Sign in to follow this  
Pandora

Review Review: FABULAND 329 Bernard Bear and his Lorry

  

4 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you rate this set?

    • Poor
      0
    • Below Average
      0
    • Average
    • Above Average
    • Outstanding
      0


Recommended Posts

gallery_6705_157_22742.png

8510555461_25ba15154d_z.jpg

It's FABULAND season, so what better time to crack open a MISB set and have a look at it? None, that's what. Carefully stored away, awaiting release and review, is this little gem, one of the earliest FABULAND sets ever released. So, what could one find inside these green boxes of delight? Read on to find out...

Number – 329

Name – Bernard Bear and his Delivery Lorry (Bernard Bear and Pickup Truck)

Theme – FABULAND

Year – 1979

Minifigs – 1

Pieces – 26 (although Brickset claims 109)

Price – The purchase price for this set is lost in the mists of time, as is the original price this set would have been sold for by retailers. There are but three lots on Bricklink at the time of writing: two used from £4.99/ $7.56/ €5.78 and one MISB at £21.63/ $32.78/ €25.06.

Links: Brickset, Bricklink, Peeron.

The Box

8509861731_047838f0ea_z.jpg

It is an old box, unsurprisingly really, given that this set is from 1979, and it is a little faded, especially on the front. It has survived the years in remarkably good condition, however, with only a few scuffs around the edges. The pictures on the front of FABULAND sets are always charmingly posed, and here it looks as though Bernard Bear is ready to be your new friend and play with you. You can see the whole truck, so you know exactly what you're getting.

8509871233_14dc504483_z.jpg

There are more charming pictures on the back. Bernard in his 'character' pose, waving to a friend just out of shot, and clearly wondering where to start with all these pieces in order to build his lorry. The main picture is of an alternative build, something very common in FABULAND sets, and we'll see more of these very soon.

8510964070_1511ea61f3_n.jpg8510961668_44f29c00fe_n.jpg

Both sides of the box are identical, except obviously one side is where you're supposed to open the set. Bernard can be seen loading items onto his lorry for delivery, and like all FABULAND pictures, it is charmingly posed.

8509865071_4fc96bf2be_z.jpg

The bottom of the box shows Bernard again in a 'catalogue' pose, as if modelling a jumper, and next to him is yet another alternative build suggestion. There's a suggestion that this is for ages 3 to 7, but nowhere is there a dire warning about not trying to inhale the parts nor any pleas not to stick Bernard up your nostril. There are merely beautifully posed pictures of the LEGO with the verdant FABULAND background.

8509851421_bd4077fbc1_z.jpg

For further confirmation of this, the top of the box merely has a small declaration that the set was made in Denmark, slightly hidden under the flap that the box would hang from in the shop. The whole box is simplistic, yet covered with delightful pictures of what we're actually interested in.

The Box Contents

The Instructions

There are two little leaflets of the same size inside the box. One is the instructions and the other is a little pamphlet about other FABULAND sets.

8510213853_55eb8d6a66.jpg

The front of the instruction leaflet has a lovely hand-drawn picture of Bernard driving his lorry through the hills and vales of FABULAND, and just reminds us of the set number.

8510203699_aa9f36b24f_c.jpg

When you fold it out, the rest of that side of the leaflet is actually the building instructions, also hand drawn, and shown as an adorable series of cartoons. To have Bernard build his own lorry is just lovely, but this was the norm with FABULAND; the characters built the LEGO with you, and then used it in their everyday lives.

8511336322_6f76bc6f33.jpg

On the back, one panel introduces us to Bernard. Through the power of Google, I will attempt to translate (and I've taken the best mix from all three translations, so it may not be a literal translation of one particular language):

"This is Bernard, the bear, with his lorry. He runs the FABULAND removals company."

Nice to meet you, Bernard. :sweet:

8511331752_7d224c925a_c.jpg

Next to Bernard's introduction we have another drawn picture of FABULAND, and it's a really bright and vibrant scene, but then FABULAND is meant to be colourful. Having a drawing rather than a posed picture brings even more life to the characters, and you can see how FABULAND shapes up as a whole at this stage of its release. Bernard Bear can be spotted in the bottom right, driving his lorry, and bottom left you can also make out a cheeky-looking Ricky Raccoon zooming about on his scooter. :grin:

8511333536_e81ab28695.jpg

The front of the second pamphlet focuses more on displaying the FABULAND sets photographically. Here you can see that Hinckley wasn't the first Fabulander to hide in a dustbin, as Clara Cow demonstrates here, seemingly to Charlie Crow's annoyance.

