Cecilie Posted June 28, 2013 Posted June 28, 2013 As some of you may have noticed, I have recently acquired a generous amount of Fabuland sets . And for some reason I figured I'd try my hand at a review with one of them . Now this may come as a shock to you, but I have never actually built a Fabuland set before . So join me as I discover what that is all about I didn't get any box with this set, so I'm going to just start out with a stock picture of the box front from brickset. bricklink is so kind to provide a picture that shows a little bit more of the box, but it's a tiny picture... Anyway, enough about the box, I'm sure it was a very cool box with a nice flip cover and everything, but you'll just have to fantasize about that... Now let's take a look at the instructions! Yes, those I have! Same picture on the front page as the box, except it's a drawing rather than a picture. Let's open it! Ok... uhm... it's in German. My German is more than a little rusty, but I'll see what I can get out of it. Now, I'm pretty sure it says the Walrus' name is Willem Walroß (woo, I found out how to type that funny letter on my keyboard!). And he commands and maneuvers the ship. Put him at the helm, the captain is Wilhelm! Sorry, the German text is in rhymes... I'm no good at that . The next paragraph makes less sense to me, so I'm going to just put the whole thing into Google translate: "His command is on board for two monkeys that are very keen! There to cleanliness. Everywhere there is discipline." Uhm, ok... So there are two monkeys who like cleanliness on board, and they're well disciplined... or something... The monkeys apparently have no name. Ok, I need a break from the German, time to look at the parts instead. These are the key parts of this set. The boat hull and a couple of water wheels. Sorry that this top down picture doesn't show the side of the hull, but it'll be visible later once I've started building. Here are some very iconic Fabuland parts, 5 wall sections: 4 windows and a door. I don't think I have any (or at least not many) of these particular windows yet, so they are most welcome in my parts collection. The set naturally also has some standard bricks and plates. Not a lot of excitement here. Out of all the parts in this set, the bricks were the only ones to have any significant amount of scratches. But they had no color fading. I was very pleased that all the specific Fabuland parts were in very good condition. Oh look, a steering wheel! Or is it called a rudder? And there's a table and two chairs, and some fence pieces in red. Neat! I don't think I have any red fence pieces either. And lastly, the accessories! Quite a few in this set actually, and I'm very pleased to get the wrench and the, ehm, bricklink calls it a jerrycan, which I didn't have from before. Now the Fabufigs! Very pleased to see them in excellent condition, no loose joints or faded print. Willem in the middle here, and his two disciplined monkeys with no name. I think I'll call them Max and Mark Monkey. They have the old style eyes, and no torso prints. Time to do some building! I better flip through some more of the German instructions... The instruction booklet is laid out as a story with the monkeys building the boat. The build steps are pretty easy to follow, but they do leave some things up to logic/imagination, since parts of the bricks being put on in each image are actually hidden by either the monkeys, other bricks, or even cut at the edge of the page... But since the boat is being built symmetrically, it's not very hard to figure things out. Although maybe kids in the target age would still struggle? No way would this pass today's instruction quality control, with one brick pr image . I also noticed that for some mysterious reason, the figures suddenly changed eye type once the build started . Look at Max and Mark building the boat for me! I'm relieved to see they didn't change their eye types when they started building Oh, look who decided to show up now that the boat is starting to look finished! Eh, not sure what he's saying there, and google translate is being funny again . I think he's just urging them to finish up, with his commanding discipline. "Are you done yet? Where's my bucket?" The complete model should look like this. Did I get it right? I even tried to pose that wrench like in the picture, which was not easy... It's a pretty nice model, and quite sturdy. Oh, you want to know if it floats? Let's try then... Well, that's a no . It floated for about half a second, then the water poured in. It never sank to the bottom, but stayed like this. So no actual water play feature. Ok, so let's go back to the story in the instructions. Our disciplined monkeys have built a boat for the walrus captain, and they have set out to sea. Now what? I can't make out the entire text here, but apparently the captain gets seasick . Yes, that's right, a seasick walrus captain. Ok, now what will the monkeys do about that? Right, of course, quickly build some sort of bicycle instead. So this is an alternate model then? There are no instructions