Tag: Puzzle reviews

Review: Birthday Candle

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews2 Comments
Birthday
Birthday Candle by Stephanie D. Roeser – Sure-Lox – 300 pieces

This image was too funny to pass up, how could you walk by this puzzle on the shelf and not give it a try? That face!

I’ve found that the newer Sure-Lox box means better quality, so I was confident buying this puzzle. I’ve been impressed with the new quality, especially on their 300 piece puzzles. The chipboard is thick and both the fit and the image reproduction are excellent – look at the bright, beautiful colors, and the sharp focus on the cat!

I decided to sort and assemble this a different way, and documented as I went. It was put together at night when sleep wouldn’t come – as per usual these days. Insomnia = lots of puzzle time.

Birthday 1

After the edge was complete I started with the the cupcake and candle, and it went together quickly. I love the colors, it’s all so bright and cheery.

Birthday 2

Next to be assembled was all of the background; it took a little more time and since I put the box away I was only using the colors to find my way. Shapes were of no help because all of the pieces were ballerinas. It didn’t make it too difficult with this image though; the colors were all the help I needed.

Birthday 3

Next I put in all the pieces with both cat hair and background color. Assembling the puzzle this way, from the outside in was quite entertaining and although it doesn’t lend itself to most puzzle images it was fun to try it on this one.

Birthday

All that was left was to fill in the cat, it was the most difficult part, obviously. After the eyes, nose, and mouth the whiskers were the next to be put together; they were brilliantly white and easy to pick out. Once those were all done all that was left was just fur, which is notoriously difficult; but because there were only 300 pieces to begin with there weren’t that many pieces left, so it went pretty quickly.

The image was great fun, the background colors made it interesting, and I loved the process of assembling in from the outside in and documenting it as I went. Hopefully you, my readers, liked it as well. Meow! 😽

Details:

  • Title:                  Birthday Candle
  • Artist:                Stephanie D. Roeser
  • Brand:               Sure-Lox
  • Piece count:     300 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 26 x 18 in. (65 x 46 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   No variety, all one shape
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

Review: Circles Strokes

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews8 Comments
Circles Strokes
Circles Strokes by Kirsten Hinte – Milton Bradley – 750 pieces

I do so love blocks of color. 💖 This puzzle was a lovely respite from holiday images (it was finished on December 22), and even though it was a bit difficult I enjoyed the unique image and the gold foil accents. It’s such different and interesting artwork, and you know how much I love things that aren’t the norm.

As I do many times, after purchasing this puzzle I opened the box to look at the pieces; then, as I do, put it away because it looked like it would be pretty difficult. Several times the box came out when it was time to choose the next puzzle, and it went back in the pile every time. Luckily, this time I jumped at the chance to do a puzzle without snow or Santa, and started sorting before giving myself a chance to question how challenging it would be.

This is a special Gold edition Milton Bradley puzzle, and I found the quality to be quite good. Nice, thick chipboard with a good fit, wonderful colors, and beautiful gold foil accents. I wish pictures could capture the gold foil, it’s really quite beautiful.

Some of the colors were easy to pick out, and once I started getting things assembled the pieces became more familiar and it was easier to notice the subtle differences in color. It’s like most images, the more you do the more you become familiar with it; the more familiar the pieces become, the easier it is to see what you’re looking for. It provided a good challenge though, and kept me intensely focused only on what piece was next and which color goes where.

If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary and this image is one that strikes your fancy, I can definitely recommend this puzzle. I found it to be very good quality, with an image that made for a challenging and engrossing assembly. 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Circles Strokes
  • Artist:                Kirsten Hinte
  • Brand:               Milton Bradley
  • Piece count:     750 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 27 x 20 in. (69 x 51 cm)
  • Purchased:      New

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent, gold foil
  • Box:                   Average
  • Fit:                     Very good
  • Puzzle Dust:     Small amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, recommended

Review: Best Friends

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews3 Comments
Best Friends
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.

Best Friends 5

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.

Best Friends 2

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! 👍

Details:

  • Title:                  Best Friends
  • Artist:                Dean Russo
  • Brand:               Starz Puzzles
  • Piece count:     158 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 11 x 8 in. (28 x 20 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Excellent, 1/4″ Maple wood
  • Cutting:             Excellent
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Sleeve packaging, excellent for storage
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     None
  • Piece cut:          Unique star shaped pieces
  • Piece shapes:   Very good variety with silhouettes
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat, spill-proof

Overall Rating:      Excellent, most highly 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.

Review & Giveaway: Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzles, Puzzle reviews12 Comments
5th Avenue
Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue by Charles Fazzino – Sure-Lox – 2000 pieces

Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue is part of the new Art Gallery puzzle collection from TCG Toys’ Sure-Lox brand. I was happily surprised at the quality of this puzzle, and enjoyed it much more than anticipated. This is the first puzzle I’ve assembled with artwork by Charles Fazzino, and I loved the 3D Pop Art style – it made for a wonderfully entertaining assembly!

