FunWhole Old West Post Office (F9044) Review

Howdie Cowpeople!

Better late than never, this one got held up in transit because of the Christmas/Holiday period. But it arrived and I built it as fast as I could to give you the in depth review!

My thanks firstly to FunWhole for sending this set over for me to review for The Brick Post. Today I bring my review on the Old West Post Office!

This one will go amazingly with the little FunWhole Old West Stagecoachthat has already released. This new product from FunWhole (FO) is a further expansion of the Old West series, there are some awesome sets already available in this series, they include the Western Saloon, Sheriff’s Office, General Store, Freight Train and the Train Station.

Set details:

• UK: £71.92
• USA: $89.99
• 1,692 pieces
• Available Worldwide

The Instructions:

We start the review with the instructions as usual and I must say they are spot on. Clear when there are pieces that must go a certain way and clear when you need handy tips on where the bricks go. In complete honesty FunWhole are doing a better job than the leading brand in this department.

Inside the box:

The set consists of 8 numbered bags but this is split into 26 bags in total. Also we have now become accustomed to the handy F bag which contains the specialist pieces for the lights and the minifigs. There is also an S bag in this one it has the larger base type plates. There is also a pretty little box that contains the lights.

The Figures:

The set contains 4 figures, which are a good mix of townsfolk and people you would expect in a Post Office setting. The postmaster, mail boy and a lady who we presume is a customer sending or receiving mail. They have also included one of the “bad guy” figs from one of the earlier sets in this one. As if it is later on in his story, after his train robbery went south in the story from the Old West Freight Train.

The Lights:

As you know FunWhole pride themselves on being the pioneers for their sets having light kits that come as part of the build process of the set. As mentioned before they have also now created pieces that help hide wires really well and make it so the pieces properly fit together. When you buy an aftermarket light kit for an alternative brand to FunWhole this process does compromise the structure somewhat but not with FunWhole. Designing the lights in to the set is a fine touch indeed.

This set begins with the foundations of the landscape around the Post Office and the main building footprint is not as big as previous buildings in this series. I welcome this for a few reasons, first some people may want a smaller thinner building to fit in to their existing display, second producing massive buildings is not always the best course of action. Sometimes a smaller more detailed building is appealing than a big empty soulless one.

Even with the large piece count and many bags the main structure goes together rather fast on this one and it doesn’t actually seem like it will take long and might actually be lacking in details. Keep with it! You build up the main build first on this one, then add details a tad later than normal and the front face of the building is like a little build on it’s own and is very well detailed and some nice techniques are used on this to achieve the look. Later on in the build you build a little stable area where two horses are hitched. (Yes you also get two horses in this set)!

With FunWhole sets in this building style as late we have been spoilt with printed pieces and no stickers. I am happy to report this is still the case with this set a whopping 45 printed pieces in this one!

We have also become accustomed to the backs of the buildings opening up making the need to remove the roof etc to play. This is still the case and it is very accessible from the doors to get your hands in and pose the figs easily. If you wanted to take the top floor off you can as they use a copper connector for the lights that just disengages the top section and can be quickly placed back together once you have finished playing.

The lights are really easy on the whole to install but there is one light in particular where it shows you must have the wires tight. This must be adhered to or later you risk damaging the lights because of how tight the fit is. I almost sent mine to the limit but got away with it. One wrong move though and over half the light kit would fail to work due to a severed wire. Be careful installing this light kit for that reason and test your lights as you go.

Now the 7th set in the Old West series this one is right up there with the best of them. You can really see the progression in quality in this range and it is always getting better.

The Scores:

• Figures get a solid 9 out of 10
• Playability 10 out of 10
• Display appeal 10 out of 10
• Build experience is a 9.5 out of 10

I’m going to give this one 9.5 out of 10. The only reason this one didn’t get top marks as mentioned earlier is the slight difficulty with one of the lights that some folk will have issues with especially if light kits are new to you. Seasoned light veterans will have less of an issue I would hope.

I really hope you have enjoyed this review and let’s get dusted in Old West Town. Massive thanks again to FunWhole for sending this to me to review. Do I think this or any of the other sets I have built are worth the dollar? You bet your Cowboy boots I do!

Head over to the FunWhole website to buy yours and use THEBRICKPOST during checkout to get 10% off.