If you are someone who enjoys piecing together small jigsaw pieces to complete a bigger picture but finds the traditional flat jigsaw a bit too, well, two-dimensional, then welcome to 3D jigsaw puzzles. Ravensburger have a great range of 3D iconic buildings jigsaw puzzles. After having completed the 3D jigsaw puzzle of Big Ben and enjoying it; not just the challenge of putting the pieces together but completing a 3D model of one of London’s famous landmarks, I am trying another of London’s iconic sights, Tower Bridge.
The Ravensburger Tower Bridge 3D Jigsaw Puzzle is a 216 piece puzzle that when assembled is over a metre in length (approx. 117.4 x 17.4 x 33.6cm). It is suitable for age 10-99 and is perfect for children and adults.
In the box there are 216 pieces (plastic jigsaw pieces, stand and road) and an instruction book. The instruction booklet shows how to put together the larger pieces like the plinths, road and bridge supports and has some great information about Tower Bridge (how it got its name, how long it took to build etc.). The jigsaw pieces are plastic and some of them need to be bent for the corners, and they are numbered on the back should you want help putting together the towers.
The assembly process is where the fun really begins and there are two ways to complete the puzzle; if you’re a puzzle purist and want a challenge, build it as you would a regular jigsaw and go by eye and the picture on the box. Or if the simple act of assembling the bridge appeals more than the challenge of a jigsaw, use the numbers on the reverse of the jigsaw pieces to help you assemble it.
Regular jigsaw puzzles generally have cardboard pieces. This 3D puzzle has more solid and durable plastic pieces (although whether the corner pieces would hold up to taking apart and reassembling more than a few times is something to bear in mind as they need to be bent to fit). All the pieces clip together tightly and securely.
Overall, the Ravensburger Tower Bridge 3D Jigsaw Puzzle is an excellent 3D puzzle and impressive model or a world famous landmark. I choose to assemble it without using the numbering system and it took me about 2 weeks to put together (I was just doing a bit every now and then rather than all in one sitting). The original Tower Bridge took 8 years to build – I think this 3D model version would probably take about an hour if using the numbers and 2 or 3 hours if wanting more of a challenge and going by eye.
Fully assembled, it is quite large at 117cm in length and has some excellent detail. I found it relatively easy to put together, very enjoyable and no glue is required!
Puzzlers and model builders will get a lot of enjoyment and a sense of achievement once completed. Although quite expensive for a jigsaw puzzle, it is definitely value for money, not only the entertainment value and the challenge of building it, but in sheer size and being able to put it on display.
Highly recommended.
RRP: £39.99
Rating: 5/5
For more information or to buy direct, visit www.ravensburger.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.
