Category: Helsinki

In a Certain Phase, 2023-06-06

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When I left for Dortmund on May 11, I also left this puzzle almost finished, there were maybe 150-200 pieces to go. In fact, it was going really well, and I was sorry to leave it, but finally I just had to go. It would be too stupid to miss a flight because of a puzzle. I was expecting it to be hard to get back into the puzzle, but actually, I finished it pretty fast. This was the best kind of Tactic, with very distinct piece shapes and a really good fit. This puzzle looks a lot harder than it is, it was actually fairly easy, and very entertaining.

In a Certain Phase by Kaj Stenvall, Tactic, 1000 pieces. Completed on June 6, 2023.

Again, I have no idea what the title is supposed to mean. It’s called “Jossain vaiheessa” in Finnish, and if I were asked to translate that, I would probably say “At some point”, but the provided translation is definitely not incorrect.

Hampton Court, 2023-05-07

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Hampton Court is a Royal Palace in the southwest of London, originally built in the 16th Century, althoug some parts were added in the 18th Century. The castle was a favourite of Henry VIII. No royals currently live there, and it’s open to the public.

As a puzzle, it was very entertaining and fairly easy. It seems to be part of a series called Historic Royal Palaces, but I’ve never seen another puzzle in the series, unfortunately.

Hampton Court, Ravensburger, 1000 pieces. Completed on May 7, 2023.

The astronomical clock was my favourite part:

Popeda, kaasua…, 2023-05-06

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This is the cover of a 1983 album called “kaasua…” (“gas”) by Finnish band Popeda. It’s part of the Tactic Rock Legends series, where you get a 300-piece puzzle of the original album cover, as well as a CD with the album.

I had this album as an LP back in the day, and as it happens, the title track was played last week at our Mayday-celebration in the library. Still liked it 🤘

Popeda, kaasua…, Tactic, 300 pieces. Completed on May 6, 2023.

Birdwatching, 2023-05-02

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Schmidt has really upped their game in the last few years, especially with regard to images. The quality was always great, but now the images are as well. This year, they have a series with four Aimee Stewart images, and I already have three of them.

This puzzle was just as entertaining as it looks, I loved it. It was fairly easy to pick out the pieces for the different areas, the Victory Canary Songster with the red background was easiest and first, and the dark parts of the binoculars were last.

Birdwatching by Aimee Stewart, Schmidt, 1000 pieces. Completed on May 2, 2023.

As usual, the rather tight fit is very pleasant when putting the puzzle together, but makes taking it apart a bit of a chore. I had one damaged piece, but since the image layer piece is still there, it will be easy to fix:

Flower House, 2023-04-30

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Not my usual style, but I enjoyed it, and the colours are really nice. I have no idea where this puzzle came from – it turned up at my desk in the library, which means a colleague must have brought it in for me, but I have no idea who. Thank you, whoever you are!

Flower House, Clementoni, 500 pieces. Completed on April 30, 2023.

Titanic – First Accounts, 2023-04-23

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The name of the puzzle is also the name of a book, and this is the cover image. The book contains stories told by survivors of the disaster. I actually wanted to do this for the anniversary of the sinking on April 15 1912, but I missed by almost a week.

This turned out to be a bit more challenging than expected, there was quite a lot of sky, and the box was quite small and of the usual shape, meaning that with the panorama shaped puzzle, the image on the box was very small. I’m not usually a fan of posters, but this time, I could have used one.

Titanic – First Accounts, New York Puzzle Company, 1000 pieces. Completed on April 23, 2023.

All of the previous NYPC puzzles I’ve done had a random cut, but this was a standard grid cut, fortunately of good quality. I also found the explanation on the box:

It seems, it makes more sense to have production in Europe than to pay for shipping over the Atlantic. I’m a bit sad about the missing random cut, most of the puzzles I do are grid cut, and I like some variety. Eurographics also has production in Germany, but those puzzles are random cut, so not impossible, although my impression is that random cut is much more usual in the USA.

Coffee Time, 2023-04-16

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As I think I’ve already established on this blog, for me, no time is coffee time, but even though I don’t drink coffee, this made for a very entertaining puzzle. Especially the black background was challenging, and I had one tricky false fit. Still loved it!

Coffee Time, Trefl, 500 pieces. Competed on April 16, 2023.

Today is Mayday Eve (vappu in Finnish), when most people drink something stronger than coffee. To recover, we all have the day off tomorrow. Happy May Day!

Gothic Novels, 2023-04-16

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I’m not sure how many of these images are references to specific books, but I definitely see the portrait of Dorian Gray, maybe Wuthering Heights on the left, and both the coffin and the coach reminds me of Dracula. Fun, but maybe not quite as much fun as I expected.

Gothic Novels, Gibsons, 1000 pieces. Completed on April 16, 2023.

The puzzle is from the Gibsons Book Club series. Qualitywise, the puzzle was good, but I was sad to see that Gibsons seem to have gone back to their old type of waxy finish. I very much preferred the smooth, silky finish that they’ve had in the past few years. Oh, well.

Vintage Posters: Transport, 2023-04-13

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It’s been over three weeks since I last posted, but I’m still here. I haven’t been puzzling much lately, but I never stop completely.

This was, of course, great fun! There are three posters with bicycles, one with a car race and five with trains. Vintage trains is one of mt favourite subjects for a puzzle.

Vintage Posters: Transport, Piatnik, 1000 pieces. Completed on April 13, 2023.

It’s almost impossible to see in the image, but there’s a piece missing, from the middle image, in the black tree. I did actually find that piece after I had taken the puzzle apart.