FunWhole Antique Store Review - Should LEGO Be Worried?

[@JoshStaffieri]

Excellent review! Thorough without being boring and unique/creative with multiple "talking heads". I must admit, those heads thru me for a quick loop as it was your first video I've seen, yet well informed review. I look forward to more of your reviews, especially for alt-brands that have very limited vids compared w/LEGO. And I quite agree/hope this review helps FunWhole and LEGO. Bravo!

[@MutantProductions]

Thank you. I appreciate that my crew can be an unexpected surprise when you’re new to our adventures… maybe I shouldn’t have tampered with their mutated DNA… 🙂 FunWhole we kind enough to offer this set. I felt it only fair I give them as thorough a review as I could. I hope they do it again. 👍

[@OliverCGoetz]

Thanks for the detailed look at a bigger set. And it's good that you also did not shy away from pointing out the flaws. I hope that will not discourage them from providing you with more sets to review, but instead inspire them to improve on these issues. The idea for the contact plates for the power connection between the floors was first introduced by the Australian premium lighting kit company Light My Bricks, but they have the contacts pre-attached to 1x2 plates, so no stickers there. Where the height difference between the Lego baseplates and regular size plates is concerned, I'm not sure I would be bothered too much if I had a full city setup. Pavements in real cities are also not uniform, so having different heights and sizes would actually be more realistic. One question though: you mentioned at the beginning that FunWhole had parts Lego doesn’t have which allow for building techniques not possible with Lego. But you never elaborated on that. Would be interesting to learn about them.

[@MutantProductions]

But but there is a way to level all pavements! Crucial for wheelchair and other wheelbound users, irrespective of what “real life” says 😉 Re the special parts, yeah you’re right but they were peppered throughout the building process and wasn’t keen on opening the whole thing. However if you look at the first FunWhole review I did I do discuss one specific part 🙂 I sure hope they see my review as an opportunity for improvement. I don’t shy away from my point just because I get free stuff - surely that would defeat the purpose (plus, I don’t suck up 😛)

[@OliverCGoetz]

@@MutantProductions People with a whole Lego city, who also have lighting installed in all of them never use the standard Lego baseplates anyway. They use MILS, which allow them to thread the wires through the base. What could be interesting is how easy it is to attach standard cables instead of the battery pack to power the light kit from USB power adapters. No one with a whole city wants to have to replace batteries for each of the buildings. But the wires looked pretty standard in your video, seems like the ones from other lighting kits I know. So that part might be pretty easy.

[@MutantProductions]

@@OliverCGoetz MILS was that secret solution! Merging FunWhole parts with LEGO parts (Blasphemy!!!!) you can connect the cables to a USB power brick, as long as it's a 5V one. Forgot to mention that lol. Well spotted.

[@OliverCGoetz]

@@MutantProductions Whoops! Sorry for the unintended spoiler… but maybe there are still people out there who don’t know what that is? 😜

[@MutantProductions]

Hahaha. Likely! But anyway I don’t use MILS like others do. Plus it’s not planned for next week anyway. 😉

[@custarddragon9349]

i think LEGO should be worried. if fake lego brands are able to make really beautiful modulars (with some issues that can be fixed easily) then fans might shift towards those as they would be cheaper but just as good

[@MutantProductions]

Agreed. They're already pretty good and if they business prospers, the issues we've highlighted should easily be resolved as you said, which would hopefully force LEGO to improve, which can only be a good thing for us lovers of complex interconnecting bricks.

[@Hangar1790]

Funwhole fan here.😂 to be fair, Funwhole has rapidly improved build quality in their short history. I own this set as well, it does have some issues, but several of those mentioned in your video have been corrected in my set. Which brings to say that Funwhole’s attentiveness to customer concerns is top notch. I own other FO sets and all so far have been very nice. On par quality with LEGO. I will continue to buy and build FO. And I have definitely slowed Lego purchases. If I were Lego, I’d pay attention.

[@MutantProductions]

Hi and it’s very interesting to hear that your model is different to mine with problems rectified. That’s very good to hear. I do agree: LEGO would be fools to ignore this company: stupid name aside they produce really good products. This was my first big set. I’ve reviewed others since 🙂

[@Hangar1790]

Ahh. When I wrote this I only checked the top floor banisters. After your comment i double checked and sure enough the second floor banisters are only secured with one stud. My apologies. I still like the set though. Thanks for the video.

[@MutantProductions]

It’s a very nice looking set… as long as you don’t touch it too much.

[@thebrickhiker]

Thanks for the honest review of a FW set! They are definitely giving TLG a run for their money, as they get bigger and bigger. Looking forward to seeing what their new name will be [they will be changing it]. Do make sure you mark this video as sponsored though - they provided you with the set, which according to both KZbin and FTC rules, requires you to mark this as sponsored. YT can de-monetize or close accounts that skirt this rule, and the FTC can levy fines since this is posted to a US-based video/social network.

[@MutantProductions]

Hya - thanks for your comment. I do know about the rules (thanks to Jang lol), and the video is labelled as such. I'm actually surprised why it's not shown when you watch it.

[@SO-ym3zs]

Funny how many LAN KZbinrs ignore this rule and get away with, obfuscating the fact that they're essentially being paid by Lego to promote their sets.

[@MutantProductions]

Any gift is a promotion. It’s in the YT rules apparently. As a nobody, it’s little surprising I didn’t know. But there’s not excuse for “influencers” not to know - or to claim not to know.

