Review: Fantastic Balloon Ride (Schmidt, 1000pc)

Completed puzzle is 22.25" wide x 22.25" tall

Description

Title	Phantastische Ballonfahrt (Fantastic Balloon Ride)
Artist	Colin Thompson
Brand	Schmidt
No. of pieces	1000
Piece cut type	Fully interlocking ribbon
Price/Retailer	$14.99 + s&h from Amazon

Analysis

If you saw my previous post about this puzzle, you've already heard me gush about how much I adore the fun and whimsical print, so I will mainly focus on construction here.

The good: the puzzle has minimal dust and sturdy, fully interlocking pieces. It strikes an ideal balance of fit snugness: the pieces fit together tightly enough that the completed puzzle is easy to flip over and/or transport between surfaces, yet not so tightly that it couldn't be taken apart without damaging any pieces. For this reason, it's a great candidate for saving as wall decoration (by taping the back surface), or putting back in the box for another go in the future.

The not so good: some pieces were partially damaged and a bit rough around the edges (see Exhibit A, B). While the small handful of rips certainly detracts from overall quality of construction, durability of the puzzle seems solid. It's as though the pieces have endured enough wear 'n tear during the printing/packaging process that they'll be good for the long run.

Exhibit A
Partially torn puzzle piece

Exhibit B
Damaged piece (torn picture on front side, not displayed)
+ more cardboard tears

In terms of difficulty, the puzzle turned out to be a tad more challenging than expected and took a couple of days to complete. Piece density for this puzzle comes out to 2.02 pieces per square inch, so it's close to the 1.95 for Oceanic Wonders, though with a third of the number of pieces.

Probably an obvious point, but the puzzle is relatively easy to manage in two sections: foreground and background. At the time I wasn't sure why, but I felt inclined to first work on the yellow sky. Now that I think more about it, I was probably subconsciously trying to save the best part (that patchwork balloon!) for last.

Final Evaluation - 2.25/5 stars
Craftsmanship - 2.5/5 stars
Difficulty - 2/5 stars