Review: Lumibricks Autumn Farmhouse (Set 16013)

Welcome back, brick fans, to another hands-on review here at Its-Not-Lego! As the summer heat fades and the leaves start turning into those beautiful, crisp shades of amber and orange, there is nothing quite like cozying up at the build table with a brand-new set. Today, we are diving headfirst into the highly anticipated seasonal drop: the Lumibricks Autumn Farmhouse (Set 16013).

Lumibricks has been consistently knocking it out of the park lately with their heavily detailed, atmospheric builds. For the uninitiated, this brand specializes in sets that feature fully integrated LED light kits right out of the box.

Following their fantastic entries in the Farm Life theme—like the Dutch Windmill and the quaint Shepherd’s Cottage—the Autumn Farmhouse leans heavily into cozy, harvest-season aesthetics. Packed with pumpkins, vibrant foliage, and rustic architectural charm, this set aims to be the perfect focal point for your autumn displays or Halloween layouts. But does the build experience hold up? Let’s find out!

Thanks so much to Lumibricks for sending me the set to review!

---

Specs

Before we slice open the tape, let’s go over the core statistics of what you are getting in the box:

• Brand: Lumibricks
• Set Name: Autumn Farmhouse
• Set Number: 16013
• Theme: Farm Life Series
• Piece Count: 1557 pieces
• Minifigures: 3 themed figures 
• Lighting: Pre-packaged custom LED lighting kit (12 elements)
• Stickers: None! 100% fully printed elements
• Printed Elements: TBD
• Brick Compatibility: Fully compatible with standard standard-sized bricks (GoBricks source material)
• Price: TBD

---

Where to Get It

The Lumibricks Autumn Farmhouse will be available directly through the Official Lumibricks Store and retails for $$$ around the end of September.

Ordering straight from the brand typically ensures the best packaging care, fast international shipping, and easy access to their stellar customer service card if you happen to misplace an obscure light component.  Don't forget to use my affilliate code itsnotlego to save 10% off your purchases on the Lumibricks site.

You can also keep an eye out for the Lumibricks authorized storefront on Amazon, which frequently run holiday promotions or coupon codes.

---

Unboxing

The Autumn Farmhouse comes in a premium, thick, matte-finish cardboard display box wrapped in gorgeous graphic design. The front showcasing the farmhouse glowing against an autumn twilight backdrop is pure eye-candy.

Inside, the organization is top-tier:

• Numbered Bags: The 1557 pieces are separated into clearly labeled, sequential building stages (Stages 1 through 8).  There are two additional bags marked S for special parts and F for the minifigures.  I counted 27 parts bags in total.
• Instruction Manual: You get a thick, high-gloss instruction booklet. The print quality is exceptionally sharp, with the current build steps highlighted in full colour while previous steps are slightly grayed out to avoid eye strain.  Did you know that you can also download a PDF version of the instructions from the Lumibricks website?  Just follow this link and search the catalog for the set number.
• The Light Kit Box: Hidden away in its own protective cardboard inner sleeve is the electronics package. It contains neatly wrapped LED light strings, individual expansion boards, tweezers to help feed wires.  Two battery packs are provided in this set, the gray pack uses 3 AAA batteries for the farmhouse and a smaller flat battery pack that uses CR2032 batteries to light up the giant pumpkin. (Note: Batteries are not included).
  

---

The Build

1. The Brick Quality & Clutch Power

Let's talk about the physical plastic first. Lumibricks famously uses GoBricks as their manufacturing source, which means the clutch power is outstanding. The bricks snap together with a satisfying, clean click. The tiles feel premium, sporting smooth, glossy surfaces without micro-scratches out of the box.

2. The Build Process & Structural Design

The build kicks off with the sprawling rustic foundation and the outdoor landscape.  The irregular shaped base is 32 studs wide by 26 studs deep.   The actual farmhouse foundation is much smaller at 14x14 studs with the extension measuring approximately 10x12 studs at their longest dimensions.

As you can see, the farmhouse is equipped wth a large kitchen to make all sorts of jam.  The kitchen occupies the farmhouse extension and the dining table serves as a work and prep table as well.

Focus now moves to construction of the exterior walls to give the farmhouse it's unique shape.

For extra play and display value, the back wall of the farmhouse swings away.  

Check out the abundant vegetable patch!  It's got pumpkins, squash, carrots, corn, lettuce and much more!

There are a ton more details to add to the landscaping but for now we will look at the next part of the build, which is the attic.  The second floor houses a cozy attic loft bedroom, with a big comfy armchair, a long desk, and a pumpkin themed reading light.

Here are the assembled roof panels for the farmhouse.  As you can see, the attic is fully modular and the roof can be removed to allow easy access to the interior.

Wow, isn't this an absolutely cute farmhouse?  

And because it's the fall season, we can't forget about Halloween with a spooky tree and a giant pumpkin!