[@Zabadak]

Great video and honest opinion. 👊🤩👍

[@MutantProductions]

Thanks, buddy! Honest opinions are kinda crucial these days 🙂

[@LiamBrickedTheBed]

Good stuff.

[@MutantProductions]

Thanks! 🙂

[@RobinHullBuilds]

Ahoy Captain I’ve held off buying anything from FunWhole. Not because I don’t trust their builds it’s mainly because I have no interest in lighting my builds. Now having watched your video, I’m not sure I’m even tempted to buy and build without installing lights? I do like their printed pieces. Why the Danes can’t match this I’m not really sure? My wife built the Pantasy Bakery. It was, according to her, a fabulous set. The build was really enjoyable and the printing was better than anything she’s seen from LEGO. I have a few non-LEGO sets and in the main, I’ve been impressed. I’ve watched various channels on KZbin and have been seeing Instagram posts on these alternative brick brands. The majority of which have been enthusiastic in their comments. I do still love LEGO, but not as much as I used to!

[@MutantProductions]

Ahoy, Robin! FunWhole;s print quality is great. No complaints and NO STICKERS! Like you say, I don't understand why LEGO insist on stickers, it's insane really. Maybe if the competition heats us, they live change their minds? Re the lighting kit, it's integrated into the build and you install it as you construct the model. I love the end result, but don't like dealing with tiny cables. As for the quality... as you can see, it's not quite there, but for a new company, it's darn close. I'd like to try another big set - if they're willing to let me have another go :)

[@SO-ym3zs]

Lego pulls in billions and are the biggest toy company in the world, and don't have too much to worry about in the immediate future. That said, they nearly went under in the past, and the quality of the best competing brands like Funwhole now equals or outstrips Lego, and of course the price is often a fraction of what Lego (over)charges. And there's a lot of disgruntlement in the Lego community over constantly rising prices, bad design decisions, declining quality, too much focus on licensed themes, etc. Among building brick hobbyists, versus casual buyers, I think there's a clear and growing market for Lego alternatives.

[@MutantProductions]

LEGO alternatives have grown in leaps and bounds since the terrible days of Lepin. I’m very impressed with FunWhole because of the speed at which they’re improving. The parts are no quite as good as LEGO’s but they’re close. I love their creativity. But I won’t shy away from pointing out their mistakes either. Only way they’ll improve more 😀

[@SO-ym3zs]

@MutantProductions Fair reviews are the best reviews, for manufacturer and consumer alike.

[@MutantProductions]

I can’t disagree! And FunWhole are very open to it too: I’ve been pretty frank from the start and they keep sending me more sets ! 🙂

[@davidmorgan7396]

For me, i find the funwhole sets great, quality,price too ,have the antique store, plus seven other funwhole sets, no missing pieces in any , , Have always been Lego only sets in the past, but not anymore, Have had issues with lego sets in past too,missing pieces,etc,,still like my Lego, but definitely no longer Lego exclusive for me, currently i much prefer the funwhole sets😀

[@MutantProductions]

Hi and thanks for your comment. Yeah I suspect I was unlucky with the missing pieces and the misprint, but felt I had to mention it. The biggest problems for me were the lack of proper connections for some parts and the strange warping effect I experienced. I checked with others and they too had the same problem although not as pronounced as me. Maybe I had a set from a Friday batch? In any case I agree with you: their quality is impressive (even though it could be improved) and the price is astonishing compared to LEGO. I shall be exploring this company’s products further and report back 🙂

[@Alex-sh2ll]

What am I watching 🪑🪑🪑

[@MutantProductions]

A video exploring the Antique Store set by FunWhole and wondering if its quality (or lack thereof) should be of concern to The LEGO Group - as the title suggests :)

[@neoblackcyptron]

Now I understand why LEGO is the best, always imitated by the rest but rarely replicated. Even back in 1990 there was a brand from China called PEGO. The bricks never fit and the entire structure came crashing down. I love LEGO. LEGO has nothing to be worried about.

[@MutantProductions]

Hi and thanks for your comment. Connectivity-wise, FunWhole is on par. Once attached the parts are quite hard to prize off. It’s the precision that’s off by a smidgeon. I agree, I think it’s not a problem for LEGO now, but the build - once built - it beautiful to look at, its got prints everywhere, no stickers, it comes with a lighting kit, and all for about half the price. Give FunWhole a year or two to iron out the kinks (if they’re willing) and I believe they could be a serious contender.

[@pbosche]

I can’t watch this video but this particular set just hasn’t interested me however I but almost every other FO set, they’re absolute perfection…especially what they’ve been doing this year. They’re mixed within my LEGO stuff. They’re just wonderful. There is NO issue with the quality of pieces. I believe they use GO bricks which some say are often superior with their color uniformity. Everything is spot on with FO, don’t let this one review sway you.

[@MutantProductions]

@@pbosche Greetings. If you can't watch this video, how do you know the points we raise in it aren't valid, and why do you assume it's a negative review rather than a balanced one?

[@pbosche]

@@MutantProductions don’t get too offended, I assume your style is for children. It wasn’t for me. I couldn’t watch it end to end. I scrubbed through and caught a couple of key points, I also made assessments from the comments.

[@MutantProductions]

Not offended. Just curious how you’re able to make a judgement without having watched the video. Scrubbing through a video does not mean you got the gist of it. How do you know those points you happen to catch were “key points” for instance? And no, it’s not made for kids. Kids can’t afford $160 set aimed at adults. 🤷‍♂️

[@weaponXwing]

garbage....

[@MutantProductions]

Is that all you’ve got to say? What about my performance?