NOTE: I received the Funwhole Hunting Cabin as a Christmas gift from a family member, and this review is not sponsored by Funwhole in any way. I strive to always provide my honest opinion on products. If you are curious about how I generate scores in this review, I invite you to read about the True North Bricks rating system.

INTRODUCTION

I see Funwhole on my social feeds quite a bit. Their models look nice and they produce themes that interest me. I’ve often clicked for a closer look at their Medieval and Retro Houses offerings. But, I have never taken the plunge. My only experience with a non-LEGO® building set up to this point has been the Mega Construx Drogon kit based on Game of Thrones. I also have a lot of Mega bricks thanks to dishonest Craigslist and marketplace sellers. The Mega experience has never been great. Despite kind of liking Drogon, the product quality did not leave me wanting more Mega sets. So, even though I was interested in the Funwhole Hunting Cabin, I was worried the set would disappoint me like Mega Construx did.

Santa’s elves probably heard me talking about the Hunting Cabin with my wife. I was particularly interested in the set because it comes with a brown bear that looks markedly similar to the LEGO® bear from 2012. I have one, but I would not mind having another. Learning the log wall technique used also appealed to me. I was actually quite happy to find that Santa had dropped the set off under the tree.

Funwhole offers a nicely packaged kit.

The front of the box is nice, and it is a sturdy design made of high quality material. However, Funwhole should make the back of the box more image centric. There is too much text no one will read. I like the instruction manual look more than the modern white LEGO® covers. Additionally, I really appreciate that Funwhole gives you a pair of tweezers in this kit. It made installing the lighting and placing the decals much easier. You also acquire Funwhole’s version of a brick separator. I have not tested it extensively yet, but it works just fine and might even pop tiles off more easily.

Before we jump into the proper review, I want to give my thoughts on the brand name… Funwhole. What an unfortunate name for a company. I realize the company is situated in China and there is probably a translation issue there. But when I hear the name, it immediately comes off as “Fun Hole”, not “Fun Whole”. It doesn’t help that their logo is “F.O”, not “F.W.” It elicits images of a sleazy bathroom stall with a hole in the wall… or some adult-oriented toy. You might be thinking “get your mind out of the gutter”. But I asked around, I am not the only person who thought that. It’s not like I surveyed hundreds of people, but no one thought “wholesome, clean, LEGO competitor” when asked what came to mind when they heard “Funwhole”. This company needs a rebrand badly.

SET SPECIFICS

QUICK REVIEW

FULL REVIEW

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Value Score Breakdown:

This is my first Funwhole set, so I do not have any brand specific stats to share. However, I assume many of you probably want to know how this set compares to LEGO® products. As such, I will compare the value of this set to similar LEGO® Ideas kits I have reviewed in the past, like the Tree House, Old Fishing Store, Medieval Blacksmith, and A-Frame Cabin. I feel like Ideas is the closest theme to the style of Funwhole’s Retro Houses line. Additionally, I’ll compare the value to LEGO® in general for argument’s sake.

The cost/brick is excellent. If you buy this on Amazon, it is $149.99 CAD at full price and includes 2036 bricks. That works out to about $0.07/brick. The LEGO® Ideas theme tends to be a better value theme, but even then the sets average $0.10/brick in my experience. The A-Frame Cabin was almost $0.12/brick. The Hunting Cabin price tag becomes even more appealing in comparison to LEGO® in general. The average cost/brick of a LEGO® set is about $0.14. That means the Hunting Cabin is about half the price per brick than the average LEGO® set.

Bricks in the Funwhole Hunting Cabin set are about half the price of LEGO®.

The build time you get for $150 is also impressive. I spent over eight hours on this. Comparatively, I only got about five hours and 20 minutes on the LEGO® Ideas A-Frame Cabin. The A-Frame is a similarly sized set at 2082 bricks. Part of the reason for more build time is the inclusion of the light kit. Another involves the instructions, but I’ll go into that in more depth in the next section.

In terms of the number of parts that you get with the Funwhole Hunting Cabin and the amount of build time, I really cannot complain. The value is vastly better than what the LEGO® Group provides on average. The Hunting Cabin earns 100% in that department.

