Review of the Lumibricks (ex-Funwhole) Steampunk WatchTower F9070 Building Block set

 

Hey brick fans,

We are back with some exciting news and a review of the new Steampunk Watchtower set.

First off, FunWhole has rebranded as Lumibricks!  Their new name reinforces the idea of illuminated bricks which is what they are all about.  I look forward to seeing all of the new sets with the new logo.

And here is their new logo!  For now the FunWhole website is still active so you can still get those sets you've been on the fence about.   I think the official transition from FunWhole to Lumibricks will happen sometime in May 2025.

And we are super stoked to review the FunWhole/Lumibricks Steampunk Watchtower.  This massive set contains over 2744 pieces and includes five minifigures, and 19 points of illumination in the included led light kit!  Additionally, there are lots of printed parts and no stickers.

The Steampunk Watchtower has lots of embellishments such as gold effect parts, and gears of all types.  There are also a ton of play features, including opening doors, a lift that you crank to take you from the ground floor to the second floor, a working elevator that takes you to the steampunk helipad, a rotatable observation deck and a moving telescope!  And if that wasn't enough there are several areas that have special lighting effects.  Oh and did I mention that there are beautiful stained glass windows on the observation deck?   And that's not all, there are more hidden gems I'll point out below!

A huge thanks to FunWhole-Lumibricks for letting me review this awesome set!   The set is already available on Amazon and on the FunWhole website.  The Steampunk Watchtower currently retails for 

USA: $179.99

CAD:$259.99

But do check out their promotional deals, and you'll save more money.  Don't forget to use my affiliate code itsnotlego.

Funwhole website:

https://www.funwhole.com/products/steampunk-watch-tower-2744pcs-f9070?ref=tN9EBQmQ

Amazon USA : https://www.amazon.com/FUNWHOLE-Steampunk-Observatory-Lighting-Building-Bricks/dp/B0DW3MKLD4

Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/FUNWHOLE-Steampunk-Observatory-Lighting-Building-Bricks/dp/B0DW3MKLD4

For Europe, simply search for FunWhole Steampunk on your respective countries Amazon site.

Unbox and Build the Steampunk Watchtower

The box was filled to the brim with parts, so much so that one of the bags for step10 had exploded inside and I collected all the parts into a ziplock bag.  Luckily there were no missing pieces!  Inside the box, we also found the led lighting kit and 2 thick instruction manuals, detailing the construction of the Watchtower through 14 steps.   The parts bags are all numbered according to the steps in the manuals, so building it is very easy.

The lighting elements can be found in the signature orange box.  They include a AA battery box (3 AA batteries required), a smaller CR2032 battery box (batteries not included), a USB plug and USB-C plug, and tweezers.

The Steampunk WatchTower sits on a standard 32x32 stud baseplate.  I decided to put mine on a raised baseplate (MILs) to make it extra stable and sturdy when I need to move the set around.  I have a small tutorial about how I put my buildings on the raised baseplates here, if you are interested.

Here's the first of 14 steps completed.  Here are the five Steampunk themed minifigures that come with the watchtower set.  Three bonus heads are included if you want to customise the minifigures.

Lots of cool looking steampunk features after we completed step #2.  This is the view looking from the rear of the building.  The large stack is the centerpiece of the ground floor.

In step 3 and 4 we added the walls and pipes.   There are a set of double doors that serve as the front entrance, with a service door that leads into the mechanical room.   Let's now tour the first floor.

Lots of gold features greet you at the splendid entrance.  The double front doors have intricate prints on them.

Behind the doors is a small exhibit room with books and signage on the walls (all printed).

On the side, there's a secret door with stained glass which you can open to expose the interior.

And in behind is where the magic happens!  The mechanical room is one of my favourite views of the Watchtower.  It can be viewed by opening up the moveable wall at the back.

Getting to the next level is easy when you have this working lift.  Simply run the crank and the lift will go up and down!

We built the second floor in Step 5.

In step 6 and 7 we started to build the elevator shaft.   That chain is driven by gears that will lift the elevator up the shaft!

Here's a closer look at the gearing and chain mechanism.   When I followed the instructions to make the chain, I found it wasn't long enough, so I added three extra links that were included in the bag of parts.  Don't know if the instructions were printed incorrectly or my procedure was wrong.  But the elevator worked after adding the extra links.

In steps 8 and 9 we continued with the construction of the elevator tower.  Don't forget to test the lights as you go.

For steps 10 and 11 we added the helipad platform and finished off the tower.

Steps 12 and 13 build the top of the watchtower which includes an observation deck and a giant telescope.

Here's a view of the magnificent stained glass windows.  While the main tower is lit up by using the AA battery pack, the observation deck is supposed to use the smaller CR2032 battery pack which is placed inside the structure to light it up from inside.

However, I found this a bit cumbersome to have to lift the dome up every time I wanted to switch the lights on and off for the observation deck.  Using a wire connector I got from Lightailing, I hooked up one of my extra  AAA battery packs and put it outside for convenience.  My affilate code itsnotlego works on the Lightailing website as well.

Also want to mention that the entire observation deck revolves by turning a crank just under the platform.  So impressive!

And with that, the Steampunk Watchtower is complete!

There's a neat little steampunk style copter that you build in the final step 14.

I decided to upsize it a little bit to make it look even cooler.

Here are some other neat features found in the Steampunk Watchtower set.  A monument honouring someone named Elvis Stuart (was he the founder?).

A mechanical robot bird is also displayed.

Here's the battery connection on the ground floor.  You can use either the USB-A or USB-C plug on the expansion hub.

A view of the lighting on the front of the tower.

Removable walls allow you to access the elevator.

Here's one of my minifigures taking a ride up the elevator!

Beautiful stained glass.

Check out this massive telescope!

Final Thoughts

The Steampunk Watchtower is an impressive set with it's exquisite lighting features.  By far it is one of the tallest sets in my collection!  There are so many play features and they all work really well, such as the crank driven lift, the working elevator, movable telescope and the turntable observation deck.  The little copter and the opening walls are more features that turns us big kids into little ones.

There were a few shortcomings that could be improved upon.  Firstly, a common issue I have with not only this set but most of the FunWhole buildings, is their use of smooth tiles on the floors.  Because of this there are no studs on which to attach minifigures.  

The second was the elevator chain link being too short which I mentioned previously.  I don't know if I messed up or the instructions were wrong.  

The upper battery pack tucked inside the observation deck didn't work for me either.

But those were just some minor nits I had that did not affect the structure or display of the Steampunk Watchtower.  Overall, I was very impressed with this set and how well it displays.  It seems like each new FunWhole/Lumibricks set I build, outdoes the previous one in terms of unique features and effects!

I give it high marks such as 4.8 out of 5!   Anyways, that's the end of this review, hope it helps!

Bye for now!

#FunwholeSteampunk #Funwhole #Lumibricks