A SCOT has taken five months to complete all 32,000 pieces of the world’s biggest commercially-available jigsaw puzzle.
Christopher Grubb, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, assembled the 32,256-piece monster puzzle in his house.
The jigsaw – which Christopher bought on Amazon for £180 – measures an amazing 17ft by 6ft once the 16 separate sections are put together.
The pieces weigh so much, the jigsaw is delivered complete with its own trolley.
The puzzle – a work by US artist Keith Haring called Double Retrospect – is listed by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest commercially available puzzle.
Christopher, a welder, said his love of puzzles stemmed from childhood.
He said: “I have done jigsaws from a very early age and I’ve always had a love for puzzles of all sorts. But more so in the last 10 years as I am single and have plenty free time on my hands.
“My mum always bought them for birthdays and Christmases and I soon became hooked and started collecting.
“Most of my jigsaws are between 1,000 and 5,000 pieces but I soon found I was getting through them too fast so I decided to challenge myself.”
Mr Grubb added: “Around three years ago I purchased an 18,000-piece jigsaw and completed that one with ease so I then had my eye on the 32,000-piece jigsaw which I saw online.
“It took me at least a year before I decided to buy it and take on the ultimate challenge as jigsaws don’t come any bigger than 32,000.
“I build them not for any record but just for personal satisfaction and find it relaxing after a hard day’s work.
“I worked on this jigsaw for two hours after work in the evenings and at weekends.
“But I couldn’t build it up at home because it was just too big so I took the pieces up to Templehall Community Centre and it took roughly 45 minutes to put all the sections together. I then broke it down as it was too big to store anywhere.
Mr Grubb said that despite his workmate having a laugh at his expense, he is keen to find another challenging jigsaw.
He said: “I’m always up for a challenge and would love to do another puzzle as big or even bigger than the 32,000-piece on, so hopefully the manufacturers have something in the pipeline.
“My workmates always laugh at me doing jigsaws at the age of 44, but it works for me and keeps my mind active.”
In 2011, the Guinness World Records recorded the largest jigsaw to be made of 551,232-pieces. It was completed by 1,600 students at the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The puzzle measured 48ft by 76ft.
