Silvie - Thank you very much for the offer. First, I should ask another person, who already has some puzzles in storage for me, because they may have access to Landi also. I did purchase a copy of Pilatus at the rare puzzles online store.
I will reply in this thread very soon if I need to ask for your assistance, thanks again.
I have discovered another Landi 5000 puzzle; I cannot say if it is newer or older than the other titles already mentioned, but it is a beautiful mountain scene. "Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau"; Article number 82912.
Here is a photo of the Appenzeller Alpaufzug puzzle box. I would like to find this one, as well as the two scenic Creux de Van and the Pilatus puzzles, if anyone can assist. I'm in no hurry.
Silberfuchs is correct on all counts .. I have not completed this puzzle and I am very late to the conversation! (The pieces have been counted and the puzzle is presumed complete.) I have submitted some photos showing the pieces - they are a different style than yours, with more square-shaped knobs compared with your looping ones. My pieces also have a rectangular shape so that the piece can be immediately oriented. The style of piece seems to me exactly the same as the 5000 FX Schmid series of Canaletto and World Map 1808. Your copy looks like a standard Jumbo 5000 cut style.
Enjoy - it's a beautiful puzzle, enough details and not too dark!
Some thoughts about laser-cut versus hand-cut puzzles:
- Laser-cut puzzles usually use thicker, heavier wood. Hand-cut puzzles are typically a softer hardwood, in the case of PMW it's 3-ply poplar plywood. In other cases Baltic birch is used, and sometimes 5-ply. The scroll saw blade would break every minute if dense hardwood such as oak or maple were used. PMW cuts their puzzles in stacks of 6, so there are small pinholes in a few places - pins are inserted into the stack to keep the layers together.
- Laser-cut puzzles burn the wood during the fabrication process. This creates dark coloration around the edges of the cut pieces, which in very light images can be quite a distraction. The pieces, while often interlocking, don't fit very tightly because the burning removes material. There is also a smell of burnt wood, which some like, and others don't. Hand-cut puzzles are almost seamless - you need to look closely to see the pieces. Cutting the plywood causes the wood to swell slightly; and the blades used are tiny (.008" - .012").
- Laser-cut puzzles often have a similar pattern from puzzle to puzzle. They tend to be much easier than a hand-cut puzzles, focusing on fancy shapes and whimsies. Hand-cut puzzles in the French style (aka PMW) frequently cut the pieces along the lines of color in the image. This means that the completed puzzle looks 'cleaner' without lots of cuts between details. The push-fit style drastically increases potential connecting points. Every puzzle is different.
For my money, hand-cut puzzles are a sure winner over the laser-cut puzzles of Wentworth or Liberty.
