WishaLife 1091 Pieces City Space Shuttle Building Blocks

Review update 06.10.21:
Just a quick addition to say that when breaking down the set (to pack away and so something else can be built with the bricks) it became apparent just had good the included brick separator is. Better than the Lego and Oxford variations.

You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce which Danish construction toy this set is aping. A similar Lego Deep Space Rocket and Launch Control set retails around 90-plus, so a fair bit more than this, but that is the real thing obviously, and not exactly a like-for-like comparison. Those very familiar with Lego and similar construction brick toys will know that it is all about the clutch factor, i.e. how well the the bricks stick together. No one wants to spend ages building a set only to find that the first play with it sees it fall apart in your hands.

This is not our first experience of non-L-word construction sets as my son has quite a lot of Oxford and Kreo construction toys, which are effectively one and the same company and are Korean Lego-compatible brick sets. They are excellent, both in value, quality and the set details and unique (to their sets) parts, but are sadly difficult to get hold of now. When my son was younger we also had a lot of the poor quality construction sets and mini-figures, which proliferate on the shelves of out of town discount stores and are best avoided.

We were interested therefore to see where this set ranked in terms of those set that we already own and use.

The first thing noticed is the subject of the set, which my son approved of as he likes anything space-related. Also 1091 pieces is a decent amount of bricks to keep a 6+ year old (and their parents) amused for a while.

The bricks and other pieces are made of ABS apparently, but there’s no mention of toxicity etc. which could be a concern and is something that you don’t have to worry about with Lego. One clear difference between this set and most other construction brick sets is the lack of mini-figures. Yes you could use them with other make’s figures but why not provide some that specifically go with the set?

In use:
The large box felt surprisingly heavy, which shouldn’t really have been a surprise as it contains 1091 pieces. It contained 11 bags of bricks plus two base plates that weren’t in bags, a small white one and a large black one that unfortunately was bent a little, or perhaps warped. The box was intact so I don’t see how this could have happened in transit. A bit disappointing and not something that I have ever seen in a Lego set (though we did have some missing pieces once, which they supplied).

The instructions, like the numbered bags (designed to make it easier to find the pieces for each section your are building and make less mess as you build it) are incredibly Lego-like. While I appreciate the bags for making the build more logical and quicker, just as with lego sets, it’s creating a lot of unnecessary plastic waste. My son said he prefers these instructions to Lego ones. From what I can see they are certainly clear and his preference is due to them having more bits and therefore more building to do in each per section. He’s 9 and a very adept builder and I suppose that if some of the Lego instructions are a bit plodding and fragmented it becomes frustrating.

One thing we both noticed was the quality of all the pieces in this Qman, Exercise’N’play, Mine City (bit of a mouthful) set. Most, though not all in so far as we can tell, are exactly like the Lego bricks we own and they include a surprising amount of technical type bricks and niche, rarer ones. Overlooking the commercial morality of that for a moment, it is good news for imaginative builders like my son and I who once we have built a set like to use the pieces to make our own creations whether that be with Lego, Oxford, Kreo and now this set. With 1091 pieces, including 6 wheels, some windscreens and some very interesting other parts, there’s probably quite a lot of original builds we can make with this set. Despite initial appearances the set doesn’t suffer from having too many of the larger, bespoke pieces (just the shuttle cockpit really). This is great news, as such bricks seem to increasingly be components of Lego’s sets. While I appreciate that these large pieces are perhaps sometimes necessary, I personally think that they detract from the value and overall usability of a set. If there is something lacking from this set though it is ‘normal’ building bricks so building your own houses, castles etc. using this set alone will not be so easy. The bricks all seem really well made and the ‘clutch’ factor is very good, too. The stickers that come with this set are good quality, peel off their backing well, and adhere to the bricks with no problems. All in all really impressed.

Although my son is a quick builder and I got ready most of the parts for him this still took a while to assemble. That’s a good thing as it speaks positively about the value of the set. Too many brick sets are built in the flash of an eye and for the money they cost are just not worth it – the film and other franchise tie-ins often being the worst value of all.

What you get once you build this set is a satellite, a little control booth thing (the weakest bit of the set), a space shuttle, a sort of fuel/launch truck and the main rocket and its launch pad. All are impressive both combined and separately, but the shuttle and the rocket with its launchpad are the standouts in my opinion. The lack of mini-figures is the only obvious omission as some astronauts and support staff would have been the finishing touch.
Yes it is derivative, very much so in fact, but putting that aside for the moment there’s no denying the quality and the enjoyment in building and then playing with this set. If making a comparison between the cheap discount store brick sets, the slightly better in-store own-brand ones (shop begins with a ‘W’) and the real thing (and very close competitors like Oxford), then the is definitely up there with the best, which to be honest, I wasn’t at all expecting. Even the Kreo bricks, which are general every good and quite innovative, have some components that are let down by poor clutch performance and don’t stick together well enough. Their version of this sets orange scaffolding (for the launch pad tower) is nowhere near as good as these ones are.

PROS:
Price. Admittedly at 60 it is not a cheap set for non-Lego and some may baulk at paying that for a make they don’t know and therefore don’t yet trust. However, the most comparable current Lego set (less vehicles, less pieces but mini-figures and some other interesting elements (a building and monorail) costs 90+, which is a not inconsiderable difference.
Quality. Somewhat to my surprise the bricks were of a quality at least equal to Oxford/Kreo and virtually indistinguishable from Lego (both bricks and quality). Clutch factor, stickers, instructions, colour choice, overall design all really, really good.
Number of pieces and lack of large single-purpose pieces (only one really) elevates this set in terms of value and usability.
Nicely boxed and packaged in bags – handy for ease of building as were the clear instructions.
Compatible and darn near indistinguishable from you know what.
Set comes with Qman’s own design of brick separator tools which works well.
For once a set that looks better when built than it does on the box.

CONS:
There’s the moral issue I suppose in buying something which is so clearly derivative. Having seen the prices of many Lego sets soar out of reach of many, ordinary people (especially children) and become something only for adult collectors, and the disappointment on my son’s face because we can’t afford to buy him some of the admittedly excellent-looking bigger sets, I am not so bothered about that as I might once have been. If you price your most loyal customers out of your best products you can’t be too surprised if someone else pops up to fill that vacuum.
The bent baseplate was an annoyance and as it was the base for the main element, the rocket and launchpad. I feared the whole thing might end up a bit wobbly, but thankfully that wasn’t the case and it was the only component in the set with any sort of defect.
The lack of mini-figures is really felt in this set as in our experience that’s what makes them more playable afterwards. Having looked at Qman’s website I can see that they do make sets with mini-figures (they have outsized heads, but look interesting if perhaps a little bit ‘Playmobile?’) so the decision to omit them here is incomprehensible (one of the box photos even appears to show a mini-figure in the rocket, which is a but misleading) . Thankfully my son has enough mini-figures already to use them when playing with this.
The price, while comparatively good value, is still not insignificant and will be too much for some families even though the -to-brick ratio is pretty darned good. I have dropped a star for this as when we bought our large Oxford sets they were better value and had innovative (better than Lego in many ways) mini-figures in them.

OVERALL:
If you are struggling to afford the ‘real thing’ my advice is to shun the discount store poor quality construction bricks as they are poor quality, consider Kreo and especially Oxford if you can find them (Oxford are great for military brick sets), and to definitely give Qman a try. As longtime Lego enthusiasts we were very pleasantly surprised and our view is that you will not be disappointed if you but their sets and may in fact be converted.
Recommended.