephen King, obviously) and so much darkness in the image that with the frustration of the pieces and how they fit together I don’t think I would have put this puzzle together any other way.
Carrie is the only Stephen King book I’ve ever read, and to be honest I really didn’t care for it. I was a teenager at the time, perhaps that was part of it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I do love the look of this book cover though. 😲
Richard Bachman is one of several nom de plumes (pen names) that Stephen King has used, so this is also a Stephen King novel. I’ve never heard of this book, but this seemed like the perfect picture to take for a puzzle posted near Halloween. Bloody and creepy!
I’ve learned in the past couple of years that if there is no brand name on a puzzle box that it is not worth my time. Just this week I was given a wooden puzzle for my birthday with no brand name on the box, and it was AWFUL. If the makers aren’t willing to tell you the brand name (or if there really isn’t a brand at all), it’s a hastily made puzzle without regard for quality, or your enjoyment of the assembly.
Real companies that put their name on a puzzle box are proud of their product, even if we aren’t always happy with their quality; those that don’t just aren’t worth it in my opinion. I’d rather have a Ceaco than a crap puzzle without a name.
I’ve got nothing on the board right now guys, it has been a terrible week for me and I am not handling it well at all. I’m doing my best, but that’s all I can do. I’m struggling.
My youngest has picked out my next puzzle, but it’s still in the box. I hope to have an actual in progress post for you in a few days, but as of now there’s nothing. Sorry.
What a fantastic puzzle to assemble! It had great quality, a beautiful, colorful image with many things to discover; but it wasn’t so busy as to be difficult or distracting. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, which is always a fun thing to discover while you’re puzzling. 😍
The quality was excellent, very nice to find since there have been a few problems with bent pieces lately with Buffalo puzzles that I’ve done. There was no problem with this puzzle though, and I thoroughly enjoyed the assembly. The fit was tight and the puzzle laid flat, the image reproduction (especially the color) was excellent, and there were the usual variety of piece shapes. The chipboard was thick and felt good in the hand – overall it was just a wonderful puzzle!
Regular readers know I just can’t resist a puzzle with quilts; and there were several in this image. The colors and patterns were absolutely beautiful!
There were many tires and wheels in this image, but they weren’t as easy to find as you might think. I pulled as many pieces with wagon wheels and tires as I could during the initial sorting, but missed almost as many as I found. This red tractor looks as though it would be easy to find the pieces, but there was so much red in the image that this was one of the last things to be put together. It’s a great looking old tractor though, isn’t it?
It wasn’t too easy as to be boring, there was just the right amount of challenge and I completely adored this one. The assembly went faster than I thought, mostly because it was difficult to walk away from. Each small section led to another, and it was so much fun! If you’re looking for a great image that’s entertaining to assemble I highly recommend this puzzle. 👍👍
My Jigsaw Journal 