This is another puzzle from the multipack of 12 puzzles with artwork by Iralu, puzzles by Cardinal. I was surprised at the difference in quality between the 300 piece that I’d already assembled and this one; the 300 piece was much better quality than this 150 piece. Interesting.
I knew when I purchased it that the puzzles would most likely be of lesser quality; I find that the puzzles in most multipacks are made with thinner chipboard and as a result don’t usually fit together well – that was certainly the case with this puzzle. The fit on the edges was especially terrible and I found that the pieces seemed to fit where they didn’t belong. The top and bottom edges were assembled at the beginning, but the sides weren’t completed until the interior of the puzzle was assembled; the top and bottom edges had color on almost every piece and I could be certain that I got the assembly correct.
Each of the 150 piece puzzles in this pack are similar to this image, they are all of trucks or some sort of vehicle; I don’t dislike them, but they aren’t my favorites. The 500 and 300 piece puzzle images are the ones I really like in the box, but the 150 piece puzzles are perfect to put onto a tray and work while I’m resting in bed.
Even with the questionable quality this was an enjoyable puzzle to assemble (except for the edges), and it went together pretty quickly. It’s nice to have some very small puzzles available that I can work on my trays in bed when I’m not feeling well enough to sit at the puzzle table. 🙂
Best Friends by Dean Russo – Starz Puzzles – 158 pieces
Best Friends is a gorgeous puzzle with amazing quality, and I enjoyed every difficult minute of the assembly! I wanted to experience the quality itself and how the pieces went together so I put the image away and assembled this one blind. It was a fantastic puzzle, an entertaining assembly, and is most highly recommended.
Starz Puzzles is a newer puzzle company that I’ve written about before on My Jigsaw Journal, asking for my reader’s input on the brand in general and the uniquely shaped pieces. Fortunately I was asked to assemble and review one of their puzzles so I can now personally speak about the brand and it’s quality. I’ve worked with quite a few brands of wooden puzzles, and this brand was extremely interesting to assemble with wonderful all-around quality. Their star shaped pieces make for an engaging assembly, and their process of printing directly onto the wood makes for crisp and vibrant colors. The puzzles are also spill-proof according to the packaging, but I love puzzles too much to have tested that out. Because they print directly onto the wood they are also able to re-print over the artwork, which I find intriguing. What a novel concept!
Most Starz puzzles come in a custom wooden box made from solid Ash hardwood with pinned hinges; this puzzle came to me in their new sleeve packaging, which I think is a great idea. It’s fantastic for storing puzzles, quite thin compared to a regular puzzle box, but very sturdy. The sleeve packaging is only available for their x-small, small, and medium sizes, the heirloom boxes are available for all sizes except the x-small. Their website doesn’t currently show the sleeve packaging, but they are working on updating it and their puzzles sold on Amazon do have the sleeve packing available.
The puzzle comes assembled and laying flat in the sleeve. It wasn’t as easy as dumping out pieces on the table and starting assembly; the fit was tight enough that I had to disassemble it piece by piece, and this was my only criticism for the packaging. Most puzzlers are raring to go when they open a new puzzle, and having to take the puzzle apart could be annoying for some. I didn’t find it too annoying, but it’s worth pointing out.
This was a puzzle with star cluster silhouettes (whimsies), shown on the left, and they certainly made the assembly interesting! Once I wrapped my brain around how the pieces went together I came across the actual stars and that upped the difficulty level; it was definitely a challenge but I really did love it. Their signature star shaped piece is on the right, with extremely thick 1/4″ maple wood.
Dean Russo’s images have been on quite a few puzzles, but this is the first artwork of his that I have put together. It was such a fantastic image of colors and patterns and adorable canine faces – love, love, loved it! 💗 All those patterns and colors made for a more difficult but extremely gratifying assembly.
Most of the comments on my previous post about these puzzle were about the price – Starz Puzzles are on the more expensive side of wooden puzzles – this 158 piece puzzle in the sleeve packaging is $119.00. The bottom line is every puzzle isn’t for everyone; just like the Christian puzzles I reviewed earlier this year, they’re made for a specific consumer. Not everyone has the inclination or ability to buy these puzzles, but many people are so inclined and this review could assist them in making a purchase decision.
My bottom line is that these puzzles are excellent quality and I enjoyed both the artwork and working with their uniquely shaped pieces. I may not currently be able to afford these puzzles, but I adored working with this one and thought it was beautiful and beautifully made. Definitely recommended! 👍
There’s something about tiny little pieces that draws me in, and I find them so interesting to work with. You can’t really tell by just looking at the puzzle how small it is, unless there’s something beside it for scale – they’re about 6 inches tall and 3 inches wide. (I did show the scale on Air Vent Kitty, you can see that picture by clicking the link).
I’m not a fan of wine, but I love the look on the cat’s face behind the stem of the wine glass, it’s like she’s been dealing with the kittens all day and just needs a little mom time. 🐱
I’ve done quite a few of these mini puzzles that come in test tubes, most of them with my mom; we really enjoyed working on them together – it was a little sad for me to assemble it alone. She loved working with the teeny tiny pieces as much as I did, and would sit with me on my bed and either help me or just take the tray away from me and do a lot of the assembly herself.
I don’t know what it is about the little pieces that made them so enjoyable to work with, but we both were completely enthralled with the little test tube puzzles and loved working on them together. At only 150 pieces they went together pretty quickly, but it was always time well spent. 💗
These pocket puzzles are so much fun to work with, there’s something completely entertaining and absorbing about the tiny little pieces. The entire puzzle fits into a test tube container that you could take anywhere – love that! ❤
All the silly pictures of the animals help with the entertainment factor, they’re much more fun to assemble than the dreaded Winter Aspen was. These are not only much smaller piece counts than that was, but much more interesting and colorful images too.
Mom told me after I posted the Corn Chipmunk that I needed to put something next to the puzzle for scale, to show how small they really are. They’re pretty darned tiny, but with nothing else beside them you can’t gauge the size…
I’ve got 3 more of these fun, funny puzzles to assemble and I’m looking forward to every single one! Tried a mini puzzle before? I think they’re wonderfully fun and recommend giving them a try. 😍
Do I have anything in my teeth? This little guy made me laugh! What a fun puzzle to put together, mom and I did the majority of the work with a little help from my daughter. 🙂
My sister works at Barnes & Noble, and when these pocket puzzles went on sale she got them for mom and me to assemble. We have 5 out of the series of 12, they’re all going to be fun! You can look forward to four more silly animal puzzles. 🐿