provided to build this model, in fact, this is the only picture of it. Well, it wasn't very hard to figure it out from the picture, so I gave it a try. Now, this model is anything but sturdy. It would not stand up straight long enough for me to take a picture, so I had to lay it on it's side, and even still it broke apart several times as I tried to position the figures and such correctly for the picture. I even had to raise the table by a brick, because it wouldn't fit between the fence pieces as shown in the picture. Well, no matter, because if we refer back to the German poems in the instructions, dear Willem gets landsick as well... Ok Mark and Max, what else have you got up your sleeves? Aha, another alternate model! This one has some quick instructions. And suddenly their eyes are back to the correct type again. As we can see, this alternate model is for a little house with a watermill. And it seems Willem likes this model better, he looks all happy now. We can see the monkeys clearly like this cleanliness, even sweeping the grass . And their eyes changed again, so it wasn't the seasickness that did it... Lazy walrus sitting down while Max and Mark do all the work... It's a nice little house, and not many spare parts left after building it either, except the extra water wheel and the boat hull of course. The back of the instructions shows a Fabuland city with some (or all?) of the other Fabuland sets that were available at the time. Willem is even daring a trip on his boat again here, trying to overcome his seasickness I presume. Looks like the children here are enjoying reading some Fabuland stories, instead of screaming about winning by filling out a survey like kids do nowadays. Now finally, because you people like scores, let's put down some numbers. Design - 9 It's a very cute design, but there's always room for improvement, right? Build - 8 Not a very challenging build, if you disregard the hidden parts in the instructions, but fun with the story to go along with it. Parts - 9 Lots of nice parts for a Fabuland builder in this set Figures - 10 Three very nice Fabuland figures in this set, and they all have hats, and cute eyes! Play feature - 8 It doesn't float! And the alternate model of the bicycle is mostly useless... But the boat slides nicely across the table, and there are many little things to play with here. And no flick fire missiles, hurra! Value for money This depends entirely on if you're able to get a good deal or not, so I'm not going to score this. I got this for free, just had to win a contest first . So for me it's a 10! But at the current bricklink prices for a complete set, I'd say it's a tad expensive for what you get... Overall 9/10 I'm loving this cute little boat Thanks for taking the time to read through my crazy thougts. Unless you just skipped to the end, shame on you Quote
Ham17 Posted June 29, 2013 Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the awesome review. I got a bulk order of lego about 5 years ago for cheap and it had the wheels, the hull and the steering wheel. Wish it had the figures..... Edited June 29, 2013 by Ham17 Quote
Kristel Posted June 29, 2013 Posted June 29, 2013 Thanks for the great review, Cecilie! These guys are really cute. I had a chance to play build with Fabuland parts and figs today (first time I'd seen it other than in pictures). Now I definitely want some of my own, and even more so after reading this review. Quote
Hoschiebaer Posted June 29, 2013 Posted June 29, 2013 cute little review =) i got some smaller fabuland sets myself but only the instruction for the bakery. (which is kinda damaged - not sure if i got it second hand back then) Oh, look who decided to show up now that the boat is starting to look finished! Eh, not sure what he's saying there, and google translate is being funny again . I think he's just urging them to finish up, with his command Actually hes like sneaking in asking terse: "Do you even know how to steer/conn that thing?" i am willing to help you, if you want to have everything translated - my english isnt the best though. Quote
Quarryman Posted June 30, 2013 Posted June 30, 2013 Very nice review. And a nice bit of nostalgia for me, this was one of the sets I got in Legoland on my first visit there back in 1988, fond memories of using the water wheels for many MOCs. Quote
Legogal Posted June 30, 2013 Posted June 30, 2013 Cecilie, Wow! A very cool set and an outstanding review! Glad that someone has a buildable set like this because the rest of us can only read about it with Fabuland sets being so rare. Your comments left me rolling in bed laughing so hard...it's still early Sunday morning here, and iPads are made for reading in bed because they weigh less than laptops. Please keep up the funny comments...toys are supposed to make us LAUGH...so you get an 11 (out of ten points) for this review. And congrats on making it to both EB Gunzburg and BW 2013...that is impressive! Quote
