Rant Review: "Mayberry" Mount Airy, North Carolina 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Dowdle/Buffalo, Art by Eric Dowdle)

I've been picking up Dowdle puzzles here and there as I've come across them at garage sales and thrift stores, both pre- and post-Buffalo acquisition versions, and this is the first one I've actually gotten around to putting together. As it happens, this is not one of the few I've grabbed over the past year, but a new one I ordered on sale a couple of weeks ago. I've loved The Andy Griffith Show (the black & white seasons, anyway) for as far back as my memory goes, so I had to get it as soon as I saw it! 

I quite like the idea of artist Eric Dowdle trying to capture the soul of a city, though I have not visited Andy Griffith's hometown of Mount Airy, I can't say how accurate this is. It makes me want to visit the city very much! The pleasing art style gives the city an appropriate homespun feel, and features several real-life businesses and landmarks. Floyd's barbershop and Wally's are representative of iconic locations from the show, and there's a replica of the courthouse and sheriff's office. Various characters and scenes from the show play out across the art, with likenesses that are off just enough to avoid being sued. 

Scenes I spotted: 
Barney on his motorcycle from the aptly-named Barney gets a Motorcycle
Andy officiating the sham wedding between a disguised Barney and Ernest T. Bass to avoid having Bass wreck the real wedding (Mountain Wedding)
An inebriated Otis riding a cow, thinking it is a horse (The Rehabilitation of Otis)
Andy mediating between the patriarchs of two feuding families who balk at dueling once they're actually put on the spot (A Feud is a Feud)
The Darlings playing music (Multiple episodes)
Mr. McBeevee talking to Opie (Mr. McBeevee)
Andy and Barney with the goat that ate a bunch of dynamite (The Loaded Goat)
Howard Sprague apparently selling newspapers (Not 100% sure what he's doing, as he's a character from the color seasons, which I never really liked, and haven't seen nearly as much.)
Barney dancing with one of the escaped convicts (Convicts at Large)
Gomer dancing with Thelma Lou's cousin Mary Grace (A Date for Gomer)
There are plenty of other characters such as Aunt Bee, Floyd, and Goober, and other scenes that are more generic and not rooted to any specific episode. 

The quality is typical of Buffalo, with thin, mostly sturdy pieces and not a lot of dust. False fits are possible, and easy to miss in certain areas. The trees and sky were the toughest bits, and I left the uppermost edge for last. The poster has a section with information about the various landmarks. One thing I learned is that the nearby city of Mount Pilot on the show was named for the actual Pilot Mountain, seen near the top of the puzzle! A moonshine pie also sounds pretty tasty. I'll have to try one if I ever get to visit!

My top eight Andy Griffith Show episodes (I tried for five, but barely manage to whittle it down this much)

Bargain Day: Some of the most consistent wall-to-wall laughter of the entire series. The sometimes ridiculous lengths Aunt Bee goes to in an attempt to save money remind me of my mom. The scene where she goes down in the middle of the night to sit with the malfunctioning freezer as if it's a sick relative just kills me every time! 

Opie the Birdman: This one usually tops "best of" lists for good reason. The scene at the beginning, with Barney trying to explain how people made slingshots in the olden days ("Where'd David get the inner tube?") has some welcome humor in an episode with more than usual emotional content. 

Opie's Charity: Probably not one of the objectively best episodes, but this one has so many funny lines and scenes, and the twist where we discover why Opie has been so seemingly stingy with his money is a bit of an emotional gut punch.

Mr. McBeevee: Andy and Barney suspect that Opie's new friend is imaginary, which becomes a problem when he starts providing him with gifts. The scene where Andy realizes he trusts his son even though what he's telling him makes no sense to him is powerful. He knows his son is a good child, and he puts his faith in him. That really struck a chord with me when I was little, and still does now.   

Andy on Trial: A wealthy newspaper publisher with a grudge against Andy sends one of his reporters to dig up dirt on the sheriff. She plays on Barney's vanity to manipulate him into giving her enough information to bring a case against him. Barney's impassioned speech at the trial is a great showcase for the character, and shows that Don Knotts was capable of more than just clowning.

Convicts at Large: Barney and Floyd are held captive by a trio of escaped convicts from a women's prison. The scene where Barney dances with the leader to give Andy a chance to capture her is one of the funniest from the entire series!

The Pickle Story: Aunt Bee is a wonderful cook, but pickles are her weakness. Andy, Barney, and Opie trying to cope with her "kerosene cucumbers" is a rollicking good time.

The Song Festers: This is probably a bit of a hot take, but I prefer this one to the more well-known "Barney and the Choir." Barney doesn't come off as so delusional and stupid here, and the resolution just makes more sense. I also love how it shows what a good and selfless person Gomer is, and showcases Jim Nabors' amazing real-life vocal talent.

