Colorful illustration, quick and easy to assemble.
Can one celebrate the architecture of this city while simultaneously ignoring the crimes and current war led by its parent country? I’m not entirely sure as my mind swings back and forth at the thought.
Unlike the three 300-pc puzzles in this pack, this 500-pc puzzle is grid cut rather than random cut. Fun and challenging for a 500!
As for the subject matter, I’ll let Google’s AI agent (gasp!) sum it up:
“A wide panoramic action collage featuring Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Venom, Green Goblin, and other iconic characters against a New York City skyline backdrop.”
The Lizard! Talk about Reptilian Rage!
Smooth semi-gloss finish, random cut, loose fit, no dust.
My second from this multi-pack. I look forward to bashing out the others.
I was happy to come across this one recently when organizing my collection. Target carried quite a few USAopoly puzzles in their gaming section during the twenty-teens. I certainly put my fair share of gaming hours into Destiny 1 and it’s fun to have a puzzle on hand to loosen those memories.
Great thickness, snug fit, little dust, semi-gloss smooth finish, non-aligned grid cut.
Five straightforward answers after second guess. Picked the wrong four.
Continuing my streak of 500s, this was an enjoyable entry that provided some challenge without being unduly difficult.
Couldn’t find an artist credit or a publication year so I omitted that info.
Grid cut, little dust, loose fit, matte smooth finish, solid thickness.
When I posted my last Fred puzzle a couple weeks ago, one of the commenters, u/Wilburrkins, asked me whether I had done this one. I confidently answered that I hadn’t cuz it didn’t interest me. Imagine my surprise when I found it in my stash! (Yes, I have way too many puzzles!)
I enjoyed this illustration quite a bit. Granted, the sky on top and to the left and right of the figures slowed me down, but the rest was a breeze. I finally realized that the image of the young woman existed only in the painting. Clever!
Grid cut, smooth semi-gloss finish, little dust, solid fit, good thickness. Like all Fred releases, included a poster and a reusable, resealable plastic bag.
This brief bio of the artist appears on the box back:
“Dion MBD, because Dionisius Mehoga Bangun Djayasaputra is way too long to remember, is an Indonesian illustrator and designer who received his illustration BFA in Florida where he grew his fascinations with clouds.
In his down time, Dion is either cooking, listening to John Mayer, or playing bodminton.”
dionmbd.com
This is one unearthed from my pre-2009
stash. There’s no publication date on the puzzle box or its contents. However, the image contains the artist’s signature and date, so that’s the attribution I’m going with.
Good thickness, smooth glossy finish, fun random cut, little dust, solid fit.
I think that if you’ve done one Dowdle puzzle you’ve done them all, but this was enjoyable as a change of pace.
Finished this one as a quickie before I left on vacation for a week and finally getting around to posting it.
Good thickness, minimal dust, glossy finish, random cut, snug fit.
A great reproduction of the Italian poster for this seminal Hammer film.
Boat and oarsperson in lower-left corner? Check! Pink blossoms? Check! Lilypads? Check! All that white-lined water? Drag me to hell!
Weeks in the making with periods of massive disinterest, but it’s finally done.
This is the third puzzle I’ve done that features Shimizu’s art. All beautiful and worth the effort, but this one was something else on the latter front.
A brief bio of the artist appears on the back of the box:
“Yuko Shimizu is an award-winning Japanese illustrator based in New York City. You may have seen her works on the magazine and newspaper pages, book covers, T-shirts or on billboards. When she is not illustrating, she is teaching the next generation of artists at her alma mater School of Visual Arts.”
I play in a monthly card group and one of our members has a print of this piece in her home. The puzzle is a fine representation of Eaton’s work despite being slightly cropped on the sides.
I haven’t done a Fred puzzle that I didn’t enjoy and this one was no exception. The blues and whites were a bit hellish at the end though!
Grid cut, little dust, OK fit, but a bit thinner and smaller pieces than I recall from 1000-pc Freds of yore. I have a couple more Freds in my immediate queue and I’ll keep my antennae up for whether the piece issues are a one-off for this particular puzzle or a larger issue.
There’s a brief bio of Eaton on the back of the typically luxurious Fred box:
“Growing up on comic books, graffiti and skateboard culture, Tristan Eaton began pursuing street art as a teenager, painting everything from walls to dumpsters in the cities he grew up in (LA, London, Detroit & NYC). Art provided an outlet for him that eventually led to him designing a toy for Fisher Price at 18 years old. This taste of toy making would serve him well as he went on to design for Kidrobot, creating their famous Dunny and Munny figures.