Sure-Lox puzzles haven’t also been on the nice list here at My Jigsaw Journal, but in the past few months I’ve assembled a couple of their puzzles in the newer packaging and was pleasantly surprised by the good quality. The chipboard is thicker, the fit is exceptional, and the image reproduction is excellent. It’s rare that a puzzle company makes significant improvement to their quality, but Sure-Lox seems to have done it. 5th Avenue makes the third Sure-Lox puzzle from the newer line that I’ve assembled, and they have all been very good quality. Well done Sure-Lox!

I was so impressed by the thicker pieces that I decided to compare them to Ravensburger to see how it held up …

5th Avenue 3

The Ravensburger piece is on the top, and you can see that the chipboard of the Sure-Lox puzzle is almost the same thickness. It may not be as well compressed, but all in all I was thoroughly impressed. The pieces feel good in your hand, and the fit is excellent. You can lift and hold up the finished puzzle with no problem at all. I picked mine up and handed it to my son (who wasn’t too keen on being photographed, but oh well)….

5th Avenue 4

Pretty darn nice fit if you ask me. Perhaps it could even be framed without having to use glue – not too shabby! Wonderful quality all around, and I am well and truly impressed by the new Sure-Lox line of puzzles.

The only criticism I have is that there is only one piece shape. With an image like this it isn’t too much of a problem, most of the puzzle is busy and the only large area of color is the sky. Luckily it’s broken up by quite a few butterflies, but there are a few sections where it can be somewhat tedious. But honestly, I was almost done with the assembly by then, and I was so excited to be finishing that I didn’t find it overly tiresome. Many puzzle companies are using just the one piece shape these days, and I find that I’m slowly getting used to it even if my preference is a puzzle with a variety of piece shapes.

The artwork is incredibly detailed and interesting, and the New York cityscape made for a fun assembly. I think I may be a new Charles Fazzino fan, and will definitely be looking for some more puzzles of his art. 🎨

Rockefeller Center
New York Public Library

Overall I was very happy with the quality of this puzzle – the image kept me entertained and smiling, and it’s one that is definitely recommended – instead of thumbs I’m giving it two Lady Liberties with their torches way up! 🗽🗽

Details:

  • Title:                  Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue
  • Artist:                Charles Fazzino
  • Brand:               Sure-Lox
  • Piece count:     2000 pieces
  • Size:                  Approx. 39 x 27 in. (99 x 69 cm)
  • Purchased:      N/A, sent for review

Quality:

  • Board:               Very good
  • Cutting:             Very good
  • Image:               Excellent
  • Box:                   Good
  • Fit:                     Excellent
  • Puzzle Dust:     Moderate amount
  • Piece cut:          Grid cut
  • Piece shapes:   No variety, only one shape
  • Finish:               Slightly shiny finish, lays flat

Overall Rating:      Very good, highly recommended

*I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. Since this is the season of giving I’d like to lift someone’s spirits for the holidays; I wanted to give away my very gently used, autographed copy of Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue to one of my readers. Since many of my readers are thrift store shopping puzzlers, I was sure they wouldn’t mind a secondhand puzzle. I when I contacted the company to inform them of my intent to hold a giveaway, they graciously offered to send a brand new autographed puzzle to the winner instead!

If you’d like this puzzle, signed by the artist, please leave a comment on this post to be entered in the giveaway. I will use a random number generator to decide on the winner, and will post the results one week from today – December 16, 2019. Good luck!

I received this product at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are truthful and 100% my own.

5th Avenue In Progress

On By Stacey at myjigsawjournalIn Jigsaw Puzzling7 Comments
5th Avenue IP
Browsing & Butterflies on 5th Avenue

I’m assembling a 2000 piece puzzle with an extremely detailed and entertaining image by Charles Fazzino for review, and I think the progress is coming along quite well. Not bad for two day’s work even if I do say so myself. 😉

The quality is much better than expected. Get ready regular readers – this is a Sure-Lox puzzle! I have put together a couple of their 300 piece puzzles recently and have remarked on the better quality; it seems as though they’ve tried to improve their all around quality with thicker chipboard and a much nicer fit. I have to say I am duly impressed.

All the pieces are ballerinas, which is my silly name for a piece with two male and two female connectors. (Two/two = tutu = ballerina) I don’t know when mom and I came up with that name, but that’s been what we’ve called this piece shape for years. I digress. Anyway, all the pieces are the same, which may be a pain in the behind for the sky portion but I obviously haven’t gotten that far yet.

I’m working on the considerably busy lower two-thirds of the puzzle, and the single piece shape hasn’t presented much of a problem. There are three types of pieces, what I’m calling long, skinny, and fat. So when I have a building or patterned area I separate the pieces into their piles of long, skinny, and fat and start working from there. It isn’t much of a bother, and while I prefer a puzzle with multiple piece shapes I’ve found many puzzle brands are using only one shape these days. It doesn’t disqualify it from being entertaining for me.

It is, in fact, wonderfully entertaining so far, and I’m loving the very detailed image. This is the first puzzle by this artist that I’ve assembled, and I think I may be looking for more of his work. 😎🎨