The Witches Kitchen, 2019-01-31

UPDATE: There are now further details and spoilers about the series on the dedicated page. There is also an individual spoiler page for this puzzle.

My second puzzle in the Exit series. Since the puzzle is a bit different than the image on the box, I’m not going to show the finished puzzle. There’s a photo on the Jigsaw Wiki if you want to see it.

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The Witches Kitchen, 759 pieces, Ravensburger. Completed on January 31st, 2019.

Again there was a backstory: you’ve eaten the wrong kind of mushroom, you find yourself in the witches kitchen and have to find an antidote.

Next, I completed the puzzle, and it’s a great one. Really enjoyed it! By the way, if you ever do a puzzle in this series, do NOT try to do the edges first. It’s would be almost impossible, and there’s a reason for that, but explaining it would be too much of a spoiler.

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There were also these strange extra pieces that are not part of the puzzle again.

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After the puzzle is done, you have to find and solve 8 tasks in the puzzle. I found and solved two by myself, and 4 more with just the first two hints (there is help online). Only one I didn’t understand at all. I did a lot better than the first time. The answer is always a number, just like last time. After the 8 tasks, there’s the final solution (you can find it in a closed envelope with the puzzle). The solution didn’t work quite as well as the last time, I think.

Anyway, I loved this puzzle, and apparently, some other people liked it too, because there are three more in the series now (bringing the total up to six), including a vampire’s castle and a submarine. I’ve already ordered all of them, but they are out of stock, so I’m going to have to wait.

Finally here!

This was supposed to be delivered on Friday, but the package got damaged, and today I finally got the replacement. I knew I was going to get this puzzle almost as soon as I saw it, but there was no hurry. As you probably know, Amazon currently has some great deals on the really largeย  Ravensburger puzzles, and, as always, I like to take advantage of free shipping while in Germany ๐Ÿ™‚ I love the images with collages from various decades.

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I’m not going to start on this yet, but I still had to open the box and go through the contents:

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I can’t believe how huge it is!

As in Heaven!, 2019-01-29

A collage of Victorian scraps. This took longer than expected, mainly because I was doing other things ๐Ÿ™‚ The image was not easy, but the quality is fantastic. I did the edges first, and even though there’s a lot of pale pink pieces with nothing else on them if a piece fit, it belonged. The same was true for the entire puzzle. This puzzle was released in 2006, and it makes me sad how much quality has declined since then.

Bought in thrift store, but complete.

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As in Heaven!, Schmidt, 1000 pieces. Completed on January 29th, 2019.
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Many scraps appeared several times, this one three times, twice facing left and once facing right.
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Nativity scene, two appearances.

Boeing Advertising Collection, 2019-01-26

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Boeing Advertising Collection, Eurographics, 1000 pieces. Completed on January 26th, 2019.

A collage of vintage aircraft ads. It occurred to me that aircraft ads are a bit strange. Airline ads I understand, but the customers of aircraft producers are surely airline execs, not the general public. You can, of course, try to make a type of aircraft so popular that airlines will want to buy it to satisfy customer demand, but it seems kind of a long shot.

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Several ads were from the war, here Mustangs are heading out to help in the battle of Britain.
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There were a couple of these with giant, athletic-looking men. A bit strange…
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… but not as strange as this! “War planes, too, need smooth complexions”. Are they selling aircraft or moisturizer?
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This was my favourite.

Historia Comica, Opus 2, In progress

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I got the border done! It was quite tricky, and it would probably have been more sensible to sleep a few hours more, but I really wanted to finish the border before leaving for Dortmund, where I’ve just arrived. I did the inner part of the border first and then added the edges. I had to switch pieces around right until the end to get everything in the right place.

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I also managed to complete my first “event pane” – the first Japanese Emperor, Jinmu, 675 BC.

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I like (re)watching movies and TV series while I puzzle, and I just had a new TV installed. Sorry, Wrong Number with Barbara Stanwyck, a great noir movie from 1948.

I’ll be in Dortmund for nine days, but this time I have to work and only have a few days off. I’m allowed to work remotely 4 days a month, and of course, I always spend those days in Dortmund ๐Ÿ™‚

Mapamundi 1375, 2007-12-26

Now, this is a really old world map!

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Mapamundi 1375, Educa, 4000 pieces. Completed on December 26th, 2007.

If you think taking a closer look will help you see something familiar on the map, think again:

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I could not make out a single place on this map, it could just as well have been entirely imaginary instead of a real map of the world. Regardless, it was a really fun puzzle to do.

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Historia Comica Opus 2, In progress

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I did the space section in the middle first. The pieces were easy to pull, but the text was trickier than I expected.
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Next, I pulled the red panes indicating a new era. Very easy!
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Now I’m working on the areas around the edges. I may try to do the border next, even though I mostly leave that for last.

I quite often place a piece that fits perfectly, but when I look closer the colour is slightly off, or some element doesn’t align perfectly. That’s what happens when you mix the bags, there are at least two pieces that fit perfectly for every slot ๐Ÿ™‚ Anyway, I’m enjoying myself enormously!