Rant Review: Disney 100 Retro Reimagined Santa Mickey 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Ceaco Silver Select, artists uncredited)

I don't really give a damn about Disney in general or Mickey Mouse in particular, but I like the vintage art used for this puzzle, and I couldn't pass it up when I saw it on sale for $6. (Amusingly, I came across this Target exclusive puzzle on a steep discount at Walmart.com. It was sold by a third party, of course, but having this arrive in Walmart packaging and seeing "ONLY AT TARGET" emblazoned across the top of the box when I opened it up still elicited a chuckle from me.) I expected this one to be quick and easy. Most of it was. But that middle section, with Mickey dressed as Santa Claus? That took as long as the entire rest of the puzzle. His face was easy, but the sea of indistinguishable red and white that made up the bulk of those pieces was a significant speed bump impeding my progress. I've done crazy-ass photomosaics and such, so this is nowhere near one of the toughest puzzles I've done, but that middle section turned a quick and easy 1,000 piecer into a multiple day project. The first couple of days I worked on it, I tackled it after I was done with work and dealing with assorted other responsibilities, so I simply couldn't muster the patience to get through it. On the third day, I resigned myself to shape sorting the remaining pieces so I could just power through it. My mind simply didn't want to wrap around the way those pieces were going together, for whatever reason. Even looking at the completed puzzle now, I really don't get why that section was so relatively tough. Things just happen that way sometimes, though; were I to do this puzzle at a less hectic time of the year, it likely wouldn't have taken me nearly as long. As things are, it represents a weird anomaly in my regular puzzling.

This is the first puzzle I've done from the Silver Select series. I noticed no real difference in the quality of the actual pieces, but the packaging is greatly improved over the standard Ceaco/Buffalo puzzles. The sturdy cardboard box with its sliding drawer is a massive improvement over the glued-shut boxes of their standard line, and the resealable bag is a nice inclusion, as well. A poster is also included, and is actually large enough to be of help, should you need it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another puzzle in this line!

Rant Review: Evening Performance 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Buffalo Games, art by Darrell Bush)

I'm a sucker for snowy scenes, cabins, and aurora, so adding this to my cart during the recent sales was a no-brainer. I decided to tackle it after finishing that Rockefeller Center 1,000 piecer last week, as I often like to do a smaller puzzle as a bit of a palette cleanser between larger ones.  

This took me twice as long to put together. Really. 

Looking at the art, there are obviously some rather dark areas, but nothing that looks particularly problematic. The central area with the cabin, deer, and much of the surrounding snow flew together practically on its own. From there, things got trickier. Still, I've done far more complex puzzles, so nothing to worry about. Just do a bit of simple shape sorting and power through it, right?

This is where I was reminded the hard way that Buffalo is a value brand marketed toward casual shoppers in big box stores. False fits were all too common, and not easy to spot when many of the pieces were a dark smear of some shade of blue. Thus, whenever a piece seemed to fit, I had to second-guess myself, then go through every other piece of the same shape to see if there was one that seemed to fit just a bit more snugly. This was indeed the case with annoying frequency. I finally grabbed my high-powered flashlight and used it as an aid to better see the dark smears of paint on each piece to help me complete the darker areas. From there, the gradient in the sky made it a breeze to assemble, and the puzzle was done at last!

I've done a couple of other puzzles from Buffalo recently, but the art on those made it very easy to avoid false fits. I won't be avoiding Buffalo, as I still find the slightly loose fit and overall level of quality perfectly acceptable for the price point, but this puzzle served as a reminder to be vigilant of the difference between a pretty puzzle and a fun puzzle in the future! A challenging design can be fun, but you have to be able to trust the puzzle itself not to throw in an additional handicap that turns it into tedium.

Rant Review: Forsythia 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Bonjour! Buffalo Games, art by Bente Schlick)

I saw this in a Reddit post a couple of weeks ago, and immediately had to have it! As luck would have it, I was able to find and order one on sale for $6 within minutes. (It's still on sale as I type this! Go get it!) The art is beautiful, most definitely frame-worthy! It took significantly longer to assemble than I expected, as all the foliage wound up as little blobs of color on each puzzle piece. I knew going in that the flowers and grasses would be the most difficult part of the puzzle by a wide margin, but it was a good bit harder than I anticipated. This is easily the longest it's ever taken me to put together a 500 piecer, but the end result is well-worth it! I'll be keeping an eye out for other puzzles featuring Schlick's art in the future.

The quality is pretty much as expected from Buffalo, with thin, sturdy pieces that fit together well. I had no trouble with false fits, and there was little dust. The only QC issue I encountered was an assortment of uncut pieces, maybe a dozen or so altogether, that were still hanging together in pairs. Not a big deal, especially for the rock-bottom price. I had no trouble separating the puzzle into sections for easy reassembly later on, whenever I decide to frame & hang it. The puzzle hung together at least as well as a typical Ravensburger, and that's all I ask! A poster is included, and also features a brief bio of the artist. 

