A legitimate competitor? Funwhole Medieval Market review

[@damien_t]

They continue to improve. In the apothecary shop, which I have, the wiring is great, more flat, hidden, and even colored to be closer to the bricks. The roof rests on the structure without hinges. I think their older models like this have more flaws. I love this company and will continue to support them due to their continuous improvements efforts and doing their own thing with copying lego. Thanks for the honest review!

[@roseproto]

The most recent sets feature contact lighting for removable floors and modified bricks to route wiring instead of between plates. Highly recommend revisiting this brand with these updates. The instructions and build quality are on par with Lego but the much improved lighting design is a revelation imo. The minifigs are disposable, but everything else is surprisingly good.

[@boardwithbricks]

I purchased all of the buildings, those reviews are coming🙂

[@SO-ym3zs]

Was going to say the same about the lighting improvements. I'll hand it to FunWhole: they actively and quickly improve and progress and listen to fan feedback, unlike, ahem, another company.

[@Zabadak]

F.O. is really doing a great job. There sets improving fast. And look awesome like this set. A think a leiding brand has found a true competitor

[@nlberglov8458]

I really like this set

[@Cursos910]

Great video! You have an excellent voice for the review and I enjoyed the video! The suggestion to like and subscribe was a bit louder than the rest of your video and very offputting.

I kind of wish the lights did not flicker, might sound stupid but that's kind of a dealbreaker for me, it will be my only set with flickering lights, and everything else is static

[@nlberglov8458]

Very cool video!

[@meiklaner8130]

Thanks for your honest review. I would not consider buying this set because of the flaws mentioned, but will take a closer look at their Forge House Set which uses updated techniques.

[@DoctorBrickz]

Nice video! You have a new subscriber :)

[@SO-ym3zs]

Haven't purchased this set yet but am eyeing it. I'm always open to Lego competitors and spend more time and money on them than Lego now since the quality and designs have gotten so good, and the prices are often just a fraction of Lego's slap-in-the-face prices.

[@brickinitLego]

Useful review. I generally dislike lighting in a build as the wires are generally not factored into the design from the start. Wires on view or preventing access feels counterproductive to an enjoyable set. This is somewhat understandable in LEGO sets where the lighting is aftermarket but as a product designed with the lighting in mind it’s just lazy design. Good luck with the channel.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Newer Funwhole sets have improved on this substantially, introducing contact plates and a bunch of specialized wire routing pieces. You will still see bits of wiring, but it's better controlled and hidden and generally not pinched under plates, etc.

[@Gray_Falcon]

Its available on Amazon with free prime shipping in the USA. Not sure about CA. I keep looking at the Apothecary building to place with my Blacksmith. At $64 on sale its been very tempting.

[@boardwithbricks]

I'm spoiling my next video, but I find the apothecary an overall better build. The lighting and overall build at $64 is very good.

[@tatesinclair6837]

Uhm ... Amazon sells FO sets.

[@MaxwellSchultz]

awesome set! can anyone explain how companies like this can exist? so many of the pieces are exactly the same as LEGO's. you'd think Lego would shut it down any time someone else ripped off their designs. thoughts?

[@maxbergmann9717]

Lego does not own a patent on the design of the bricks. It's legal

[@boardwithbricks]

I don't know how much one company rips off another. I could argue the LEGO Ideas sets or designer program "rips off" of the community. "Inspired by" might be more accurate. I don't know. What I can say is that some of the Ali Express "brick minifigures" are very close in my opinion to infringement.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Lego owns the rights to their minifigures, not the bricks (an idea they took from a competitor in the first place). Anyone can legally make building brick sets like this.

[@octav1600]

Haven't purchased this set (and if I still had storage space I might ... I quite like what this company is putting out). However, not a huge fan of light kits, and no Minifigs is killings this for me (and I don't much care for the ... non LEGO minifigs - they just look SAD). What I will do however, is learn from the designs used here. It's a really good built. and it's really REALLY sad that a company can do what LEGO refuses to do (and they are doing it cheaper with an added benefit - the light kit). Honestly this just goes to show that LEGO could keep the prices as are now and even make "only prints" in sets (there are other sets from this company with no stickers and they are still reasonably priced) without crying that they cost too much to do.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Competitors like Funwhole often sell their sets for half the price per part as Lego, and then include prints, lights, etc. Some Lego fans with Stockholm Syndrome will say, yes, but Lego has to pay for this or that license or has this or that expense. Perhaps--no fan has access to their internal accounting--but Funwhole and others have shown that with the right business model, it's absolutely possible to make top-quality sets and sell them for half what Lego does. Which means Lego has a lot of explaining to do :)

[@octav1600]

@@SO-ym3zs To be fair, if you're a savvy LEGO buyer, you usually wait for a 30-40 % discount. Not trying to defend LEGO, especially after the disappointment they did with almost no prints for the awesome Medieval Town Square .... But honestly, most people don't even mind the price, it's just the quality we are annoyed by. If the price was corelated with quality, I think it would be ok, however we are getting lower and lower quality for years now ... and prices go up, especially for franchise sets. Luckily I avoid those like the plague unless they have something really fancy like the DnD minifigs.

[@SO-ym3zs]

@@octav1600 I never buy Lego at MSRP. That would be crazy 🙂 And you're right, quality has been going down while prices rise. Not a winning combination. But I would mind the prices even if Lego were producing sets at their old higher quality level. Because other companies have proven that you can offer top quality with more/better features cheaper.

[@jimm244]

Good,review, the first I’ve seen that goes into detail on the build, wiring and internal layout. Most (but not all) of the F.O reviews seem very shill, yours does not. Thank you.

[@johndoe-qo5ki]

A printed mushroom😮

[@maugwei]

Guy is just ripping this Chinese Developer to shreds hahaha

[@spugesdu]

Do we know which designer the design was likely stolen from?

[@SO-ym3zs]

Afaik they create their own designs, like Pantasy, Cobi, etc.

[@raddadchris]

F.O. doesn't steal designs . It's a legitimate company with their own designs.