Hornby jigsaw puzzles

As some of you may know, Hornby, the model railway company, has recently released jigsaw puzzles related to the model locomotives/trains that they retail - jigsaws are manufactured by Kidicraft. The example I have chosen for today's post - 20th July 2023, is of 1000 pieces and titled Sir William A. Stanier.

The locomotive bearing the name of the great engineer is one of the 'Princess Coronation' class of 4-6-2's, my favourite class of engines.The class was built at Crewe Works between 1937 and 1948 and eventually, following many batches, reached 38. No.46256 was the penultimate locomotive built (1947) and named after the designer, Sir William A Stanier FRS. The artwork for the jigsaw was provided by the brilliant railway artist John Austin, Fellow of the Guild of Railway Artists. For more of John's work look him up on the internet or read his book, 'Smoke, Steam and Light' - you will find the jigsaw picture in the book. The rather handsome, space saving box is also shown below, in Hornby's colours. The Hornby locomotive No.46256 Sir William A Stanier FRS - R3555 - was released in 2017, and John's superb painting appeared on the front cover of the 2017 Hornby catalogue.