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Build Score Breakdown:

The build occurs in 10 stages, but there are 36 bags and one box for the lighting kit. So, you have multiple bags with the same number on them like LEGO® used to do, which is not popular with everyone. The instructions are easy to follow though. In some cases, they are even better than those from the LEGO® Group. For example, I love that Funwhole includes stud counts next to their bricks in the instructions. I also love that placement arrows are drawn through the bricks to show how studs are supposed to line up.

However, in other instances, the instructions are worse than the LEGO® Group’s. There were several moments where more clarity was needed. That doesn’t happen often when I build LEGO® sets, let alone more than once in a single set. Additionally, there were some of instances where the placement of bricks seemed like an afterthought. Meaning I built certain areas of the cabin several steps earlier, only to add one or two bricks to same area later on.

Sometimes the Funwhole instructions are better than the LEGO® Group’s, sometimes they are worse.

The nature of the log design is also inherently unstable throughout much of the experience, and even upon completion in some areas. The technique for building the logs is interesting. I like how they achieve the anti-stud on both ends. The build also looks better in person than in the product images. However, if you read the reviews people post, the lowest scores almost always talk about how hard the set is to build. People complain the bricks don’t stay in place. I had no issues with clutch or alignment. That leads me to believe the comments about things not staying together have more to do with set design and clarity of the instructions than brick quality.

While the Hunting Cabin does mostly stabilize when complete, the areas around the windows are poorly designed. They attach to the overall structure on only one side, meaning you can push them out when you have finished the build. As a display piece, that might not bother some. However, accessories attach to the shutters. If you place or remove an object, the whole wall section comes off. That is really shoddy design in my books, and it would never fly with the LEGO® Group.

The Hunting Cabin looks great on display, but has some big design flaws around the windows.

Funwhole also cuts corners in areas that are not clearly visible. The set designers occasionally attach bricks by only one or two studs, or only one stud row on plates. Again, these tend to be where you can’t see them… but, you don’t see that type of design from the LEGO® Group either.

The stability issues and lack of proper brick attachment come off as amateurish. The set often felt like a fan design built for aesthetic appeal rather than stability… kind of like many Bricklink Designer Program sets. That doesn’t bother everyone. However, I like a build that is sturdy and looks good. I design MOCs to be structurally sound, not just good looking. So, for me, the windows are a big issue.

The set design is a bit amateurish, but it looks nice once complete.

With all that said, I do like the look of the Hunting Cabin, most of the build techniques, and many details. The roof lifts off and one wall swings down for easy interior access. The cabin has a lovely rustic feel with mismatched wood, a fireplace, and bearskin rug to name a few features. There is no kitchen or bathroom, but it is a hunting cabin. It is meant to be more of a shack in the woods than a cottage.

The lighting kit also adds another dimension. I’ve played with lighting kits from other companies before. However, those were meant to light up sets from the LEGO® Group. The difference here is that Funwhole designed the Hunting Cabin with a lighting set built in. The wires are added as you build, not after the set is finished. As a result, Funwhole hides the wires much better than a third party kit designed for a LEGO® set. With some creativity, I was able to hide wires even more than the set instructions suggest. I love how the Hunting Cabin looks with the lights on. Lights make the set come alive and seem warm and cozy.

Decals make for a more professional look, but are harder to apply than stickers.

Another difference from LEGO® sets is that the Funwhole Hunting Cabin comes with a decal sheet. The LEGO® Group uses stickers. Decals come on a backing sheet with an additional clear application sheet over top. You pull off the clear sheet with the decal attached, place it on the brick, then remove the clear sheet once the decal sticks. The decal looks like it is printed on the brick and not stuck on. The disadvantage is the decal offers zero forgiveness for misplacement. Once it sticks, you will rip the design if you try to peel it off and replace it. The tweezers really help, but I still messed up a couple. Decals are not small-child friendly, or good for people with shaky hands. With that said, I really appreciate that the decals came in a bag with a backing card to keep them from folding or getting damaged.