8510218405_b4e7460dbd_c.jpg

Inside the pamphlet there is a large photograph of many of the early FABULAND sets. The characters are all out and about, living their lives, being pushed around in wheelbarrows and hiding in bins. A gentle reminder of the set numbers is displayed discreetly to the side.

8511335122_6897168f5c.jpg

As a little bonus there is a hand drawn comic with Charlie Crow, who has evidently managed to extricate Clara from the bin, and requires the bin lid to keep the rain off him. He could of course have just hidden in the bin himself.

8511318664_f519779163_z.jpg

The rest of the pamphlet shows photographs of more FABULAND sets and their set numbers, but charmingly has a little boy and a little girl playing with FABULAND together. That picture in itself speaks volumes.

The Parts

8511309012_cda410eb19_z.jpg

So given that there are only 26 parts, here's all of them in one shot. The colour palette is limited to red, yellow and black, and most of the pieces are ordinary LEGO SYSTEM pieces. The specific FABULAND pieces are only the vehicle chassis, the windscreen and the car doors (and technically these are all SYSTEM too as they are compatible). These are all vehicle pieces, and FABULAND produced so many vehicles that none of these parts are particularly rare, really.

Minifigure

8510387447_bae5a3500f_n.jpg

So this is how Bernard bear came out of his MISB box. :cry_sad: The box was entirely untampered with; I had to perform careful surgery just to open it without damaging it, and I emptied the contents onto my white board ready for photographing, and there was no loose arm. :cry_sad: I very much doubt that LEGO customer services, no matter how nice they may be, will be able to help me out here after 34 years. It's almost too much to... bear.

(sorry)

8510364883_3930f3cbef_z.jpg

"Hmmm, the review can't continue with you in this state Bernard, we need you to demonstrate how to build the lorry. Take him away Rufus!"

8511504514_ddf3e55fd1_z.jpg

"Yaaays! I have a whole new (but subtly different) left arm!"

"You may thank the wonders of modern science. And the passing walrus who so kindly donated to your arm transplant."

8511497422_b926b53cc9_n.jpg

Right, now that we're back on course, you can see that all the printing was saved for the Fabulanders' faces, and the torso and legs are fairly plain.

8511502392_74ed240ceb_z.jpg

I thought now would be a nice time to demonstrate how much TLG loved the bear mould. Not only did they get a couple of different bear colours out if it (and associated changes in their clothing) but also a few raccoons and a couple of pandas from the same mould (but obviously with different printing). And while it's undeniable that all Fabulanders are adorable, somewhere near the very top of the adorable scale has to be the bear mould and its extended family. Or maybe I'm horribly biased. No, I'm not, they're really adorable.

The Build

There was a walrus who gave his left arm to see Bernard build his own lorry, so we best not disappoint him. :thumbup:

8511496700_788acc8327_z.jpg

Step one; the placement of a few bricks at the front of the chassis allows the bonnet to take shape. The arm is working nicely and displaying no homicidal tendencies, it's all good.

8511494804_95d8628747_z.jpg

Time to build up the back of the lorry, and don't comment on how the bricks could be pushed down better; it's being built by a BEAR! :angry: A bear with a sore arm, no less. He's doing the best he can. :cry_sad:

8511492470_e01d719a08_z.jpg

Well now we have the palette on the back, we can add the doors, so that Bernard doesn't fall out while driving.

8511489984_6d595ab155_z.jpg

That done, we add a bit more to the back, and position the windscreen just so.

8510377209_a19b6b5b80_z.jpg

And Tah Daaah! with the addition of a roof and the loading of the furniture on the back, we have a completed removals lorry!

8511477776_ae75ca5e5f_z.jpg

The cab at the front is in a nice bright red, and at the back you can see somebody's table and chair that need to be moved somewhere. It's simplistic, but quite clearly a lorry. There's no steering wheel, but then none of the FABULAND vehicles were bogged down with needless ephemera such as steering wheels.

8511480154_b8302c2e49_z.jpg

The nice thing is that you can remove the table and chair and use them as furniture elsewhere in your FABULAND layout, whilst loading anything else you like into Bernard's lorry to deliver around town. Obviously this is made much easier by having an open back to the lorry, rather than having it built up as an enclosed lorry. Keeping it open improves the playability of the set.

8510389451_1280d7a641_z.jpg

Bernard fits nicely in his cab, and has a good view out of his windscreen. The bonnet has remained simple, as has pretty much all of his lorry, but still very recognisable and functional.

