Review: 77072 Peely Bone
Posted by SetToBuild,
Peely Bone is an outfit available in Fortnite, originally released for the Battle Royale game mode in 2019 as a new form of the very popular banana character, Peely.
Initially, the model wasn’t planned to be developed into a retail LEGO set—it was created by a designer as a gift to another LEGO employee. After Epic Games saw the design, nobody could resist turning it into a real set, so this large-scale statuette is here in all its gruesome glory to cheerfully terrify us.
Summary
77072 Peely Bone, 1,414 pieces.
£89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 | 6.4p/7.1c/7.1c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A cursed Fortnite outfit is now available as a cursed LEGO set.
- Sturdy construction
- Mostly printed decorations
- One clever sticker
- Nightmarishly cute
- Missed opportunity for a cool minifigure
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
On August 29th, Brickset was invited to a roundtable discussion with LEGO Designers John Cuppage and Erik Jensen to chat about the development of the LEGO Fortnite sets. We learned about the challenges the designers faced and how they worked with Epic Games to come to their decisions. Throughout my reviews, I will be referencing this interview to add more context!
Box
Since this is an 18+ set, it doesn’t get a cool background depicting an area in Fortnite. There aren’t any action features in this set, so the back of the box shows some more angles of the model and a diagram showing the dimensions. The model is 36cm (14 in) tall, 15cm (5.5 in) wide, and as a bonus from me, the depth is about 19cm (7.5 in) from the front of the plaque to the end of Peely Bone’s backpack.
There are fifteen numbered bags. Thankfully, the only sticker in this set is an obvious one. Since this set is 18+ the instructions have been upgraded to include an introduction to LEGO Fortnite, Peely’s history, and the backstory to this set.
Build Experience
We start with the base of the model, and then the sturdy foot connections. The ball joint is the only point of true connection between this technic-brick module and the black base itself. It proved successful, as the model doesn’t lean, and survived my shoogle test once completed!
The rocks under Peely’s left foot are actually side-built around the core of technic bricks. This has a slot in its centre into which the leg is anchored with technic pins forming the ‘ankle’. I never liked Peely’s weird boot-feet in the game, but they come in handy for strength here! The LEGO Designers said that they enjoyed finding that the phone element fit perfectly in that spot on Peely’s heel.
The build progresses with the feet and legs, until we reach another major connection point at the hips. The grey axle is pushed into the torso once it’s in position, and this provides most of the support for the main connection of the heavy body to the legs. I’m impressed with how steadily it is held by this.
Hidden within Peely Bone’s chest is his heart, covered up after the step pictured below. Builders seem to always appreciate these kinds of easter eggs or secret details. I’m also thankful that all of the bruised parts of the banana aren’t stickers. The printed pieces are cleverly repeated, but they still make this look more like a premium model.
Similar to Brickheadz, pink bricks are used to represent the brain (still present, even in the otherwise fleshless skeleton side of the build!). The skull includes two new white curved bricks, a 2x2 round corner & 2 1x2 curved bricks that were first available in pearl gold in 75398 C-3PO.
Tons of extra parts are left over, including the newly recoloured white sausage and espresso plate.
Completed Model
At over a foot tall, the final model is an imposing figure. The exposed skeleton concept reminds me of the art of Jason Freeny, who is known for his cutaway sculptures of toys, including Barbie and a LEGO minifigure. It feels like something has come full circle here!
The musculature of the left leg is an excellent use of rounded tiles, and the arm is similarly brawny. The character is more slender in the game, but obviously this additional strength was needed to keep him standing firmly here even when holding all of the accessories. You can also easily pick up the model by his hips or body with one hand, and everything still feels very secure.
The entire model is great, but the skeleton half in particular has multiple occurrences of “nice part usage” like the boomerangs and Technic elements for the pelvis. The newer transparent curved bar creates a satisfying arch for the ribs to follow. I was recently building a MOC of a skeleton and could have used those white sausage pieces! Hopefully, we’ll see them on PAB soon.
