Wow, this was a cool puzzle. And so difficult. I think it took me almost two weeks to complete. Three sittings just to get most of the outline done. And then it kept shifting for a while, so the progress shots are not always in alignment (overall shape looks wonky until near the end). Not only is this a shaped puzzle- which adds to the difficulty level right away- but it has a bunch of odd pieces that baffled me at first. Most of them are straightforward standard ribbon cut, but there’s a few oddities:
which I finally realized fitted together to make little outlines of the entire puzzle, within the puzzle:
On top of that, there are hidden pictures in the bears’ fur. Like the polar bear fur (with its wonderful varied texture, from smooth on the mother’s nose and the cub, to long and tangled on the sides, to rough and yellowed on the feet) is a whole canvas in and of itself. There are foxes, penguins, owls, geese, wolves, polar bears, hares, seals and more. The box says over thirty images, I don’t think I spotted them all. Here’s one I was able to get a photo of: wolf head howling.
This is one of my favorite puzzle brands- such nice, sturdy thick pieces with great surface texture. Very good quality. Only reason I decided to swap this one and not keep it, because it was missing three pieces and I didn’t feel like making replacements. Maybe someday I’ll come across another one of it that’s entire.
Completed on 6/19/24. Finished size approximately 24 x 36″.