Since 2011 Eaton has. been predominantly painting large scale murals all over the world. His unmistakable visual style is a collage of pop culture imagery executed with free-hand spray paint at colossal scale. Eaton also operates a successful studio practice based in Los Angeles where he creates work for private clients and brands such as SpaceX, Marvel and Versace.
Eaton's work can be found in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).
tristaneaton.com
@tristaneaton”
Found this one a couple holidays ago as part of a 2-pack. Seesaw is a new brand for me, but the quality was excellent. Thick pieces, white backing, no dust, smooth matte finish, solid fit.
Found this one a couple holidays ago as part of a 2-pack. Seesaw is a new brand for me, but the quality was excellent. Thick pieces, white backing, no dust, smooth matte finish, solid fit.
Wheat Field with Cypresses waits for me to complete the set.
Grid cut, no dust, solid fit, OK thickness, and a smooth matte finish. A poster was included along with an eco-friendly paper puzzle bag.
Brief notes on the artist are included on the box:
“Felicia Chiao is a San Francisco-based industrial designer and illustrator. Her illustrations feature a range of environments with her own cast of characters traversing the landscape. Images range from detailed depictions of everyday life to more fantastical scenes. Her work is purely traditional and is drawn with Copic markers and ink on brown-toned paper.”
“The Durbar festival is an annual celebration of culture, religion, and equestrianism, observed in various northern Nigerian cities such as Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Zazzau, Bauchi, Bida, and Ilorin. The festival typically takes place at the end of Ramadan and coincides with the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr.” (*description from product box*)
Excellent quality—good thickness, paper backing, grid cut, no dust, shiny smooth surface, solid fit.
Includes a nice poster.
Unique, colorful, a breeze to assemble, and highly recommended.
Fun and easy. All 2-in, 2-out pieces, but pronounced colors made that moot. Smooth semi-gloss finish, OK fit, paper backing, no dust, one piece repaired for delamination.
A refreshing puzzle on a 93-degree day here in Denver.
The companion puzzle to the one I posted a couple days ago. (https://www.reddit.com/r/jigsawpuzzlers/s/uwSK9Vey4z ) Full sized, with a genuine grid cut, no dust, decent fit, and a smooth matte finish.
Another nice puzzle from Spin Master’s Artist Spotlight Series. I found this bundled as a 2-pack, paired with a complimentary image from the same artist.
Grid cut, no dust, solid fit, OK thickness, and a smooth matte finish. A poster was included along with an eco-friendly paper puzzle bag.
Brief notes on the artist are included on the box:
“Felicia Chiao is a San Francisco-based industrial designer and illustrator. Her illustrations feature a range of environments with her own cast of characters traversing the landscape. Images range from detailed depictions of everyday life to more fantastical scenes. Her work is purely traditional and is drawn with Copic markers and ink on brown-toned paper.”
“Egungun refers to a type of masquerade or costumed figure in Yoruba culture, which is believed to represent the spirits of ancestors who have passed away. These manifestations are periodically present in the human community to commemorate, honor and offer blessings.” (*description from product box*)
Excellent quality—good thickness, paper backing, grid cut, no dust, shiny smooth surface, solid fit. Reminded me a lot of Galison, with the added advantage of a multi-shape grid cut.
Includes a nice poster. Packaging fetishists should know that the box opens with a simple end flap rather than a true top and bottom.
Unique, a breeze to assemble, and highly recommended.
Spin Master did a great job with their Artist Spotlight Series. I found them bundled as 2-packs, paired as complimentary images from the same artists.
I did another puzzle from Graffiti Egypt three years ago (https://www.reddit.com/r/Jigsawpuzzles/s/KR70tYeaqy). Happily, the current puzzle is full size with a genuine grid cut, no dust, decent fit, and a smooth matte finish.
Oh for the days of unremarked and uncontested inclusivity.
Brief notes on the artist are included on the box:
‘Emerging artist and muralist Egypt uses portraiture as storytelling. "We as humans bare a unique story. I enjoy creating these stories... (with) bold images and an underlying vibrancy...My paintings consist of people or moments I've come across... untold stories that deserve to be heard.’
‘Egypt's works are exhibited worldwide.’
‘Find more of Egypt's work on her website:
www.graffitiegypt.com’