Peely Bone also looks great without holding any accessories; he’s just standing there, menacingly, watching me as I write this.
Being a giant yellow banana, this set does bring us many elements recoloured in yellow including but not limited to: exo-force arms, 2x2 curved slopes, large ferns, 2x4 rounded tiles, 4x4 round corners, and a 2x2 Technic brick with socket (which is also new in white). In addition to the other white parts already mentioned, we also have: 2x2 rounded corners, 2x2 Technic horizontal hinge, and 2x2 Technic vertical hinge.
‘Back bling’ is the way that Fortnite describes a backpack-style accessory that can be worn by your character in the game. In my limited research, I wasn’t able to find if this pack specifically appears in the game. It looks a bit like the Top Notch pack and sadly doesn’t look anything like the Banana Briefcase. The banana bunch element was previously only released in two Donkey Kong sets.
Update: The back bling is the Banana Bag!
This isn’t the first collaboration LEGO has made with an IP containing realistic weapons. However, since their distaste for portraying these is known, it’s no surprise that Peely Bone holds the Paint Launcher (which is not capable of damaging other players or objects in the game) rather than a ‘real’ grenade launcher or other gun. The designers confirmed the importance of this during the roundtable session.
Peely Bone’s wrists don’t rotate, so unfortunately you can’t get him to hold the launcher in any other pose. On the skeleton side of the model, technic macaroni pieces have been used effectively to depict the exposed guts. I am fondly reminded of 1990s gross-out toys like Mighty Max.
In addition to back bling and weapons, characters in the game are equipped with a pickaxe which is used in the Battle Royale game mode to gather materials, destroy things and sometimes fight. Here we have the Peely Pick pickaxe, another paid-for cosmetic. Most striking are the large yellow leaves to represent the peel. I’m surprised that the stalk has what look like thorns, as the in-game item doesn’t. They make it harder to hold as a human (maybe that’s on purpose?!), and I don’t feel they add much.
The only sticker in the set is fittingly one you would find on a banana!
As you’ll see in the next LEGO Fortnite review, it’s clear where the minifigure budget went in this wave. However, though Peely Bone has many other parallels with 75398 C-3PO, the set is missing one key component: the accompanying figure. A fantastic minifigure has already been designed in LEGO Fortnite form, pictured below. Sure, he’s creepy-looking, but he just wants to be your friend!
Conclusion
Both halves of this model represent the original outfit well. LEGO have been generous with new recoloured parts to achieve the effect. Concessions made for reasons of structure and buildability are acceptable, and I admire the ambition in portraying a much more intricate subject than the standard Peely character.
The similarly-sized 75398 C-3PO is a good comparator for Peely Bone. Although the former is mostly golden, I don’t feel that justifies it having 20% fewer parts but costing 40% more. Perhaps LEGO really are focusing on the teen’s market here, trying to keep the costs in reach for youngsters—or maybe Epic Games aren’t applying their own version of the ‘Disney tax’ in order to build interest in the theme. Either way, Fortnite fans are winning.
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64 comments on this article
So... LEGO can do gore now.
In that case, why don't we have Alien sets yet?
@WolfpackBricksOfficial said:
"So... LEGO can do gore now.
In that case, why don't we have Alien sets yet?"
I want a late-'50s Plymouth fury (Christine) in Speed Champions!
Other half sold separately™ /j
/s Great set, the choice to make peely bone specifically is an odd choice, but I am so glad that they chose my favorite peely variant
EDIT: I didn't notice that the sets origins as a gift to an employee were listed in the introduction. Guess that explains why peely bone was chosen.
If Tim Burton was to direct an episode of the Banana Splits...
I've never played Fortnite and have no interest to as a 40+ guy, but this set looks delicious.
I have to remember to avoid the intestines the next time I eat a banana...
But jokes aside, I love the contrast in this set. It works well for Halloween too.