Rant Review: Ophelia 300 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Buffalo Games, art by Laura El)

 

I don't often do puzzles smaller than 500 pieces, but when I ran across this in Target a couple of weeks ago, I simply couldn't leave it behind! I love the art style and the whole vibe of the piece. At only 300 pieces, and large pieces at that, it was dead easy to complete, but an enjoyable puzzling experience all the same. It served as a perfect buffer between the frenetic Flash puzzle I had just completed and the very busy puzzle I have on deck next. The quality is typical of Buffalo, i.e. not amazing but decent, and perfectly acceptable for a cheap puzzle from a big-box retailer. The large pieces are thin and sturdy, fit together well with no false fits, and there was very little dust. A poster is included. I rarely refer to a poster when doing a puzzle, but it's always nice to have the option! I know Buffalo's glued boxes are divisive, but I just slip my box cutter blade into the seam and run it around the box, and it opens it with no damage. It's not ideal packaging, but I've got no issues with it at this price point. 

On a semi-related note, I noticed after getting this that a puzzle I've had on my wishlist for a while now features art by the same artist. After enjoying this one so much, I may need to go ahead and pull the trigger on that one soon!

Rant Review: Squishmallows Squish Squad 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle (Buffalo Games)

I was obliged to take this one over when my little niece ran out of patience halfway through the sorting. She's done fine with the few 100 piece puzzles I've given her in the past, but this one was a bit overwhelming. My mom had pitched in and helped her assemble about 2/3 of the edge and a teeny bit of the interior before tapping out as well. (My mom has assembled many a puzzle in her day, but she just really wasn't feeling this one.) I neither know nor care about Squishmallows, but the art is cute and pleasant enough that I didn't mind putting this together. It was quite easy, and took me only a couple of hours to assemble the remaining ~450 pieces. The only slightly challenging bits were the vines and letters. 

I've had several puzzles from Buffalo, bought on clearance, sitting in my to-do pile for some time, but this is the first of their puzzles I've actually put together. The quality was not exceptional, but entirely acceptable for a cheap puzzle you can grab for under $10 at a big box retailer. There was only a moderate amount of dust, always a good thing! The pieces were akin to the thin, sturdy pieces you find in Galison puzzles. The fit was a bit loose, however, and false fits occurred more often than I would have liked. I had to reassemble parts of the edge due to this. This wasn't a pervasive problem, though, and I've encountered far worse-fitting pieces with puzzles that cost more than this one.  It actually passed the lift test, for a few seconds, anyway! 

Rant Review: Frederick the Literate 250 Piece Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle (Buffalo, art by Charles Wysocki)

This is my first wooden puzzle, aside from the simple ones I did when I was a toddler, that is. I'd been wanting to do a wooden puzzle for awhile now, and had been eyeing several at various online stores. This one was randomly 53% off a few days ago, and I couldn't resist ordering it. Packaged in a wooden box, its presentation is a few notches above a typical cardboard puzzle. Obviously it's thin, cheap wood, but I'm not expecting top-tier handcrafted finery for $15. The drawer has a puzzle piece-shaped handle, and there is a drawstring bag included to hold the pieces. I typically enjoy funky puzzle piece shapes, so this was right up my alley! Some are random shapes, and some are shaped like animals. It's undoubtedly an easy puzzle, but an enjoyable build all the same. It's small and fun enough that I can see pulling it out here and there when I'm just in the mood for a puzzle but don't feel like tackling a massive one. 

On the QC front, I came across a surprisingly large splinter while removing pieces from the drawer. I didn't get a pic of it, unfortunately; I said something brilliant like "What the hell?!?" and set it aside, at which point it promptly vanished. I'm sure I'll rediscover it while walking to the kitchen or something any day now. Anyway, the pieces are obviously sturdy, and cut well. Some of the fits are rather tight, and can take some finessing to get in place, especially if you're locking more than two together at once. With my big meaty man hands, finesse is not one of my chief attributes, so pieces were accidentally knocked apart on several occasions before tidily fitting together while I was building this thing. Thankfully, I was well-prepared with a varied arsenal of colorful language, and that kept things flowing smoothly. The print is nice and clear, with sharp lines and vibrant colors. It's a cute image with a couple of surprisingly creepy touches lurking within its brush strokes. I like it enough that I'm tempted to hang it on the wall, but then I wouldn't be able to build it again, so that's out for now. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this puzzle! I can easily see myself doing more wooden puzzles in the future if the price is right. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention one of the big positive aspects of a wooden puzzle: There is no puzzle dust! (Though you might get splinters.)