As for the bricks themselves, I am impressed. You can tell they are not LEGO® because they are glossier, the colours are slightly different, and they don’t have LEGO® branding. However, they don’t feel cheap like Mega bricks do. As I mentioned before, I also had no issues with warping, clutch power, or misalignment. Everything fit together perfectly and held. But the clutch is different from LEGO®. I have not quite put my finger on it yet, but it feels different when you make a connection. Maybe the Funwhole bricks have slightly more clutch… but in a blind test, my wife did not come to the same conclusion. I would be interested to hear what others think.

My preliminary impression is that Funwhole bricks are good quality.

As for compatibility with LEGO®, I did not test a whole lot. I got a couple of 2×4 LEGO® bricks and randomly attached them to different areas of the Funwhole Hunting Cabin as I went along. I did not find any issues. However, in order to really get a feel for compatibility, I would need to take the Hunting Cabin apart and try to build a MOC using both LEGO® and Funwhole bricks. I’m sure a couple of you purists are cringing at the thought right now 😉 . Taking the cabin apart will also help me see if any Funwhole parts are prone to snapping. But, I am not sure I want to take the set apart just yet. I like it.

Where brick types are concerned, Funwhole has flat out copied the LEGO® catalogue for most of this set. There are a few elements the LEGO® Group does not offer though. Even a couple copied from Mega Construx, namely the plates with studs on both sides. I like the 1×1 2/3 cylinders with studs on top, I have not seen those from the LEGO® Group in a long time. I also really like the plates with grooves for wires. Finally, I am a fan of all the transparent plates. I wish the LEGO® Group made more of those.

Funwhole is a decent LEGO® competitor.

In assigning the Funwhole Hunting Cabin a grade, I have to take a full point off for the weak window structures. I’m also not crazy about cutting corners in areas of the build and the occasionally unclear instructions (though those bother me less than the window areas). I’ll take a collective mark off for both of those. Otherwise, I like this set… a lot. I was impressed by some of the build techniques and I love the lighting. The brick quality is surprisingly good too, though I need more experience in that department before I would go mixing these pieces in with my LEGO® collection. I rate this build at 8/10. Funwhole has some things to learn about set design still, but they are already a decent competitor for the LEGO® Group in my books.

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Minifigure Score Breakdown:

Funwhole will have a hard time selling me on their version of the Minifigure. Perhaps I am too engrained in LEGO® culture to ever like these… but my wife (who is not into LEGO®) also said Funwhole’s offering is not as cute. The Funwhole characters arrive completely disassembled. You attach the hands to the arms, the arms to torso, and the legs to the hips. With LEGO®, those aspects come ready assembled.

The Funwhole heads also have a jaw-like ridge around the bottom. Their rounded edges and hips/gut area make them look kind of out-of-shape as well. But what bothers me the most about them is their lack of clutch power. Everything comes apart so easily. Even the mere act of trying to remove an accessory from the minifig’s hand causes the hand to come off. In fact, it is much harder to remove the hand from the accessory than from the body. It is actually downright difficult to separate the hand from an accessory.

Let’s be fair…

Something like Minifigure shape is really up to personal preference though. I imagine there are those out there who like Mega Construx more action figure-like offerings. I don’t, but to each their own. So, if we look at this Funwhole minifig from a purely design perspective using my usual criteria, it is not bad. He comes with all the standard body parts with the same range of motion as a LEGO® Minifigure. He does not have a double-sided face, but neither would a LEGO® Minifigure wearing the same beanie hat. The Funwhole character’s torso is printed on both sides, but the legs are simply plain black.

As for the accessories, they are all identical to the LEGO® Group’s offerings, except for one… the rifle. LEGO® would not produce a weapon like this for a modern day, non-fictional context. Otherwise, you gain 17 items. There are also tiles printed with wood grain, and a number of elements with decals that almost pass as printed tiles. The proper accessories are:

Where are the other Minifigures?

The Funwhole Hunting Cabin suffers from a low character count though. You get one Minifigure and one bear with hip and neck articulation. For a set this size, I would expect more Minifigures from the LEGO® Group, thus I expect more from Funwhole too. With that said, the bear is near identical to the LEGO® version from 2012. I love LEGO® animals, and I already have the original LEGO® version. But I don’t mind having another brown bear, especially if it looks slightly different and can act as a second individual of the same species. Truthfully, the bear tipped the scales in terms of my interest in the Hunting Cabin versus other Retro Houses from Funwhole. If you missed out on the original LEGO® bear, this set offers a nice alternative to Bricklink prices if you are not a purist.

