"Red Window White Wall" - from Hogan's Harbor

"Red Window White Wall," Hogan's Harbor, 672 pieces, 18 x 24.5 inches

Hogan's Harbor, a Florida Art Gallery featuring the photography of Jim Hogan, has relatively recently entered the jigsaw puzzle market and as of this moment has four puzzles for sale. "Red Window White Wall," shown above, is one of the four, so this is, of course, my first experience with the company's product.

Of the four puzzles available, this is the one that immediately drew my eyes to it. I really like the composition of the photo and the way the bright red window contrasts so perfectly with the whites, blues, and greens surrounding it. I do have to admit that the puzzle itself turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than I had anticipated - even though I was a bit wary of all that foliage to the left of the picture from the start and saved that section of the puzzle for last. If you like a challenging puzzle with fewer than 1000 pieces, this is one that you are likely to enjoy.

As usual, I started with the frame of the puzzle, and as usual, I missed a few pieces of the frame on the first sort or two that I made. By this point, though, the frame was almost complete, and I had made a good start on the red window itself and had placed a few pieces of the surface at the base of the wall. It's hard to resist going immediately to the bright red pieces because they stand out so clearly in the box of pieces. I'm willing to bet that just about everyone building this one will, in fact, do the window first.

As you can see, I continued to work on every color except the green of the leaves, but the time was coming soon that green leaves would be all that was left in the box. By this point, too, the main visual features of the photo are all near-complete, and the image is really starting to come together.

And now it was time for the leaves, the real challenge of "Red Window White Wall." I'm not quick when it comes to large sections of what appear to the eye to be almost identical pieces, but the good news is that the puzzle pieces themselves have enough shape variation that the leaves can be worked based on piece-shape fairly quickly. And I love the finished product. 

This one was fun.

Hogan's Harbor produces a quality puzzle, no doubt about that. The image is sharply reproduced - as can be seen in the texture variations of the white wall - and the colors are very realistic, unlike the orange or purple tinted images we see on too many jigsaw puzzles these days. The pieces themselves are of average thickness and weight, and they click into place very cleanly and solidly.

But as I experienced with two pieces, that does not always mean that the puzzle piece is in the right spot, so there are at least two sets of identically-shaped puzzled pieces in the box - probably more (but I got lucky and placed those correctly the first time around and didn't notice them). Luckily, there was enough color variation on the identical pieces that it was obvious that, despite the clean fit, the pieces were in the wrong spot.

This was the trickiest pair of the two I noticed, but even these had enough color difference that I suspected something was wrong right away and started searching for another piece for the spot.

"Red Window White Wall" fits together rather loosely, something akin to the fit of the wooden jigsaw puzzles I've built. I attribute the loose fit to the extremely clean cut of the pieces, an attribute that makes for a nice "click" when a piece is placed correctly but also (because the smooth cut has no "drag") makes it easy for the pieces to separate when the puzzle is jostled.  The problem, of course, ceases to exist as more and more pieces are locked into supporting positions, but until that point the looser fit can be a bit frustrating.

Bottom Line: Hogan's Harbor puzzles are a nice addition to what's out there for puzzlers to choose from, especially if the company's future images are of a style similar to "Red Windows White Wall." Personally, I prefer a tighter fit to the pieces, but the overall quality of this finished puzzle makes that something easy enough for me to forgive.

("Red Windows White Wall" was provided by Hogan's Harbor to Puzzle Fanatics for review purposes.}

Another Goodwill Find: BePuzzled's Buried Blueprints - Noah's Ark (1995)

"Noah's Ark," BePuzzled (Buried Blueprints), 1000 pieces, 23 x 29 inches

I found this one at what I call my Goodwill Store No. 3 today (because it's the most out of the way of my normal daily driving route), but I almost left it behind for what it says on the back of the pictured container. Take a look at these quotes for a taste of what I mean:

"Few puzzles are as challenging. Fewer require as much skill and tenacity. None are more rewarding."

And then there's this: "A puzzle that requires endurance and willpower. You'll desperately keep looking for piece after piece after piece. Another find gets you closer to your goal."