The creepy factor in this is amazing. And if that Minifigure ever comes out I will buy whichever set it is in. It is spectacularly gross and I must have it. I wish we could get another round of Monster Fighters or similar, Hidden Side was such a let down for the creepy side of things.
I don't care one bit about Fortnite, but love this set! Perfect companion for my collection of several other great sets of characters from games or other media I don't care about either ;-)
It also does remind me of the Astro Boy set from Pantasy, though that design, also half/half. And I still need to get that one too....
And even the price seems decent (a recurring theme with these Fortnite sets), though considering it's already available for pre-order with a 15% discount, I'll have some patience. It's not like I don't have other stuff I have yet to build....
They did a really great job with this set! The detail is great and it looks like an action figure rather than a lego set, which I very much intend as a compliment.
Though again, why would you partner with a game that’s primarily a Battle Royale if you have a distaste for realistic guns? Yes, LEGO Fortnite exist, but it kinda took away much of Fortnite’s identity for the sake of the LEGO brand.
@WolfpackBricksOfficial said:
"So... LEGO can do gore now."
But, noooo! It's for anatomy training! You know, physicians might have to save a banana at some point...
I have to say I appreciate the sticker here, it simply wouldn't have worked as a printed piece. What a cute detail!
It's really good and well done, but it really reminds me of all those knockoff brands you see on Amazon that always do this
If you get 2 of this set, can you make a whole banana and a whole skeleton?
If they don’t give us Anatomini as a set I will gladly take this one!
Those printed pieces are going to be so very useful for depicting rust.
(Admittedly, only on yellow-painted iron & steel, but I'll take it!)
Excellent review.
Don't like Fortnite at all, but this is one neat set. May have to grab it for it's uniqueness if it drops in price.
I hope TLG reconsiders the whole black box thing. Are you really telling me that an adult videogame fan would only buy a toy if it looks "serious"?
Also, am I the only one who thinks it's kind of cute? Haha
I have no idea what Fortnite is (I'm nearly 52 so its still a period of 2 weeks for me) but I really like this - its unusual, very well designed and constructed and looks nothing like what I would associate with Lego - I may have to get it although the price is high for what would be a curiosity / display item...
@danieltheo said:
"I have no idea what Fortnite is (I'm nearly 52 so its still a period of 2 weeks for me) but I really like this - its unusual, very well designed and constructed and looks nothing like what I would associate with Lego - I may have to get it although the price is high for what would be a curiosity / display item..."
Long story short: it's a 100 player game where each player is dropped onto an island and must eliminate eachother until there is one player/team of players remaining (there are other modes which dont really matter all that much). It's free on most platforms if you want to give it a try.
Also, is there a review of 77073 planned?
Pickle Rick!
@Arnold_Uijttewaal said:
"Pickle Rick!"
Funniest set I've ever seen.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @WolfpackBricksOfficial said:
"So... LEGO can do gore now.
In that case, why don't we have Alien sets yet?"
I want a late-'50s Plymouth fury (Christine) in Speed Champions!"
The community college I went to had a copy of Christine in their library... and among the old cars they kept behind the shop class for students to work on was a Fury. I kept a close eye on that thing...
This set really is the microcosm of the absurdity of the prospect of Lego Fortnite. A multiplayer shooter popular with little kids guest starring any character they can license, even from horror movies and M-rated games, featuring cartoon gore cosmetics, fantasy and realistic guns, whose most popular game mode is a Battle Royale survival deathmatch... so Lego makes toys of it and a pacifist gamemode.
The question of Lego's internal moderation policies isn't restricted to these sets, it's true of basically every action theme to some extent licensed or not, but having a character with pooling exposed guts you build piece by piece and thinking a damaging weapon would be too much is highly questionable.
@Mica86 said:
"(...)
I can see this seems popular here but the general brickset audience seems to have poor taste."
Here are two possible responses to your words which you probably think are very wise:
Do you know what the word 'subjective' means?
and:
That's just like, your opinion, man.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @WolfpackBricksOfficial said:
"So... LEGO can do gore now.
