Grumpy's Jigsaw Puzzle Review

 

  This is the 25th puzzle we have completed from Buffalo Games and Puzzles and our 48th puzzle since 30 April.  Of the 25 Buffalo Games puzzles there were two with missing pieces (both purchased retail and not from Goodwill).   This was a replacement puzzle I received for one of those puzzles ( Butterfly Spectrum ).  I have not received the other replacement yet (which was actually the first requested). This puzzle was not as difficult as I expected, as we finished it on the same day we started.  The truck and the fireworks went together easily.  I did have a few false fits; they should have been obvious because the cut used by Buffalo has four adjacent pieces all meeting at a point making a cross, and none of the false fits satisficed that condition. Also, this puzzle did not include the usual poster that Buffalo provides.  This was my first Buffalo puzzle missing the poster. When we finished there seemed to be a piece missing, but we found it un...

  Brand:  Bits and Pieces Title:  Dream Landscape Series:  This is the last of a 4-puzzle set called Scenic Beauty we bought at Goodwill. Artist:  Alan Giana Number of Pieces:  500 Size:  20" x 16" Poster included:  Yes Quality:  Fair   - Missing pieces:  None!    - False Fits:  No.    - Sections stay together when moving:  No, almost never.   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  No   - Uncut pieces:  No   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges: Nope.   - Image quality:  Very good.   - Puzzle dust:  Didn't notice any, but these have been assembled before. What I liked:  This is a nice colorful image and was fun to assemble.  What I didn't like:  Again, the thin pieces.  Also, the posters included in this set show an image which is larger than the puzzle, so it is not easy to tell what the edge looks like exactly, which is slightly...

Brand:  Bits and Pieces Title:  Heaven on Earth Series:  This is the second part of a 4-puzzle set called Scenic Beauty. Artist:  Alan Giana Number of Pieces:  500 Size:  20" x 16" Poster included:  Yes Quality:  Good   - Missing pieces:  Two missing originally, and there was an extra piece which was one of the missing pieces from the last puzzle we did from this series (Spring Light).  I found one of the missing pieces in the final puzzle, leaving 1 missing piece.  - False Fits:  No.    - Sections stay together when moving:  No.   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  No   - Uncut pieces:  No   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges: Nope.   - Image quality:  Very good.   - Puzzle dust:  Didn't notice any, but these have been assembled before, What I liked:  I like the random cut.  This is a nice image, and was not difficult. What I didn't like:...

 Brand:  Bits and Pieces Title:  Spring Light Series:  This was part of a 4-puzzle set called Scenic Beauty. Artist:  Alan Giana Number of Pieces:  500 Size:  20" x 16" Poster included:  Yes Quality:  Good   - Missing pieces:  There were 3 missing pieces at first, and 2 extra pieces from some other puzzle.  I subsequently found all 3 of the missing pieces in the bags from the other 3 puzzles in this set.  The missing pieces did not belong to any of the other 3 puzzles.   - False Fits:  No, this is not a problem due to the random cut.   - Sections stay together when moving:  No   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  No   - Uncut pieces:  No   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges: Nope.   - Image quality:  Very good.   - Puzzle dust:  Didn't notice any, but these have been assembled before, What I liked:  I like the random cut.  This is a nice image,...

  Brand:Ceaco Title:  Untitled Series:  This was was in a set of 5 we found at Goodwill Artist:  Unknown Number of Pieces:  500 Size:  18" x 14" Poster included:  Yes Quality:  Fair-Good   - Missing pieces:  None   - False Fits:  Yes, there were one or two that slowed me down   - Sections stay together when moving:  Sometimes   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  None   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Only if you are very careful   - Image quality:  Very good to excellent   - Puzzle dust:  Didn't notice any What I liked:  This was a fun Disney image; it took us a little less than a day part time to assemble it. What I didn't like:  Like the others in this set, the pieces are thin and difficult to pick up.  They fit well however.

