Jigsaw Puzzle Review - Impact Merch G1 1000 Piece
TRANSFORMERS 1000 PIECE JIGSAW PUZZLE
Brand - Impact Merch (made under Licence)
Retail Price - $22.98 (from JB Hi-Fi)
Released Here - October 2020
Number of Pieces - 1000
Size - 50cm height, 70cm width
Main Features/Gimmicks - Jigsaw puzzle and reprint of the iconic, original 1984 G1 artwork that featured on toy packaging, enclosed promotional materials and other advertising. When framed, it transforms... your living room/toy room/games room/home theatre/study/bat cave!
Jigsaw Assembly Time - About 20hrs
Framing Time - 1min
Frame - Ikea Fiskbo, $13. The frame dimensions are 50x70cm (holds a 50x70cm picture - the size of the backing) and holds the jigsaw perfectly. The size of the outer frame is 53x73cm and comes in black or white. The front cover is plastic (as clear as glass with no odd distortions) and the frame is fibreboard (wood feel). It is childsafe and very light.
THOUGHTS
I got it on a 20% off jigsaw sale but the RRP is already reasonably good for a licensed jigsaw of this size. I took about 20 hours but your mileage will vary. This jigsaw is pretty hard (in my view) as much of it is blended background colour - lots of red/orange, black/blue space, pink/purple, white/tan, explosion lines, with almost no distinguishing features when seen as individual pieces. Worse still, there are different areas of similar colour e.g. blue/black space at the top, bottom right and the centre; orange/red at the bottom and left; Starscream's wing and tail; the explosion lines at the top and bottom centres and the bottom right. Even the Transformers writing with the recognisable light blue/white/red and black outline wasn't easy. Overall it was a slog. The framed jigsaw, however, is spectacular! It's something one might see hanging in a pop culture or poster shop or arty cinema.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Use a large, comfortable dining table (if framing, you'll need to pull the puzzle with the frame over the table edge - see below).
- When assembling on a frame backing, make sure the frame hook is in the right place or it will be upside down.
- The Autobot (top left) and Decepticon (top right) insignia are the easiest, as is Optimus's grill (bottom left). Finding the other Autobot symbols is helpful. Finding Decepticons in the pink area (top right) and the little Autobots in the red areas is useful. The hues of the red/orange, pink/purple and blue/black also help to identify general location. Unfortunately, a lot of the black/blue/red/orange pieces are left to last and just plugging them randomly into holes.
- Frame it! It has a presence that the photos below don't capture. And the framing process is simplicity itself.
- If jigsaws are a waste of time for you, get a family member who enjoys 1000 piece puzzles to do it, then bask in its framed, artistic glory.
Pieces out of the box (some factory installed to save you time!)
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Border completed and cover on top to show dimensions of puzzle, cover and frame backing (all equal). Make sure you know where the frame hook is (see the sticky tapes). The cover can be used to keep pieces in place while you take breaks.
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Nearly completed.
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Completed and with cover over the top.
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Plastic cover on top and backing below showing the same dimensions as the jigsaw.
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Frame installed over the top of the cover. Simply place it over the top with the metal tabs open. It overlaps the cover/jigsaw by a few mm on each side to hold them in place without noticeable loss of the picture (you lose the licensing info at the bottom right). To bend the metal tabs over the cover/jigsaw/backing, slide the edge of the frame over your work table a bit and bend from beneath (you won't be able to turn the frame over like a regular photo frame). I did the middle tabs first, then rotated the frame 90 degrees and again bent the middle ones, rotated etc, and then bent the remaining corner ones.
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The metal tabs on the back of the frame bend open and close to hold the backing (standard photo frame method). The thickness of the puzzle is fine - it does not push the backing beyond the frame.
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The picture with Deluxe Earthrise toy for size comparison.
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Rear of the picture showing the metal tabs. Make sure you know where the hooks are before you start the puzzle.
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