In that case, why don't we have Alien sets yet?"
I want a late-'50s Plymouth fury (Christine) in Speed Champions!"
The community college I went to had a copy of Christine in their library... and among the old cars they kept behind the shop class for students to work on was a Fury. I kept a close eye on that thing..."
'Show me.' *Fifties rock-n-roll starts playing*
@bananaworld said:
" @Mica86 said:
"(...)
I can see this seems popular here but the general brickset audience seems to have poor taste."
Here are two possible responses to your words which you probably think are very wise:
Do you know what the word 'subjective' means?
and:
That's just like, your opinion, man."
I’m so happy to learn that @Mica86 is the only Brickset user with good taste!
;-)
@Alia_of_AGL said:
"This set really is the microcosm of the absurdity of the prospect of Lego Fortnite. A multiplayer shooter popular with little kids guest starring any character they can license, even from horror movies and M-rated games, featuring cartoon gore cosmetics, fantasy and realistic guns, whose most popular game mode is a Battle Royale survival deathmatch... so Lego makes toys of it and a pacifist gamemode.
The question of Lego's internal moderation policies isn't restricted to these sets, it's true of basically every action theme to some extent licensed or not, but having a character with pooling exposed guts you build piece by piece and thinking a damaging weapon would be too much is highly questionable."
Fortnite is not a game for "little kids." This is like how boomers think millennials are minors and not young adults (or even middle aged adults!) People also forget that Fortnite has been around almost a decade now, so even if there were fans who started out as younger children, they'd be teenagers by now.
Those intestines make me feel uncomfortable.
What a marvellous set!
@AcademyofDrX I didn't say "for little kids," I said "*popular* with little kids." I know that wasn't its target demographic, but I've worked at a Staples during a back-to-school season; I've sold Fortnite kids' backpacks.
This set looks like a lot of fun. I haven't played the game and know nothing about this character, but I may have to pick it up.
Maybe I can build a good scale Banana Guard from the Candy Kingdom.
I find this (quite literally) viscerally upsetting to look at. Great model, fair price, keep it the hell away from me please D:
YES! Finally! LEGO showing some guts!
It's a cool design; reminds me of the sculptures of artist Jason Freeny. I'm disappointed that there isn't a minifigure included. The only Fortnite set to have on is the Battle Bus.
Hey! The banana has peelings too you know. There is no need to show off his insides!
@PixelTheDragon said:
"They did a really great job with this set! The detail is great and it looks like an action figure rather than a lego set, which I very much intend as a compliment.
Though again, why would you partner with a game that’s primarily a Battle Royale if you have a distaste for realistic guns? Yes, LEGO Fortnite exist, but it kinda took away much of Fortnite’s identity for the sake of the LEGO brand. "
My wife plays Fortnite with her friends a lot and I don't think she's ever said the realistic guns are part of the game's identity. She usually plays as an asparagus person made of jelly.
I don't think this is what a banana split looks like... ;)
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Hey! The banana has peelings too you know. There is no need to show off his insides!"
That joke was so side-splitting, I got bruised for laughing so hard. I'm gonna go now before I get booed at for all these unapeeling puns.
I've never seen a paper bag in any of my sets, but these reviews get really lucky!
I do find it somewhat odd that Lego has gone all-in with this partnership and yet is still squeamish about in-game weapons that deal damage. Not even necessarily speaking of the ones inspired by real firearms, but even things as otherwise innocuous as the Explosive Goo Gun or the Snowball Launcher (although, in this set in particular, you could replicate that by replacing the flame yellowish orange of the paint launcher with your choice of silver or light grey, and the green with a fitting blue.)
I could understand if they wanted to keep things solely focused on the corner they cut out for themselves in the game, the survival-crafting mode lazily named Lego Fortnite, but sets like this and 77071 blur the line in a pretty awkward way. (I'd say the same about 77073, but as that was added to said corner of the game around the time the set released, I'll give it a pass here.) It feels almost like they're trying to court the Battle Royale crowed into Lego Fortnite, which is a fair goal given the circumstances, but it feels almost backwards to what they're trying to accomplish with Lego Fortnite, being a safer, more appropriate space in the game for younger audiences who can then "graduate" into playing BR.