It's not easy to tell from this picture, but the ark is a cutaway version showing where each type of animal was packed into the ark. There are numerous little notes around all the animals explaining why they are where they are and other tidbits about them. One of those notes says: "Although insects and birds are in close proximity to each other, a special truce was in effect. All the birds had promised God: no live food. Since the ark was made of wood, the termites had also made a sacred vow: no wood."

Notes like these are all throughout the puzzle, but I'm not sure yet what the intended tone of the notes is...humor, irony, satire, serious take on Biblical scripture?

Anyway, this 1995 puzzle will be interesting - some day when I feel brave. Has anyone out there worked this one, or anything else from BePuzzled?

 

Happy Memorial Day, Puzzlers.

Memorial Day is one of those holidays during which families across the country come together to enjoy lots of outdoor cooking and each other's company. The holiday marks the beginning of summer break for students everywhere, a period of warm weather, summer sports, and time to be spent on the country's lakes and rivers. Everyone seems to be in a great optimistic mood at this time of year.

But let us not forget the men and women who have made, and continue to make, it possible for us to enjoy this wonderful holiday with our families and friends. Please do take an hour or two out of your three-day holiday to visit the grave sites of some of those who died in the process of making the world a better place for you and yours. We must never forget their service.

Goodwill Store Finds (Plus one from Half Price Books): 6 from Springbok and 1 each from White Mountain, Rose Art, & Eurographics

"At the Wee Folks' Fair," Springbok #5930, 1000 pieces, 24 x 30 inches

In what has become a more or less typical week, I added way more puzzles to my collection than I completed. In fact, I added ten puzzles and worked throutgh about one-and-a-half...meaning that the to-do stack is now officially out of control. I'm going to feature nine of those puzzles in this post - the tenth one is a review puzzle that I'll be featuring in a few days - because they clearly show why I'm so addicted to checking the local Goodwill Stores for puzzles. You just never know what you might find. (Of course, you also never know how many pieces are actually in the box, but that's got to be acceptable to you going in or you shouldn't be buying used puzzles in the first place.)

"At the Wee Folks' Fair" is a Springbok puzzle from the period in which the Hallmark company owned Springbok. I'm guessing that it's from the eighties but there is no copyright year on the box so that's just an educated guess.

"Santa's Delivery" & "Eyes of Color," Springbok 2004 and 2008 puzzles, 1000 pieces

"Feathered Friends" & "The Toy Shoppe," Springbok 2004 and 2006 puzzles

"Butterfly Collection," Springbok 2004 puzzle, 500 pieces

I stumbled upon these five Springbok puzzles one morning at the Goodwill Store I most often visit. I had been there only the morning before, so these must have come in together sometime later on the day of my initial visit. Needless to say, I snapped up the lot of them, and the bargain price of seven dollars for the five helped seal the deal quickly before someone else noticed them.

The particularly interesting thing about these five is that they were obviously produced for the French Canadian market up in Quebec. Last time I checked, Quebec was still requiring that everything be labeled in both French and English - and these puzzles are all packaged that way. The picture below shows the "French side" of the boxes:

The slightly different (in translation) puzzle titles 

I also added these two puzzles from a different Goodwill outlet. The "Kodacolor Puzzle" from Rose Art has never been opened despite being some 27 years old, and the White Mountain one, despite having been previously worked, looks like new.

Unnamed Winter Scene, Rose Art, 500 pieces, 13 x 19 inches

"Candy Wrappers," White Mountain, 1000 pieces, 24 x 30 inches

And, last but not least, the one shown below is the only new puzzle I purchased this week. I got it from Half Price Books and was able to use a 20% discount coupon on their already reduced price, so it cost right at ten dollars with tax. I particularly like it because it features so many of my favorite authors, writers I've been reading for my whole life - and the images are a good bit larger than the impression you get from the box cover.