Cecilie Posted July 1, 2013 Author Posted July 1, 2013 Thanks for the awesome review. I got a bulk order of lego about 5 years ago for cheap and it had the wheels, the hull and the steering wheel. Wish it had the figures..... You can always get the figures on bricklink Thanks for the great review, Cecilie! These guys are really cute. I had a chance to play build with Fabuland parts and figs today (first time I'd seen it other than in pictures). Now I definitely want some of my own, and even more so after reading this review. You should, they're very much fun! I love building in the cutesey Fabuland style, but incorporating newer building styles/techniques. cute little review =) i got some smaller fabuland sets myself but only the instruction for the bakery. (which is kinda damaged - not sure if i got it second hand back then) Actually hes like sneaking in asking terse: "Do you even know how to steer/conn that thing?" i am willing to help you, if you want to have everything translated - my english isnt the best though. Thanks for offering your help, but if it wasn't obvious from the review, I was trying to purposefully not translate it well . I've had 5 years of German in school, but I have never practised it since, so I'm very rusty, and need to look up a lot of words, but I can generally catch the essence of things. I just found it more fun to just make nonsense out of it for the review. Sorry Very nice review. And a nice bit of nostalgia for me, this was one of the sets I got in Legoland on my first visit there back in 1988, fond memories of using the water wheels for many MOCs. Lucky you! I have so far only found one Fabuland item in my childhood Lego collection, a rowing boat, and I have no idea where I got it from Cecilie, Wow! A very cool set and an outstanding review! Glad that someone has a buildable set like this because the rest of us can only read about it with Fabuland sets being so rare. Your comments left me rolling in bed laughing so hard...it's still early Sunday morning here, and iPads are made for reading in bed because they weigh less than laptops. Please keep up the funny comments...toys are supposed to make us LAUGH...so you get an 11 (out of ten points) for this review. And congrats on making it to both EB Gunzburg and BW 2013...that is impressive! Thank you . Glad I could make someone laugh . Maybe I'll try some more reviews, I did win quite a few Fabuland sets after all Quote
DeanFS Posted July 1, 2013 Posted July 1, 2013 Wow! This makes me appreciate the Fabuland line more. Somehow, the kitsch reminds me of 80s nautical toy/cartoon imagery, which has always been very nostalgic for me. I don't know if we ever had any of these sets because they would have been with the "baby" LEGOs which seem to be gone now... If I only I had that walrus captain, such a great figure! Quote
jimmynick Posted July 1, 2013 Posted July 1, 2013 Aaah, it's ever so cute! Thank you for the review, and congratulations again on being so successful in the Fabuland Month contests! Quote
Cecilie Posted July 3, 2013 Author Posted July 3, 2013 Wow! This makes me appreciate the Fabuland line more. Somehow, the kitsch reminds me of 80s nautical toy/cartoon imagery, which has always been very nostalgic for me. I don't know if we ever had any of these sets because they would have been with the "baby" LEGOs which seem to be gone now... If I only I had that walrus captain, such a great figure! Ah, the good old 80s . You should go find yourself a walrus captain on bricklink Aaah, it's ever so cute! Thank you for the review, and congratulations again on being so successful in the Fabuland Month contests! Thank you Quote
DPrime Posted July 3, 2013 Posted July 3, 2013 Cute set! I never had Fabuland stuff as a kid but I do remember it in catalogs and stores, and being drawn to it even though I was all about Classic Space and other "cool" stuff. ;) Great review - btw, that is the wheel, as you said, not the rudder - the wheel moves the rudder, if you get my meaning. Speaking of nautical stuff, in the RCN we sometimes (rather derogatorily, but in a good-natured way... usually) refer to those in the boatswain trade as "deck apes". Thought that was an interesting tidbit given the figures. :) I would love to get this for my daughter when she gets a bit older, even if it is vintage - she loves boats and monkeys in particular! Thanks for the review. :) Quote
Cecilie Posted July 5, 2013 Author Posted July 5, 2013 Great review - btw, that is the wheel, as you said, not the rudder - the wheel moves the rudder, if you get my meaning. Thank you for clearing that up, I wasn't sure, since in Norwegian both will be referred to with the same word on a boat, "ror". Speaking of nautical stuff, in the RCN we sometimes (rather derogatorily, but in a good-natured way... usually) refer to those in the boatswain trade as "deck apes". Thought that was an interesting tidbit given the figures. :) I would love to get this for my daughter when she gets a bit older, even if it is vintage - she loves boats and monkeys in particular! Thanks for the review. :) those certainly are some deck apes in the set. And I'm sure your daughter would love that Quote
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