Review: “Accolade” by Edward Blaire Leighton, Educa — 9.25/10

Publisher: Educa (Spain)

Title:  “Accolade” by Edward Blaire Leighton, 2000 pieces

Review by Gary Zahn

Gary’s rating: 9.25/10

Before I start my review I would like to thank Jane for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful website. Thanks Jane. So now off to the review.

Box Quality:  (10/10)

The Educa boxes are very well made and sturdy. I really like the fact that you do not have to cut into the box with a knife to open it like some other puzzle manufacturers. You can see the front of the box above.

The box also has a picture of the puzzle on both sides and the bottom so that if stored in a collection you will be able to see what it is on a shelf. I really like that style. The back of the box has some information about some websites to go to for their products. Additionally on the inside of the box bottom it has information in case you lose a piece and how to go about replacing it.  This is very nice to have in case (knock on wood) something does happen and a piece is lost. Inside the box was the puzzle itself some puzzle glue and a small instruction sheet on gluing the puzzle. Unfortunately this puzzle does not come with any type of guide picture. I think it would have been nice to have a guide picture but I think the picture on the front of the box will work as a guide picture if needed.

The Image: 10/10

The image is of The Accolade which is a painting that was done by Edmund Blair Leighton. He was an English painter that specialized in medieval subjects and some of his most famous paintings such as The Accolade define our modern day conception of medieval legend and romantic sentiment. The image depicts a queen bestowing a knighthood, or The Accolade, on one of her chivalrous knights. It is a stunning image that really gives you that feeling of being in a bygone era with knights and honor and chivalry. When I first saw the picture I knew I had to do the puzzle. It is a wonderful image for a puzzle.

Above: The completed puzzle. Click for closer view.

Puzzle Quality: 10/10

This Educa puzzle is good quality with nice fitting pieces. It is a grid cut puzzle with various different shapes of pieces throughout. One thing I did notice is that it is not an overall tight fit. It is a good fit but not super tight.  If you had to move groups of pieces around anymore than 5 to 10 pieces and it would fall apart on you.  Other than that the overall quality is excellent.

Assembly: 8/10

Assembly of this puzzle was a little on the difficult side. For one it is a 2000 piece puzzle which being that size is difficult to begin with. There are some color areas that you could pick out and piece together such as the red on the knights tunic and the floor but the color areas were very limited and some areas were so close in appearance that it was difficult to tell where the pieces went especially in the darker areas of the puzzle. You will definitely have to use the cover of the box as a guide for some of the areas. The queen’s dress was especially a challenge. Putting the puzzle together though was a lot of fun and watching some of the details emerge was rewarding. The details throughout the puzzle were really amazing as you can see in the pictures below. So if you like a challenge and enjoy working from a guide picture this puzzle is for you.

Conclusion

Overall Educa came out with a really good quality puzzle that I really enjoyed working on. It is a bit of a challenge but the overall theme and the image itself is worth it in the end. If you like a bit of a challenge and are not scared away by the overall piece count I would highly suggest getting this puzzle.

Gary