Also, I feel like if you're going to brand your product with "18+ Adults Welcome," you can use that space to explore subject matter that doesn't align with more traditional sets, ie. firearms in entertainment properties that feature them.
@gatorbug6 said:
"I've never seen a paper bag in any of my sets, but these reviews get really lucky!"
The majority of sets sold in the UK have them now so I presume, then, that the packing lines in north America have not been converted yet.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Hey! The banana has peelings too you know. There is no need to show off his insides!"
its a character from the game and he got sucked into a rift and half of him got melted off.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Hey! The banana has peelings too you know. There is no need to show off his insides!"
That joke was so side-splitting, I got bruised for laughing so hard. I'm gonna go now before I get booed at for all these unapeeling puns."
I don't think anyone is going to abruise you.
@Huw said:
" @gatorbug6 said:
"I've never seen a paper bag in any of my sets, but these reviews get really lucky!"
The majority of sets sold in the UK have them now so I presume, then, that the packing lines in north America have not been converted yet."
about half the sets I bought this year were paper, the other half plastic. It must vary from set to set as to which get paper or plastic.
I'm sorry folks, but an anatomical cutaway with everything still properly contained does not equal gore. This is basically just a cartoon parody of something you'd see in a science classroom. There's a realistic one in Animal Crossing!
Now, if it had a play feature that made it rupture open, sending banana mush and extraterrestrial bugs across the table, you might be onto something by making the leap to Alien and gore. Thankfully this doesn't seem to be a jumpscare in disguise.
Admittedly, I do agree slightly with the sentiment comparing it to those knockoff, unlicensed model kits. It feels like it's just enough of a stylistic departure from LEGO's usual fare to feel "out of place."
Now I've gotta make like a banana and head on out.
As a person with a skeleton, I find this offensive and Lego should definitely not make products that mght offend me (See, SW Lego).
What are they, a bunch of Durr Burgers?
If it was propperly posable it would be way better...
The Backbling is called "Banana Bag"
@Maxbricks14 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Hey! The banana has peelings too you know. There is no need to show off his insides!"
That joke was so side-splitting, I got bruised for laughing so hard. I'm gonna go now before I get booed at for all these unapeeling puns."
I don't think anyone is going to abruise you."
In fact, many will think that your post had a bunch of apeel.
@sNoelle said:
"The Backbling is called "Banana Bag" "
Aha! Thank you! I've updated the article.
@Alia_of_AGL said:
"This set really is the microcosm of the absurdity of the prospect of Lego Fortnite. A multiplayer shooter popular with little kids guest starring any character they can license, even from horror movies and M-rated games, featuring cartoon gore cosmetics, fantasy and realistic guns, whose most popular game mode is a Battle Royale survival deathmatch... so Lego makes toys of it and a pacifist gamemode.
The question of Lego's internal moderation policies isn't restricted to these sets, it's true of basically every action theme to some extent licensed or not, but having a character with pooling exposed guts you build piece by piece and thinking a damaging weapon would be too much is highly questionable."
The real-life equivalent of Fortnite's damaging weapons are causing school shootings every month whereas the banana with guts isn't.
Fun fact, though, Fortnite used to have this skin marked as a T-rated one and it couldn't be used in E or E10+ modes like LEGO Fortnite. Venom, Carnage, and the Demogorgon are some of the few skins that are still rated T, though, despite having Minifigures.
@Trigger_ said:
"The real-life equivalent of Fortnite's damaging weapons are causing school shootings every month whereas the banana with guts isn't."