"Famous Writers," Eurographics, 1000 pieces, 19 x 27 inches

Ravensburger: "Idylic Life" in Large Piece Format

"Idylic Life," Ravensburger, 500 pieces, 27 x 20 inches

I chose "Idylic Life" this time around because I wanted to get one more Ravensburger puzzle under my belt before adding the company to my list of "Company Reviews." I picked this one up at a local Goodwill Store for two dollars a while back, so it doesn't particularly bother me that there's a piece missing in the upper lefthand corner. It's not an image I would have chosen to glue or tape together anyway, so "Idylic Life" will go back into the box - and the box will carry a note about the missing piece.

This is one of those "large piece format" puzzles that generally go together pretty quickly, and that's exactly what happened here (it took just a few hours spread over three days). The box is quite large, and even the oversized pieces did not come close to filling it; in fact, when I first dumped this pile onto the puzzle board, I was afraid that a dozen or more pieces might be missing (turned out to be just the one piece, thankfully). After all, you never know with used puzzles just what you are going to get inside the box, or what didn't make it back from the last time it was opened.

It started out as a matter of grouping the more common colors and fitting them to the frame...a frame where that missing piece announced itself in no uncertain terms. That's what happens with these large piece puzzles, though - one missing piece leaves a large gap. I suppose, however, that I was lucky that the missing piece was almost all-white in color because that makes the empty spot less glaring on the white board that I use for puzzle-building.

After completing the white sections, and the two little girls in the foreground, it seemed logical to go next after the only building in the image. Even that went fairly quickly; the water wheel that just starting to show up here would soon anchor the whole building in place. At this point, I was starting to realize just how much the larger pieces simplify the whole building process. If it's true that a 500-piece puzzle is only one-quarter the challenge of a 1000-piece puzzle, I would say that a "large piece" 500-piece puzzle is maybe one-half the challenge of a regular 500-piecer...so one-eighth the challenge of a typical 1000-piece puzzle.

Soon, the puzzle looked like this, and it was just a matter of 15 minutes or so to snap the last few pieces into place.

If this particular puzzle is any indication, it appears that Ravensburger's "large piece" puzzles will have a tighter fit than the company's standard-sized puzzles. With a little care, I was able to flip this one over onto its face, and could have used tape on it if I had been so inclined to prep it for framing - I was never able to pull off that feat with any of the company's smaller-pieced puzzles.

As usual with a Ravensburger, there was never any doubt whether or not two pieces really fit together because the puzzle's cut is so clean and so precise that the pieces do rather softly "click" into place, just as advertised. But as often happens with something from Ravensburger, the quality I was most impressed by was the application of the image to the cardboard base of the pieces. This is such a seamless process that I can't imagine that any portion of the image will ever start peeling from a Ravensburger puzzle-piece -  a common problem shared by many other companies that do not cut their pieces as cleanly as Ravensburger.

Bottom Line: Despite its missing piece, this used puzzle was fun and quick to build. It's not the kind of image I usually go for, but there were enough contrasting colors and separate little images that I looked forward to getting back to it every morning after breakfast. If you like the large-piece format, you might want to look at this one if you can find it (it's from 2009).

Buried Treasure Found in My Own Closet: Western Publishing Company's "First Stars and Stripes"

"First Stars and Stripes," Western Publishing Company, 1000 pieces, 22 x 28  inches

I thought that all my old puzzles had been lost during the housecleanings that preceded each of several home relocations we have made over the years - BUT LOOK WHAT I JUST FOUND!

I went into a closet this afternoon that's located in a room I almost never go into and spotted one of those large plastic storage bins that I haven't opened since they were filled and placed out of sight who-knows-when-ago. Something made me pull the lid off of the bin, and this puzzle was sitting right on top of everything else stored in it. Now I'm wondering if it's worth the time and effort to go through a few more storage bins that we have around the house to see if I managed to save any of the other puzzles I remember having.

This particular puzzle is titled "First Stars and Stripes," and is apparently part of a "Golden Americana Flag Series" that Western Publishing Company was producing as the United States was approaching its bicentennial celebration.  It was actually produced in 1972, making me wonder if the series was spread over three or four years of puzzle-releases. Western Publishing Company even makes note on one end of the box that it is "publisher of Golden Books."

