A couple of days ago, the LEGO Group revealed the sixth LEGO House exclusive set, the #40506 LEGO Fabuland Tribute. As the name implies the set honors LEGO Fabuland, a theme in the LEGO Group portfolio that ran from 1979 to 1989 and made history for combining the creativity of the LEGO brick with elements of creative storytelling for the very first time. Details below.
The LEGO House, the ultimate LEGO experience in Billund, Denmark, announced the latest edition of its series of annual exclusive products, the #40506 LEGO Fabuland Tribute. The set, which is exclusive to the LEGO House, is designed by LEGO House Master Builder Stuart Harris, and LEGO Senior Designer, Markus Rollbühler.
Collaborating with the team of historians at the LEGO Idea House, the new set pays homage to the beloved characters Edward Elephant, Joe Crow, Dr Lucy Lamb, and Clive Crocodile from the original 1980’s product line, re-imagined in line with modern LEGO design principles.
“It’s truly one of the highlights of my year, seeing what Stuart and the team of historians bring forward as the annual LEGO House Exclusive product” says Kathrine Kirk Muff, Managing Director at LEGO House. “This year, we’re paying tribute to the history of storytelling with the Fabuland exclusive product. Creating stories is at the core of LEGO House, and celebrating the most iconic moments in time throughout the LEGO Group’s history is key to the concept of our exclusive products. On a personal note, I played a lot with the original Fabuland sets, and I am filled with nostalgia and excitement to see my childhood memories being brought back to life. Creating that unique keepsake for our guests that travel from across the globe to be here, in the form of an exclusive product, is a crucial part of the full LEGO House offering for fans and something they can continue to build at home, keeping the memories alive.”
The #40506 LEGO Fabuland Tribute is the sixth in the series of LEGO House Special Edition sets. The inaugural set was the #40501 LEGO Wooden Duck in 2020 followed by the #40502 LEGO Brick Moulding Machine in 2021, the #40503 LEGO Dagny Holm – Master Builder in 2022, the #40504 LEGO Minifigure Tribute in 2023, and lastly the #40505 LEGO Building Systems in 2024. These LEGO House Exclusive sets can only be purchased in the LEGO Store in LEGO House, Billund.
Introduced in 1979, LEGO Fabuland was a completely new type of LEGO play theme. Set in a charming animal world, Fabuland was the first LEGO theme to combine the creativity of the LEGO System in Play with elements of creative storytelling. A unique part of the Fabuland universe was the building instructions. Like all other LEGO sets, many Fabuland sets came with specialized building instructions – but the instructions for the sets included a short story in which the characters were shown building the set – and of course having fun doing it.
The instructions from this sixth set in the LEGO House Exclusive series is no different and comes with illustrations as part of the building instructions, created using original drawings by LEGO House Associate Master Builder, Didac Perez. These instructions are separated by character so that the set can be built character-by-character, alone or with friends and family.
A total of 99 LEGO Fabuland retail sets were launched from 1979 to 1989. The theme was the first LEGO play theme to directly encourage storytelling, as well as the first theme to be extended into licensed products such as books, clothing, accessories, etc. Fabuland invited LEGO lovers to join the charming inhabitants on their adventures in their quaint, idyllic village. Whether exploring the bustling town square, embarking on a daring rescue mission, or simply enjoying a cup of tea at the cozy café, the stories and possibilities were endless. During the 1980s, the Fabuland houses changed; the roofs on the early models were made of 2×4 bricks. In 1982, roof elements became larger and easier to handle.
The Mayor of Fabuland was Lionel Lion. The citizens of Fabuland all had their own names, unique personalities, and accessories, and some had apparel that related to their jobs in the whimsical world. The characters’ names would sometimes vary in different countries. For instance, in some countries, Edward Elephant was known as Fanfan, Ollie or Eduardo. From 1979 to 1987 there was no lead character in the Fabuland universe. However, when “Edward and Friends” – an animated TV series based on the characters and stories – was released in 1987, Edward Elephant became the main character. Every episode was released under the name “Edward and Friends”, whereas the LEGO sets still launched under the name LEGO Fabuland. In the video below, you can learn more about the history of Fabuland.
After a decade, the Fabuland theme was discontinued in 1989, until now when it was revived in the form of 2025’s Exclusive LEGO House product, paying tribute to the art of storytelling through the much-loved team of characters from Fabuland.
“Each year, I find great joy in creating the LEGO House Exclusive set together with Markus and everyone at the Idea House and LEGO House,” says Master Builder, Stuart Harris. “Fabuland holds a very sentimental place in my heart, having spent so much time with our history collection and product archive, I was always captivated by the series. You can really see the influence it had on the storytelling themes of future series from the LEGO Group, including LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Friends, LEGO Bionicle, and more. From re-imagining each character to designing the storybook that comes alongside the product, it is an absolute honor to bring them to life once more in the form of this sixth edition of our LEGO House series.”
The latest LEGO House Exclusive set, the #40506 LEGO Fabuland Tribute (40506), is exclusively available from the 1st of March at the LEGO Store in LEGO House, Billund, Denmark. The set comes with 1,026 pieces and will retail for 649 DKK. The set is suitable for ages 10 and above.
What do you think? Are you familiar with LEGO Fabuland? Did you own any of the sets? How did you like them? And how do you like this tribute to the LEGO Fabuland theme? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
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I almost thought the animal crossing theme was a reboot of fabuland. I remember having a couple of sets. But, sadly lost them from moving a lot. The one fabuland set that I do remember was a red plane and bird pilot and it was white.