Many Castorland puzzles have titles that begin with “Copy of…”, but I’m not sure what that means, exactly. Anyway, the puzzle was nice and reasonably easy.
Copy of Water Mill Cottage, 2018-08-16
Month: August 2019
Library Adventures in Reading, 2019-08-19
Finished. This was my first Bluebird Puzzle, and overall my impressions are positive. The brand is based in France, and this puzzle was produced in Turkey. The pieces were much smaller than usual, this 3000 piece puzzle is the same size as a 2000-piece Ravensburger or Heye. There was a good mix of piece shapes, and I don’t think the two-tabs-opposite type was even a majority. The fit was also good (pieces only fit where they belong), but tighter than with Ravensburger or Heye. I enjoyed it, there was this satisfying little sound when I pressed a piece into place, but some probably prefer a looser fit. It did come apart pretty easily.
I wasn’t 100% happy with the image (more on that below), but especially with the low price (less than 20 EUR), it was well worth it. Oh, and the box is no bigger than it needs to be to hold the pieces – I always love that 🙂
I like the book-birds (butterflies?)
Gardening with starlight and a knight.
Love the ice bear, but not happy with the mirror-image titles in the background.
This house was my favourite mini-image.
So, there were a couple of things with the image I wasn’t happy with. The same books appeared multiple times, and some of the time the books in the background were seen as through a mirror. I presume this is due to sloppy photoshopping.
There’s been some discussion in the Jigsaw Puzzle Enthusiasts FB group lately about increased use of Photoshop (or equivalent software), and not everyone is happy about it. It’s been pointed out that there are suddenly a lot of Parisian street scenes from Ravensburger, with only small differences. Sometimes the exact same elements are repeated. Personally, I thought I didn’t have a problem with this until now, but I think I now have to revise my position a bit. There were some horrible examples in the group, including a flower that ends abruptly (not by Ravensburger).
I still think it’s fine as long as it is done well (it is in the Ravensburger puzzles), and it’s not too noticeable. Based on this experience, I think it becomes noticeable to me when text is repeated, which is why I didn’t like having the same books in the background. Obviously, it’s cheaper to do a small section of background and then just repeat that than making a larger, more varied background, but clearly, this can go too far. I would love to hear what you think!
Olga, 2018-07-19
Sorry about the horrible photo (again). There’s a Wagner opera in full swing, and for some reason, there’s also a dragon in the chandelier. This version was released in 2005, but it was originally released in 1997 as a 4000-piece puzzle called Opera Germanica.
Library Adventures in Reading, In Progress
I finished the first half of the puzzle, and I’m very happy with the way the pieces fit. It’s a bit tighter than most brands, but not too much. You have to push a bit, but there’s no danger of placing a piece wrong.
A closer look at the image is a bit disappointing, though. Below some titles appear as a mirror image, and some books appear multiple times. Feels a bit sloppy.
(Btw, we did win yesterday, 5-1, in case anyone was wondering 😀 )
BVB Saison 2017/2018, 2018-02-02
The Borussia Dortmund team photo for the 2017/2018 season (sorry about the bad photo). 2017/2018 turned out to be a very disappointing season for Borussia, and of the 29 players on this photo, only 11 are still at the club. The trainer, Peter Bosz (on the far right) had to leave before Christmas, and he was gone before I completed this puzzle (he is now at Bayer Leverkusen). We barely made it to 4th place to secure a place in the Champions League.
Anyway, the 2018/2019 season was a lot better, and today is the first Bundesliga game of the new season. We play at home against Augsburg, and I’m expecting a win 🙂
Trafalgar, 2018-03-13
A 2000-piece version of the Battle of Trafalgar by Ryba. There were lots of fun details, as usual, but it was maybe a bit too busy for me.
Colorful Venice, 2019-08-13
I bought this used online based on just the photo, and I was surprised to see that the image is of Venice, it made me think of India first. The artist, Chayan Khoi, is Iranian.
I really like the image, it’s dreamlike and unique, but I expected the pink part to be difficult. Actually, I did the entire puzzle in one sitting, took me about two hours, and it was easy from start to finish. I really enjoyed this.
Library Adventures in Reading, Starting
I’m trying out a new brand, Bluebird Puzzle. The puzzle is made in Turkey, but Bluebird Puzzle is based in France. Ideally, I prefer to try a smaller puzzle first, but I really liked this image, so I ended up getting it. The puzzles are quite affordable. The pieces came in two bags of 1500 pieces, and I’m not mixing them.
The pieces are extremely small. Below on the left is a piece from a 500-piece Ravensburger, in the middle a 1000 piece Heye and on the left one from this puzzle. The finished puzzle is the size of a normal 2000 piece puzzle.
I spread out the pieces and found many were connected. They were, however, all properly cut through, and separated very easily.
[Movie Posters], 2019-08-12
I knew I would like this puzzle, but even I was surprised how much! I’m definitely keeping this to do again someday.
The quality of the pieces as such was fine, but even with this image pieces sometimes would fit where they don’t belong. It wasn’t a problem here, but I wouldn’t buy a Dino puzzle with large areas of the same colour. There was also a decent mix of piece shapes, although the large majority were of the two-tabs-opposite type
Gun Crazy and Deadly is the Female are actually two titles for the same movie. Gun Crazy seems to be the original title, and this poster also represents the film much better. At no time does Peggy Cummins appear in the kind of glamorous gown seen on the right. In fact, when she first appears she’s in cowboy gear, and as the movie turns into a Bonnie and Clyde situation (with a reluctant Clyde), she dresses accordingly, as you can see on the left. Deadly is the Female seems to be a very strange rebranding.
Here’s another bit of false marketing. The Asphalt Jungle was released in 1950, and Marilyn Monroe had a small part in it. It’s a heist movie, and there are some wives and girlfriends in the background, and this is where Marilyn comes in. In the 113 minute movie, Marilyn has about 6 minutes of screen time (yes, I actually timed it). I don’t think this poster is from the original run, Marilyn wasn’t a big star in 1950, but someone decided to cash in on her popularity later. Whoever went to see this a Marilyn Monroe movie is sure to have felt cheated.
The rest of the posters are in English, but this is a French poster for Singapore.
Most of the women on the posters look serious, passionate or terrified, but Gilda is happy!
The movies are a good blend of masterpieces (like Casablanca) and pulpier fare, like Pickup. I’ve not seen the movie, but the poster certainly looks like there is some sleazy slut-shaming to be expected (According to IMBD, a younger woman marries an older man and then plots to kill him.)
So much going on in the city that never sleeps – this would have been a great puzzle on its own.
One thing that I missed with this collage is my favourite film noir actress, Barbara Stanwyck. Amazing that they managed to miss her with so many great movies!
My DVDs.
Salsas, 2018-01-25
This was one of those many, many puzzles that turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. The salsa in the middle was especially difficult, but the rest wasn’t easy either.
Puzzler1909 