A quick look at what's inside the box indicates that this is a quality puzzle with thick, cleanly cut pieces and sharp colors. The colors are, in fact, brighter than those shown on the cover of the puzzle box. 

I don't really expect to find anymore of my old puzzles around the house, but I know that I won't be able to rest until I check...so I'm off to do just that.

White Mountain "Precious Days" - Somewhat Less than a Precious Experience

"Precious Days," White Mountain, 1000 pieces, 24 x 30 inches

I'm not even certain where I first saw a picture of "Precious Days," all I can say for sure is that I wanted to own a copy from the time that I got that first glimpse of it. But, because I already own a whole lot of unworked puzzles, I didn't rush right out and buy a copy. Even so, it was never far from my mind when I was looking at new puzzles on various websites and in the local shops that sell jigsaw puzzles here in the Houston area. And then one day, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered "Precious Days" for myself - only to place it on the shelf it sat on for the next three or four months waiting for me to pay some attention to it.

Finally that time came, but sadly enough, the experience was less than I hoped for.

I started this one in my usual manner: getting the puzzle-frame built and then moving on to the most logical starting points the puzzle offered me. In this case, the focal point of the puzzle is the big white house and the two side buildings, so I pulled those colors and started putting together the structures.

I was surprised at how quickly the house, barn, and side building came together and how relatively easy it was to link them all the way across the horizontal confines of the frame. Next, it was time to start on some of the rock wall and all that grass in the foreground of the image - and that's when things slowed down a bit.

So I decided to alternate working between the grass and the darker sections of the sky at the top of the puzzle. I found the pace picking up a bit at this point, and that's probably because I wasn't lulling myself to sleep by endlessly staring at only one section of the puzzle. Alternating sections, flipping the puzzle-axis on its ear, etc. are techniques that always seem to jumpstart me when I begin to bog down on a puzzle, and it worked again.

This may not at first glance appear to be much progress, but the sky was coming together all the way across the puzzle.

At this point, I was alternating between the top and bottom sections of the puzzle, and the whole image started to squeeze itself together into one coherent image.

With almost all the grass and rock wall in, I was really starting to feel good about "Precious Days." Little did I know that the rug was about to get pulled right out from under me when I realized that I was really working on a 999-piece puzzle, not a 1000-piecer.

So after 2-3 hours per day for eight days, this is what I end up with...an absolutely stunningly beautiful image with a little white star above one of the big trees in the puzzle. Problem is, of course, is that that "little white star" is a missing piece, meaning that this puzzle will never really be completed - and that instead of finding a display spot on my study wall, this one is destined to be exiled back into its little box some time in the next twenty minutes or so.

Sadly, this whole puzzle-building experience did not come close to meeting White Mountain's normal quality level. In addition to the missing piece, I must have glue-repaired almost three dozen pieces from which the image was peeling from one piece-extension or another. I believe that this damage was most likely done in the separation process because no single piece required more than one repair. It is likely that an overused, dull cutting tool caused this to happen, and it had to be obvious to someone at White Mountain that there was a problem when so many of the pieces did not cleanly separate from their brothers and sisters. This one really should never have been shipped in this condition (and by the way, I got this one directly from White Mountain, not from a retailer).

White Mountain is still among my favorite puzzle companies, but my confidence in their quality control took a hit with this one.

Milton Bradley Big Ben Puzzle: Cactus Slim and His Cowboy Crooners

"Cactus Slim," Milton Bradley Big Ben, 2000 pieces, 24 x 32 inches

I made my usual Sunday morning stop at a nearby Tuesday Morning store today, and walked out with a puzzle that still makes me smile to think about it. This is one of those rare times that two of my hobbies/passions collide in a way that seems just about perfect. Oh sure, I've got a bunch of puzzles featuring baseball (a perfect mesh for me) or books and/or bookstores (another perfect mesh for me), but this is a first for me: a jigsaw puzzle featuring old-time country music and singers.