As a fellow American I want to agree with this sentiment on principle, but original trilogy Star Wars gun props were modified from real-life guns, with the only reason it doesn't feel like that being that they're older guns that aren't like the ones that make news headlines. Extending from that, the similar set 75371 features a brick-built Bowcaster, a damaging weapon, and there's all of the CCBS buildable figures from Star Wars with their own projectile-firing buildable guns with perforated barrels.
And not to get too graphic, but on that topic of gore, school shootings aren't exactly bloodless, and if we wanted to go beyond the scope of America's gun problem, there's kids in a certain other nation getting gorily killed more frequently at the moment.
Either way you cut it, Lego has had a much longer history depicting guns, including realistic projectile weapons, than depicting exposed intestines. I wholly appreciate the angle that realistic contemporary guns are in poor taste especially for the American market, but cartoon gore is still gore, and Lego's history of that, though present with notable examples, is astronomically smaller than the amount of plastic minifigure firearms they make each month.
This is what happens when you slip on a Banana
@Alia_of_AGL said:
" @Trigger_ said:
"The real-life equivalent of Fortnite's damaging weapons are causing school shootings every month whereas the banana with guts isn't."
As a fellow American I want to agree with this sentiment on principle, but original trilogy Star Wars gun props were modified from real-life guns, with the only reason it doesn't feel like that being that they're older guns that aren't like the ones that make news headlines. Extending from that, the similar set 75371 features a brick-built Bowcaster, a damaging weapon, and there's all of the CCBS buildable figures from Star Wars with their own projectile-firing buildable guns with perforated barrels.
And not to get too graphic, but on that topic of gore, school shootings aren't exactly bloodless, and if we wanted to go beyond the scope of America's gun problem, there's kids in a certain other nation getting gorily killed more frequently at the moment.
Either way you cut it, Lego has had a much longer history depicting guns, including realistic projectile weapons, than depicting exposed intestines. I wholly appreciate the angle that realistic contemporary guns are in poor taste especially for the American market, but cartoon gore is still gore, and Lego's history of that, though present with notable examples, is astronomically smaller than the amount of plastic minifigure firearms they make each month."
Fair point, and I didn’t mean to neglect what’s going on in the other nation you mentioned btw.
This sure is a set alright.
Good review of a strange but very impressive set. Even more importantly, thank you for teaching me the word "shoogle"! Such a delightful word!
This is one of those sets that is so completely wrong, that it's completely right.
It just looks awesome.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Hey! The banana has peelings too you know. There is no need to show off his insides!"
That joke was so side-splitting, I got bruised for laughing so hard. I'm gonna go now before I get booed at for all these unapeeling puns."
I don't think anyone is going to abruise you."
In fact, many will think that your post had a bunch of apeel."
I believe we can bunch together on this one.
@Mica86 said:
" @bananaworld said:
" @Mica86 said:
"(...)
I can see this seems popular here but the general brickset audience seems to have poor taste."
Here are two possible responses to your words which you probably think are very wise:
Do you know what the word 'subjective' means?
and:
That's just like, your opinion, man."
Its a skeleton banana man.....but sure you have refined tastes...
Looks like the type of thing owned by the type of person that regularly posts 4:20 tweets"
I'm not a particular fan of this franchise or set (though I commend its originality in that it's not yet another car or building), nor am I a 4:20 tweeter, but, unlike you, I confine my criticisms to the sets I don't like, rather than make insulting sweeping generalisations about fellow users.
I applaud you though, for doubling-down on your previous comment, and for confirming that you do indeed not know what 'subjective' means
@Mica86 said:
"I can see this seems popular here but the general brickset audience seems to have poor taste."
Yeah most of people here like new SW sets so... xD
Lego intestines. Not for me lol
Looks great, unfortunately for the same amount of money I will be buying the Battle Bus.
Agree, missed opportunity to include an awesome peely-bone fig.
“he’s just standing there, menacingly“
SpongeBob hall monitor episode reference?
It's a fantastic set, but the lack of a minifigure really bug me off. But I'm generaly excited for all of these because I'm a big fan of both Fortnite and Lego.