REVIEW – Fall is here, and the weather has turned chilly at night. That means Christmas is coming soon, and before I can say “Jingle Bells” it will be time to decorate the house. While many of the decorations in our house are traditions that have been used for years, we are always up for adding new ones. This year we are adding a Christmas Newsstand to the mantle above our fireplace. It’s a new building block set from Funwhole, just in time for the holidays.
What is it?
Christmas Newsstand is a small, LEGO-compatible building block set from Funwhole. It has 718 pieces and depicts an old-timey newsstand all set up for Christmas. There’s a snowman out front and a Christmas tree to one side. The set is lit with LEDs, including color ones, and it’s part of their Town Life series. Funwhole specializes in lighted sets, and their goal is to “bring everyone the whole happiness of day and night.”
What’s included?
The following items are included:
- 718 pieces
- 179-page manual
- Lights
- 2 mini figures
The lights use a pair of CR2032 batteries that are not included; alternatively, they can be plugged into a USB port.
Design and features
When it comes to LEGO alternatives, there are a handful of questions that always need to be answered.
Are they compatible w LEGO? Yes, these bricks work fine with LEGOs.
Are they of the same build quality? These are quality bricks. Funwhole consistently makes some of the best non-LEGO bricks around.
Do they fit tightly, or do they come apart easily? They fit together nice and snug.
Are they cheaper in cost than LEGO? Off brands are often quite a bit cheaper than LEGOs, so I found some sets that are similar in size and theme to compare them:
- The Apartment Building is 13.8 cents per piece ($95 for 688 pieces).
- The Christmas Tree is 5.7 cents per piece ($45 for 784 pieces).
- Santa’s Post Office is 6.9 cents per piece ($100 for 1440 pieces).
LEGO’s prices are all over the map from really good to really bad. Funwhole’s Newsstand is 5.5 cents per piece. That makes it anywhere from about the same price to 60% cheaper than LEGO. It also includes lights, something LEGO has not yet figured out.
How do the instructions compare? These instructions are quite good. Each step generally adds only a few pieces, and they are easy to follow. The manual is surprisingly thick and made from half-sized paper, which allows it to fit into the box without bending it. Previous pieces are in full color, and new pieces are outlined in red. There’s some nice backstory at the front of the book along with a lot of special instructions for the lights, a welcome addition. Overall, I love this manual, and fans of LEGO will have no problems following the steps inside.
Assembly, installation, and setup
My first impression is that Funwhole has really upped their game, as the box and the packaging look really nice. Each plastic bag containing the bricks was clearly labeled from 1 to 5, and the lights and baseplates were in their own bags. I found that there weren’t too many bricks in each step, so I didn’t need to presort them by color or shape.
The manual recommends testing the lights first, which I think is a great idea. Like all of the Funwhole sets that I have built, the lighting pieces are small and fragile and thus not for young builders. All of my lights worked fine.
The next thing to build are the mini figures. I appreciate that Funwhole has begun adding these to their sets, because I fully believe that the best sets are those you can play with. As I’ve stated before, I’m not a big fan of the design of these awkward, pot-bellied little people. I chose not to build them and plan to replace them with generic minis from AliExpress.
Step One builds the base of the newsstand using two baseplates that are joined together. The location of the building is clearly differentiated from the snow, and I think that the footprints are a clever addition.
Step Two builds the front of the newsstand. It includes the magazines displayed in front and a counter with mugs for hot chocolate and Christmas cookies. I love these realistic details.
There’s a glass case full of Christmas cookies and an awning that can be retracted at night. It feels very Christmasy already.
Step Three finishes the walls. This step added the first light and connected it to the remote, which was built into a section of the wall. That’s a smart place to hide it!
The first Funwhole set that I built had a lot of pinched wires; they’ve gotten so much better at running them through conduits and using special pieces that prevent pinching.
The left side of the newsstand reveals the only two issues that I found, and they are both minor.
The sign above the window says “My <heart> dream town,” which is not English. I was surprised by this fail, because the English in the manual is good.
The final 1×1 flat piece up the corner was the wrong color, bright green instead of dark.
Step Four adds a snow-covered roof. There are lots of interesting shapes up here and a squirrel!
Step Five adds all the finishing touches. There’s garland on top, a Christmas tree, some gifts, and a snowman. There are two giant candy canes, one of which is inexplicably yellow, a color that does not work for me. While I appreciate having a snowman, they just don’t look like this, and they don’t have beards. Perhaps one like this would be better. (To be fair, building a round snowman from square bricks is challenging; I found a lot of terrible ideas online.)
The way they built the garland, however, is super slick. It’s a set of connected 1×2 flats with leaves, flowers, and bows on them. I can alter the shape to be anything I want from a straight line to a bell curve. The set has two strands of colored lights. One goes on the tree, and the other can go wherever I want. I chose to wrap it around the garland, which looks fabulous.
Although the instructions in the manual design the newsstand to be powered by the remote with batteries, I am so glad that Funwhole included a USB connector. I disconnected the wire to the remote and replaced it with the wire to the USB. This allows me to connect it to a smart power source, like the Eve Energy, so I can control it with Siri. During the Christmas holidays, I often use Homekit automation to turn on and off all the lights in the house. Funwhole is a forward-looking company in this respect.
If you prefer a non-Christmas newsstand, Funwhole has one for you.
What I like about the Funwhole Christmas Newsstand
- Christmas joy
- Lots of clever details
- Perfect for my mantle
What needs to be improved
- A better snowman
Final thoughts
The Christmas Newsstand is a small but cheerful building block set for an old-timey newsstand all ready for Christmas. The highlight of this set is definitely the lights, especially the two strands of color lights! It comes with cookies, presents, and a bow. I had a fun time building this set, and I continue to be impressed by the improvements that Funwhole is adding to their builds. If you’re looking for little bit of Christmas joy to add to the mantle over your fireplace, I recommend picking up this set.
Price: $39.99
Where to buy: Funwhole and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided free of charge by Funwhole. Funwhole did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