I thought I followed the instructions, but my apple tree looks a bit weird, hopefully yours will look better!

What's more welcoming than a pig sty right at the front door!  Just think of the smell on those hot summer days!

A welcoming scarecrow keeps an eye on the crops, complementing the rustic charm of our farmhouse, which doubles as a small market for fresh produce and homemade preserves.

3. The Minifigures

You may think these three minifigures are the stars of the show, but actually ....

... it's these three guys!   Two pigs and a chicklet!

But these are not small piglets, they are full sized hogs.  

The hogs just barely fit into the pigsty!

4. The Lighting and my Modifications

Ultimately, lighting is the defining feature that separates Lumibricks from its competitors. With twelve points of light, the light elements here may be sparse, but they are incredibly effective at bringing the set's atmosphere to life.

While the set provides the necessary battery packs to power the lights,  I decided to stick the the provided USB plug into a wall attached power source, as an alternative way to light up the farmhouse.  Here's a behind the scenes look at my setup.

Also, here's an alternative way to light up the pumpkin without using a battery pack.   You will need:

- a Lumibricks/Lightailing/Briksmax compatible four port hub and an extension wire about 15cm (6 inches) in length

• Relocate the original two-port hub from the farmhouse and attach it to the pumpkin light.
• Install a custom four-port hub onto the attic rafters to power the reading lamp.
• Bridge the four-port hub to the two-port hub with a connecting wire to feed power to the pumpkin.
• Result: This configuration successfully bypassed the default battery packs for a unified power source.

Final Thoughts

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Must-Have 5/5 Masterpiece!

Lumibricks has struck absolute gold once again with the Autumn Farmhouse! 🌾🏡

The assembly process is a masterclass in stress-free building—smooth, intuitive, and beautifully relaxing from start to finish with absolutely zero frustrating surprises. Both the rustic exterior facade and the cozy interior spaces are packed with exquisite, meticulously designed details that tell a wonderful story. 🍁✨

While the lighting scheme remains elegantly simple, it punches well above its weight, instantly wrapping the completed model in a warm, magical ambiance. 💡🎃
If you are looking for the perfect, cozy weekend project, this set is an absolute must-have! 🛒👇

Look for it on the Lumibricks official website or on the Lumibricks Amazon store.

Feel free to use my affiliate code itsnotlego to save 10% all of your purchases on the Lumibricks website!

Thanks for looking, bye for now!

Review of the Bela 10997 Arctic Mobile Exploration Base Building Block Set

Welcome back, brick fans, to another set review.  Today, we are heading into the freezing sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic to look at a clone of a classic Lego set from 2018. We are reviewing the Bela 10997 Arctic Mobile Exploration Base, which is a direct 1:1 copy of the LEGO 60195 set. 

Truth be told, I actually bought this set nearly five years ago from AliExpress, and it has been sitting quietly in my closet ever since. Well, I finally dragged it out of storage, dusted off the packaging, and put it all together. Let’s dive in and see if this long-lost backlog build was worth the wait!

About Bela

Bela (sometimes branded as Lari) has been around the bootleg block scene for an incredibly long time. They were pumping out clones well before Lepin made a massive splash and subsequent exit.  While you can still find plenty of clone sets on AliExpress these days, you won't see them carrying the Bela brand name anymore. I'm not entirely sure if the company went completely under, or if they simply dropped the name to fly under the legal radar and remain inconspicuous.

Set Specifications

• Brand: Bela (Lari)
• Set Number: 10997
• Original LEGO Set: 60195 Arctic Mobile Exploration Base (2018)
• Piece Count: 804 pieces
• Minifigures: 6 Arctic Explorers
• Special Figures: 1 Woolly Mammoth (moulded)
• Sticker Sheet Included: Yes (1 sheet, but didn't use them)
• Numbered Bags: Yes but still requires dump-and-sort
• Purchased From: AliExpress in 2021 for under $40

To compare, the original retail price of the LEGO City Arctic Mobile Exploration Base (Set 60195) when it was released in 2018 was about $120 USD.   The set was subsequently retired not long after by Lego in late 2019, early 2020, hence making the original set quite rare.

Unboxing

As is typical with many of these alternative brick sets ordered straight from AliExpress, this set arrived completely boxless, packed inside a large cellophane bag. Inside, I found a handful of numbered plastic bags, a sheet of stickers, and a single instruction manual that wasn't broken down into progressive building stages.

There are parts bags numbered one through nine.

And when you open bag nine, there are another six bags numbered 10 thru 15.  But remember that they don't correspond to anything in the manual.

Interestingly, the front cover of the manual doesn't feature the Bela logo at all—it just says "Cities" across the front. You actually have to flip the manual over to the back cover to find the set number. As an added bonus, that back cover also serves as a mini-catalog, showing off all the other LEGO sets Bela cloned during that production run.