  Brand:  Ceaco Title:  Untitled, this is part of a 5 puzzle set we bought at Goodwill Series:  N/A Artist:  Unknown Number of Pieces: 500 Size:  19" in diameter Poster included:  Yes Quality:  Fair   - Missing pieces:  None   - False Fits:  None.  The pieces fit together reasonably well.   - Sections stay together when moving:  Sometimes   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  None, but there were a number of pieces with hanging chads of cardboard blocking one of the tabs.   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Yes, if you are careful.   - Image quality:  Excellent   - Puzzle dust:  Not noticeable What I liked:  This was a fun and challenging image to work on.  It turned out to be more difficult than we expected and took us just over a day to complete.  There are not that many different colors, and it is often very difficu...

Brand:  Bits and Pieces Title:  Peacocks Artist:  Oleg Gavrilov Number of Pieces:  500 Size:  18" x 24" Poster included:  No.  The picture on the box was marginally useful in figuring out where a piece went. Quality:  Good; though pieces are not quite as thick as Buffalo (I compared two stacks of 10 pieces).   - Missing pieces:  None   - False Fits:  Yes, some pieces will appear to fit where they don't belong if you are not careful   - Sections stay together when moving:  Yes   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  None   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Barely, and only if you are careful   - Image quality:  Good, though the original image is not sharp   - Puzzle dust:  Not that I noticed What I liked:  This is a nice, colorful image.  We found this to be challenging to put together, but finished it in about a day working on and...

  Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Title:  Butterfly Spectrum Series:  Amazing Nature Artist:  Don't know Number of Pieces:  500  Size:  21.25" x 15" Poster included:  Yes Quality:  Fair   - Missing pieces:  Two missing pieces in this one; this is a first for a Buffalo Games puzzle for me.  I know I did not lose them, the pieces went straight from the box into sorting trays into the puzzle.   - False Fits:  Yes, there were a number of false fits that made finishing more aggravating than it needed to be, especially near the bottom where all the pieces essentially look the same as they are very dark.   - Sections stay together when moving:  Mostly no.  I did not move sections much (if at all) because we had to put this together row by row for the most part.   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  None   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Surp...

  Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Title:  Morning Magic Series:  Americana Artist:  Darrell Bush Number of Pieces:  500 (actually 513) Size:  21.25" x 15" Poster included:  Yes Quality:  Excellent   - Missing pieces:  None   - False Fits:  None   - Sections stay together when moving:  Almost always, unless there are only 2 pieces   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  None   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Yes, I picked it up by both edges.   - Image quality:  Excellent   - Puzzle dust:  None that I noticed What I liked:  An interesting, colorful image.  Not too difficult but fun, we did this in less than a day. What I didn't like:  Nothing

  Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Title:  Bang, Boom, Bam & Pow Series:  Americana Artist:  Charles Wysocki Number of Pieces:  500 (actually 513) Size:  21.25" x 15" Poster included:  Yes Quality:   - Missing pieces:  None   - False Fits:  One or two on the edge, due to inattention   - Sections stay together when moving:  Yes, more or less.  Fit was generally good.   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  None   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Yes, in either direction   - Image quality:  Excellent   - Puzzle dust:  None that I noticed during unboxing and construction What I liked:  A fun image with lots of little details to search for, and not a huge amount of repetitive texture to slog through.  More fun than the 300 piece Wysocki puzzles, though I like them too.  We easily finished this in less than 5 hours work...

  Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Title:  Eugene's Gas and Grocery Series:  Americana Artist:  Geno Peoples Number of Pieces: 500 (Actually 513, puzzle is 27 x 19 pieces) Size:   21.25" x 15" Poster included:  Yes! Quality:   - Missing pieces:  None   - False Fits:  Yes, there were one or two which slowed us down.  They could have been avoided with more attention.   - Sections stay together when moving:  Yes   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  Yes and no.  I found a small piece of picture (about the size of a tab) in the box, and thought I would find a delaminated piece but I didn't; all the pieces of this puzzle were fine.  So it came from someone another puzzle.   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Yes, carefully   - Image quality:  Very good to excellent   - Puzzle dust:  Didn't notice any in the box or while putting ...

  Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Title:  Tiger and Crocodile Series:  Amazing Nature Artist:  Unknown Number of Pieces:  500  (Actually 513, 27 x 19) Size:  15" x 21.25" Poster included:  Yes Quality:   - Missing pieces:  None   - Sections stay together when moving:  Sometimes.  I managed to pick up and move a section of 20 pieces.  Some pieces fit better than others, but generally the fit is excellent.   - Bent or delaminated pieces:  None   - Uncut pieces:  None   - Finished puzzle can be picked up by edges:  Yes, if you're careful it can be done.   - Image Quality:  Excellent What I liked:  Excellent quality and a fun image to work on.  It took about a day with help from the wife. What I didn't like:  The image is a little dark in spots.  I'm not a fan of working on portrait style aspect ratios, it's harder on my back to bend over to the top of the...

  Brand: Ravensburger Title:  Elephant Family Artist: Unknown Pieces:  500 Size:  19 1/3" x 14 1/4" Poster:  No What I liked:  High quality and no missing pieces.  The puzzle has more of a matte finish than the Buffalo Games puzzles I have done recently so there is less glare.  I was also pleased that the box this puzzle came in was considerably smaller than the 300 piece Ravensburger puzzle I did a few weeks ago.  The box is still bigger than the Buffalo Games boxes.  This is probably a good thing, because the only photo of the puzzle is the one on the box. What I didn't like:  This was difficult for me, I worked on it on and off for almost 2 days.  The main thing I disliked was the photo on the box lid is not larger enough to be very useful.  There are a lot of details that cannot be seen well in the photo, and part of the photo is covered up with a picture of a blue puzzle piece.  The lack of a good reference photo...

  Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles      Title:  Running With the Pack Series:  Amazing Nature Artist:  Unknown Pieces:  500 Size:  21.25" x 15" Poster:  Full color poster included What I liked:  Good quality.  Fun and challenging to assemble but not too hard.  I bought this puzzle directly from Buffalo while it was on sale so it was a good value at $4.95. What I didn't like:  A few pieces were not completely cut and had to be carefully separated.  I had two instances of false fits that slowed me down until I figured out where I messed up.  Putting the wolves together was the hardest part.  The snow was much easier than I expected. I thought there was a piece missing but found it on the floor.  I think it stuck to my arm while I was leaning over the puzzle and fell off.  I have to remember not to lean on the puzzle while I am working on it.

Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Series:  Amazing Nature Title:  Jungle Discovery Pieces:  500 (actually 513) Size:  21.25" x 15" Poster:  Included This puzzle is from the Buffalo Games and Puzzles Amazing Nature Series. Another good quality puzzle from Buffalo, which I have come to expect.  No missing pieces. This puzzle was a little more challenging after I finished the flowers and other easy parts; I kept finding monkeys, and the tigers were more difficult than I expected (probably because there are 3 of them). I'm continuing to develop my strategy for sorting pieces, and I think I am improving slowly.

  Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Series:  Americana Collection Artist:  Geno Peoples Title:  Eugene's Hunting and Fishing Pieces:  500 (actually 513) Size:  21.25" x 15" Another quality puzzle from Buffalo with no missing pieces. I look forward to more doing more puzzles from this series.

Brand:  Buffalo Games and Puzzles Title:  Evening Rendezvous Pieces:  500 (actually 513) Size:  21.25" x 15" This was my first puzzle with artwork by Terry Redlin.  This is another good quality puzzle from Buffalo Games and Puzzles.  I found putting the trees together to be the most challenging part (other than the false fits, which I talk about below).  I look forward to getting more puzzles by this artist. This was the first puzzle where I have encountered a problem with false fits.  Because this puzzle is quite dark, it is easier to put a piece where it doesn't belong. I hit a dead end on putting the edge together and had to get my wife to figure out where I had screwed up. Then when I put the sky together, I got down to a point where there were only 3 or 4 pieces left, and none of them fit into one of the holes.  I knew where one of the other pieces went, and discovered it would not fit because one of the adjacent pieces was the wrong pie...

Brand:  Dowdle Puzzles Title:  Texas A&M Aggies Artist: Eric Dowdle Pieces: 500 Size:  16" x 20" Poster:  Included What I liked:  High quality box and puzzle.  This is the nicest puzzle box of all the puzzles I have so far; it has a flap with a velcro closer. What I didn't like:  Nothing. Comments:  I found the missing piece a few days after I took the puzzle apart while I was searching for a missing piece from another puzzle (which I also found).  The missing piece was caught in the corner of the plastic bag the pieces came in; I noticed it just before I threw the bag away.