I'm always on the look-out for unusual puzzles anyway, those that don't fit the list of usual suspects: puzzles featuring cats, dogs, wolves, fairies, unicorns, glitter, lighthouses, castles, Kinkaid, Wysocki...you know the drill. When I see something different, I almost always grab if it it's priced reasonably...but one featuring a country music band? I knew I would be buying this one no matter the price. As it happened though, "Cactus Slim and His Cowboy Crooners"  turned out to be a real bargain; a 2000-piece puzzle that was marked at $6.99, already a bargain price - and then I found out that the ding on the bottom of the box was worth another ten percent off even that low price.

Bottom of the box:

If you look carefully, you can see the tear around the tire and fender of the bus where the box-bottom got punched in by something. I haven't opened the puzzle yet, but I'll be making a repair from the inside because this is a puzzle I plan to add to my permanent collection.

Just another reminder of why I love puzzling so much.

White Mountain "Precious Days": Reality vs. The Picture in My Mind

"Precious Days," White Mountain, 1000 pieces, 24 x 30 inches

I love this puzzle; I swear that I do. And this is how it still looks in my mind when I think about it. 

But a harsh bit of reality struck me a few minutes ago when I snapped this "in progress picture."  Suddenly, I realized that the last 225 or so pieces are going to take a bit longer to place than I thought  when I sat down to the puzzle board two hours ago. But it's going to happen sooner or later, I guarantee you that.

With approximately 225 pieces of sky and sparsely-leaved trees to go

Master Pieces: Vintage Puzzles Featuring Children

Artist: Jane Freeman  Painting: "Chums"

All images shown in this post are from a 1998 book titled "Master Pieces: The Art History of Jigsaw Puzzles" by Chris McCann, published by Collectors Press, Inc. of Portland Oregon

I've been looking more and more into puzzles from the past, and I thought I would share some of my favorites here. I have been unsuccessful in finding much information about these particular puzzles, but I'm guessing from their "look" that they probably were produced as Master Pieces puzzles sometime between the 1940s and 1960s.  According to the book, Jane Freeman died in 1963 at 78 years of age, so this one does seem to fit that period. In 1998, McCann valued the puzzle at $20-$30. I have no idea what it might be worth today, but it's puzzles like this one that keep me checking thrift shops and estate sales for bargains...you just never know.

Artist: Anthony Cucchi    Painting: "Unlucky Star"

Research seems to be much easier today than it was in 1998 because the book's author drew a blank on Cucchi and said that "no record" of him could be found. A quick search of Google indicates that  Mr. Cucchi was born in 1900 and died in 1990. His work appeared on numerous puzzles and calendars of the day, and he is now quite collectable. McCann valued this one in the same price range as the first picture.

Artist: Charlotte Becker   Painting: "Ain't She Sweet"

Again, McCann pretty much drew a blank on this artist, but it turns out that she was born in 1907 and died in 1984.  She is known for her artwork featuring babies, and is quite collectable today in the form of prints and posters. McCann valued this one at the same price as the previous two.

Artist: Harold Anderson   Painting: "No Time to Waste"

According to McCann, Anderson was a Boston-born artist who got his training in that city. He lived between 1894 and 1973 and during his career he produced numerous magazine covers and advertisements. This is another $20-$30 puzzle.

Artist: Frances Tipton Hunter   Painting: "Threesome"

McCann tells us that Hunter was born in 1896 and died in 1957, and that she got her training in Philadelphia. During her career, she produced numerous magazine covers (including some for The Saturday Evening Post) and calendar illustrations. She also produced paper-dolls in book form, and is known for her paintings of children and their pets. This is another $20-$30 puzzle...in 1998.

This is the kind of stuff I dream of finding someday in a garage sale or at a charity shop...but so far, not even close. 

As I looked at these images, it suddenly struck me that all these kids are very white and all-American looking, but at first thought, I just wrote that off as a sign of the times. But, you know, it's not all that much different today when I see puzzles featuring cute children. If I've missed a bunch of puzzles portraying minority children, please let me know. I would like to be wrong.