Overall, I rate the Funwhole Hunting Cabin Minifigure score at 61%. While I don’t like the shape of the minifig or the fact that it falls apart so easily, I would rate its design and accessories at 100% based on my usual criteria. Where this set suffers is the abysmal character count. Compared to LEGO® sets in general, the count does not even register on my usual scale it is so low. However, compared only to the LEGO® Ideas theme, where we find similar sets, it does rank (though with a fail). I rate the character count at 23%.

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Entertainment Score Breakdown:

Building the Funwhole Hunting Cabin was an interesting experience. As I was piecing it together, I kept thinking of Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park… you know, that scene where Ian Malcolm is lecturing John Hammond about cloning technology? Well, in case you forgot:

They say imitation is the best form of flattery…

Part of me feels like Funwhole is really profiting from the LEGO® Group’s decades of research, trial, and error. The parts in this kit are almost all in the LEGO® catalogue. Funwhole did not have to lift a finger to produce this system of play. On the other hand, I really appreciate that they produce their own designs using those bricks. Funwhole is not knocking off LEGO® set designs. We don’t hate on architects for designing buildings using the same nails and studs that other architects use. LEGO® bricks are a building element after all. What Funwhole is doing is not that different from someone selling instructions on Rebrickable.

I also think that the LEGO® Group needs genuine competition. I read somewhere that $8 out of every $10 spent on construction toys in America goes to the LEGO® Group. They almost have a monopoly on building blocks. We’ve all complained about the high prices for LEGO® sets. Competition will help mitigate those costs. It would also keep the LEGO® Group on their toes. I feel a lot of their more recent releases are a little boring. With more competition, they will need to up their game to hang on to those $8.

The Hunting Lodge does not give a good example firearm or alcohol use.

I also want to mention that you would never get this set from the LEGO® Group. They might make a log cabin in a similar style. But, you will never see a hunting cabin from them in this day and age. The cabin even has a hunting permit on the wall for the bear included with the kit. I appreciate that Funwhole makes clear that there is no poaching going on with this set. But, I am not a hunter and bears hold cultural significance to me. I will remove the hunting references when I display this set.

The Hunting Cabin also includes guns in a modern, realistic setting, which is a LEGO® Group no-no. There is no concept of gun safety either. I don’t have an issue with guns in a set… but Funwhole needs an iota of care when representing safety. There is a revolver lying on the bedroom floor, a rifle casually hanging on the exterior wall, and booze in the living room. A bottle of whiskey sits on the floor and wine bottles adorn the counter. Guns and alcohol don’t mix. Especially when the guns are left carelessly lying a round. The set is 16+… but that doesn’t mean kids won’t play with it or see it. I am not saying don’t include guns or alcohol, and I am not saying don’t make a hunting lodge. I’m saying show them being used safely and responsibly in the context of a hunting lodge.

Are you entertained?

As you can see, this set got me thinking as I was building. The careless representation of alcohol and firearms bothers me a little. While I don’t hunt, I appreciate that at least this set makes clear the hunter is not a poacher. Otherwise, I really like the final look of the Funwhole Hunting Cabin. I like it enough to display it in my LEGO® room as is (minus the hunting references). Considering I was also impressed by aspects of the build, the brick quality, and the lighting, I can’t say that I would not buy another Funwhole set. There are a couple of others I was considering alongside this one. I was apprehensive going in, but I was entertained by the Funwhole Hunting Cabin. I rate the entertainment at 90%.

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In the past, I have considered myself a LEGO® purist. However, that was because I had not encountered many non-LEGO® products that were high enough quality. These bricks and sets might meet the bar. Funwhole has some work to do before I would call them LEGO® Group calibre. But, they are close. The lights designed for the set are a game changer too. It is something the LEGO® Group has yet to offer, and I like it more than lights you install after a LEGO® build. I really like the Hunting Cabin. I will display this set for a while… but I will put LEGO® Minifigures in it. What do you think? Have/will you try a Funwhole set? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.

Until next time,

-Tom

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