So even though the bags are numbered, they don't correspond to the manual steps and therefore  requires a "dump and sort" method.  While I don't have the original Lego manuals to compare, I think the 47 page Bela instructions are condensed.  

The sticker sheet was in surprisingly good condition but the set number depicted on the stickers reads 10997 not 60195.

The Figures

Before getting to the builds, let's look at the figures. You get six minifigures in total: an expedition leader, a driver, and four distinct Arctic explorers.  In my opinion, they look pretty legit as clones.  All the little accessories are also reproduced.

Here's the mastodon molded figure.  From the front it looks alright but from the side you can see a big gap between the head and the body. Pretty sure this was the same design cloned from Lego, so it's not a Bela issue.

The Build

So no numbered steps means dump, sort and build.

One of the initial builds is this snow bike.  It resembles a motocross bike but instead of wheels it has a rear track and a monoski upfront.

Next build is the ice cave where the mastodon will be placed.  You need to remove the four ice panels to put the mastodon in.  It should have been designed so that the ice formations are on hinges that can tilt away for better playability.

The Mobile Saw Vehicle: This vehicle is a dedicated heavy unit equipped with an adjustable boom arm and a massive, spinning circular ice blade designed to carve deep into the frozen ice sheets. Rounding out the build is a rear tow hitch and a canopy that opens up so you can drop a driver or operator into the cockpit.

Personally, I really like the inclusion of the huge balloon tires, but their massive scale actually makes the rest of the vehicle's body look a bit small by comparison. If I were to modify this build down the line, I'd probably beef up the body and add some extra height to the cockpit canopy to give it a more  heavy-duty profile.

Here's the rear view of the mobile saw with boom arm fully retracted.

Next up is the The Trailer Sled: A simple flatbed trailer that attaches to the rear of the any vehicle with a tow ball joint. 

It's primary function is to carry the snow bike or the specimen crate, however it doesn't appear to have been designed to carry the ice cave with mastodon.

The Mobile Lab Unit: The mobile laboratory unit serves as the high-tech command center of the arctic convoy. Ditching traditional wheels, this striking orange and dark blue lab is uniquely built on top of a heavy-duty dark blue ski-skid foundation, allowing it to glide across rough, snowy terrain when towed via its front ball-joint coupler. 

The exterior is highly interactive, featuring a 360-degree rotating radar transceiver dish perched on the roof and a wide side-opening panel that swings open alongside the roof canopy to provide full access to the cabin interior.

Inside the super compact research hub, the space is incredibly well-utilized for analyzing geological finds on the fly. It comes fully equipped with a computer terminal desk, a detailed touchscreen monitor, and diagnostic scanner panels. 

To help the crew endure long sub-zero shifts, the designers even squeezed in a tiny single bunk bed for tired explorers right alongside an essential wall-mounted coffee maker to keep the team caffeinated.  Personally, I think the lab is way too small and needs a huge upgrade to make it bigger.

The Heavy Crane Truck

This is the core brute of the convoy, riding on six massive, chunky rubber tires. The rubber quality from Bela is surprisingly good—soft and grippy rather than hard, cheap plastic. The crane features a 360-degree rotating base and an expandable boom arm equipped with a working winch. 

While the crane truck looks nice and wide outside, it's surprisingly cramped on the inside.  I would have at least expected to have two minifigs seated side by side.

The scale is definitely on the smaller size.

Final Summary

Overall, the Bela 10997 Arctic Mobile Exploration Base is a stellar budget-friendly alternative to the original LEGO City 60195 set. Bela has a long history of reproducing popular themes, and this particular build highlights why their brick quality consistently rivals major brands.

The set design allows you to hitch the 6x6 mobile crane, the ski-based laboratory unit, and the all-terrain buzz saw together into a massive arctic exploration train. Combined with a functional snow bike and six highly detailed and accurate minifigures, the playability and display value of this set are incredibly high.

Brick clutch-wise, I found that the Bela bricks tended on the tighter side.  It makes for a sturdy build, but I think it would not be as easy to pull the bricks apart.   I just wish that the vehicles were a bit larger, but that's something I will try to rectify in the future.

Final Rating

• Brick Quality: 4.0 / 5 (Tight clutch, but minimal scratches)
• Design & Playability: 4/ 5 (The variety of the vehicles and minifigures was impressive)
• Value for Money: 5 / 5 (Massive savings compared to aftermarket secondary LEGO prices)
• Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5

That is it for today's review, brick fans! If you are looking to expand your polar layout without destroying your wallet, the Bela 10997 is an absolute no-brainer of a pickup. Surprisingly, you can still find this set on AliExpress, though it now commands higher 2026 pricing. 

At the time of writing, the lowest price sits around $47 USD. However, if you strategically combine AliExpress coupons and promo discounts, it is highly possible to drive that price down to roughly what I paid five years ago.

Thanks for reading my blog post review!  Bye!