Grumpy's Jigsaw Puzzle Review

 

  This puzzle is the 46th we have finished since we started puzzling this past April, and is titled "Serene Retreat" by Bits and Pieces (artist Cody Carlson). Currently this puzzle is out of stock . We found this puzzle at Goodwill last week for about $3 which I thought was a steal.  We have finished 7 Bits and Pieces puzzles now (nearly all from Goodwill), but none with 1000 pieces from this brand before this one.  The puzzle is a good size at 27 x 20 inches. There is no poster unfortunately, and the picture on the box is not really adequate to thoroughly search for a lot of pieces.  The picture is like an oil painting (my wife described it as being like a "paint by number" picture).  I found a picture on line, but the actual puzzle was darker than the online photo so the photo was not that useful. The fit is very loose, and you cannot generally move segments of pieces without them falling apart.  I did not notice any false fits, but that is typical for a...

  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:  Colors of the Season Series:  This is the third part 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:  This puzzle had 6 missing pieces originally.  I found two of them in the last puzzle in the series, leaving 4 missing pieces.    - 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:  I like the random cut, and the image is very colorful.   What I didn't like:  Thin pieces, like the first puzzle, which are sligh...

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:  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:  Bits and Pieces Title:  Victorian Birdhouse Artist:  Mary Lou Troutman Pieces: 300 Size:   20" x 24-3/4" Poster:  No What I liked:  The irregular border and the random cut made this a fun but easy puzzle to assemble. What I didn't like:  A few pieces were slightly bent, like the tail of the cardinal in the upper right corner.