8511482534_46bafb401b_z.jpg

So there he is, ready to zoom around FABULAND picking up and dropping off furniture according to the whims of its residents. His lorry is sleek and very much of the FABULAND style, thanks to the chassis and wheels with running board, the bold colours, and simplistic build style.

8510398009_47b323f1d9_z.jpg

If you'd like to build something in the same style, but without the aid of instructions, than you could attempt one of the alternative builds as I have here. I always believe the charm of including pictures of alternative builds serves to demonstrate the endless possibilities with LEGO. Here Bernard's lorry has been changed into a hot-rod style car, still very FABULAND though. The colouring at the back is a little off, but it's been built with only parts from this set.

8510395927_36f413fc79_z.jpg

The other alternative build is more of a racing car, judging by the overhang of the red 1x4 bricks at the front and the back. I'm not sure what the black and yellow affair is at the back, but maybe it's some sort of super-duper exhaust? Anyway, working out how to build this and the other alternative build from single faded pictures is considerably more challenging than the original build was. And quite a bit of fun too.

Conclusion

Design: 8/10 It's really very simple and basic, but to build a convincing lorry out of mostly just bricks and plates is to be admired. Having the back open does make it look slightly less like a lorry and more like a trailer, but having the back open improves the interaction.

Parts: 7/10 These are mostly just basic bricks, with a few FABULAND vehicle parts added. At the time though, vehicle parts wouldn't have been anywhere near as common as they are in retrospect now, so at the time this may have been a much more appealing set.

Minifigs: 9/10 This is the only set where you can find Bernard, and he's really quite adorable. You can find one other brown bear in only two other sets. He's got the cute eyes of a first generation figure, and the plain torsos that are particular to these early Fabufigures. It's a small set, so it'd be unusual to have more than one figure (although it has happened), and a mark is lost here for losing an arm (so careless).

Build: 8/10 As seen, the build can be completed in a few easy steps (even by a bear with a sore arm) but it's still fun, especially if Bernard helps out. You don't have to add the wheels and their tyres separately, but with the chassis and other pieces you can build any vehicle you wish, as seen by the alternative builds. There's a lot of building joy here.

Playability: 8/10 With full zoomability, thanks to the wheels, there's a lot of play to be had here. The open back allows loading and unloading as Bernard goes about his business, and gives him good reason to interact with other Fabulanders. Even if he is alone in FABULAND, he can still have fun driving over the hills and through the delightful countryside.

Price: 6/10 The cost of this set MISB is really quite high, and probably the most valuable piece in it is Bernard, as one of the earliest Fabufigures. The other parts are not particularly sought after or rare. Rather than buy this set MISB, a purchaser might be better off buying Bernard as a single lot from Bricklink; indeed as can be seen here, you can't guarantee what condition a figure will be in when it falls out of a MISB box.

Overall 77%

This is one of the earliest FABULAND sets released, and Bernard is a charming introduction to this world. He's a cute and adorable bear, with a functional and fun lorry. He is, however, Schrödinger's bear, as he might well have existed with a full compliment of arms up to the point that I opened his box. :cry_sad: I would say it is a nice set to have, but buying it MISB is probably unnecessary unless you're a collector, and there are easier ways of picking up the Fabufig, if Bernard's all you're after.

8511485174_1c7fb0c6ef_c.jpg

Thank you for reading, comments are always very welcome. High-Res pictures can be found on my

flickr account.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yay Bernard! :wub: There's nothing like cracking open a MISB set that's older than most people on EB! :laugh:

Lovely review as always! :wub_drool: The set is simple, maybe, but a charming set nonetheless. It's interesting to compare this to the later Fabuland vehicles with more custom parts.

Shame about the Walrus. :cry_sad:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the great review, Pandora! This theme is really starting to grow on me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the excellent review. Those Fabuland sets are so wacky you gotta love 'em, don't you?

The hand-drawn graphics are excellent, wish Lego would do more of that these days.

Joe

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for another brilliant review. :wub: Despite the lack of many of the specialised pieces that were introduced in later waves, this set still captures the essence of Fabuland: a carefree world built with bright basic colours occupied by adorable anthropomorphic animals (poor one-armed Bernard :cry_sad: ). The alternative builds show what can be built with a set composed largely out of basic bricks. Fabuland provided such a great transition from Duplo to the 'Legoland'/System sets in the late 1970s and early 1980s. :sweet: And you're right of course, the bear mould, but especially it's variants, make the adowablest characters. :grin:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh no, poor Bernard :cry_sad:. I would have been heartbroken as a child had I got a mutilated Fabufig like that ... :look: ... Good thing we have modern science and willing doners :cry_happy:.

Oh, and nice review :sweet:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.