Six Puzzle Companies Ranked by Overall Quality: White Mountain to Puzz3D

Since starting Puzzle Fanatics, I've had sufficient experience with the recent puzzles of several companies to compare the overall quality of their products. My "Company Reviews" page, in fact, now includes full reviews of puzzles from six different companies, so I've decided to post my first puzzle company ranking list. And, I'm close to feeling comfortable about reviewing a handful of other companies, so I'll continue to add to the review page and ranking list as those reviews are ready.

I use a point-system to rank the companies, and there is surprisingly little difference in poing-totals in some cases. It seems that most companies are strong in some qualities and just average in others, so it's all boils down to one or two category "misses" on their parts. I rate eight separate categories from 1-4 points each, and offer up to three possible bonus points for exceptional quality in any of the rating-categories. That means that a perfect score would be 35 points (and no company has approached that number yet). This six-company ranking is based on total points with the percentage of a perfect score also shown. Remember that more reviews and list adjustments will follow when I feel comfortable with doing initial ratings for other companies. 

Puzzle Company Ranking List:

1. White Mountain -   31 points, 89%
2. SunsOut -   31 points, 89%
3. Dowdle Folk Art -   30 points, 86%
4. Aquarius -   29 points, 83%
5. Ceaco -   24 points, 69%
6. Puzz3D (MB) -   15 points, 43%

Detailed Reviews for Each Company Ranked - Click Here

"Soccer" by Jan van Haasteren: Little Guys Everywhere

One Tiny Section of "Soccer," CEACO, 550 pieces, 16 X 24 inches (The Penalty Shot from Hell)

"Soccer" is my first experience with one of Jan van Haasteren's many puzzles. It's not that I've just become aware of the man's work, but (frankly) they are so "busy," with all those little cartoon characters running around everywhere that they just don't appeal to me that much. It took me, in fact, a long time to figure out a plan of attack on even this smaller one, but once I got into the hang of it (the secret seems to be to just take what the puzzle gives you at the moment and worry about assembling it into one coherent piece later), I enjoyed it. I can't imagine though what a 1000-piece puzzle of his would be like, and probably won't go there even though I already have three of them on my puzzle shelf.

After finishing the puzzle-frame and taking a couple of the more obvious spots on, it was time to use the various signs dispersed throughout the crowd as a way to keep making progress. Finally, some of the sign-sections started to hook into the frame, and I just placed the others in their approximate final settings.

 After I got all the signage in place, I decided to pull all the green pieces out and use the remaining ones to finish the upper half of the puzzle. Despite the sections of the crowd being as segregated by type as they are, that was not as easy for me as I expected it would be.

Then it was time to finish up the pitch itself and all the "players" running around on it, including the track that runs around the perimeter of the pitch. This would prove to be the toughest part of the puzzle for some reason. The funny thing is that, in addition to the soccer teams on the pitch, there are also a basketball team, a football team, a baseball team, a tennis match, track and field athletes, and who knows what else?

And finally it was done...but let's look at some of the detail.

The football and basketball teams

The Indians in the Stands (Politically Correct?)

A Group of Navy personnel from Some Country's Navy

Even the Zoo Animals Had a Section in the Stands (to the dismay of nearby fans?)

There is even a TV Crew in the Sky (and in the way of some fans)

Even a criminal on the pitch choking out one of his opponents (I don't like this image)

Another politically incorrect section in the stands - the Mexican Section?

This one kind of surprised me. It's funny, no doubt about that, but Mr. Van Haasteren seems to have no fear about straying into some areas of humor (ethnic costuming, and the like) that surprised me. The puzzle is only five years old, so I'm surprised that the PC Police haven't caused him a problem yet - but I hope that they never do because this is not mean-spirited humor at all - not even close, in my opinion.

I have three more Jan van Haasteren puzzles of 550 pieces and three 1000-piece ones on my To-Do shelf, and I'm sure that I'll get to some of them later on. But as much fun as this one turned out to be, they are still a little too busy to be a relaxing experience for me - and that means I'm not in a big hurry to do the next one.