Lepin 15007 Not Lego Market Street Set Review - Part One

So here's the thing, I wasn't really planning on buying the Lepin 15007 Market Street modular building.  I don't really consider it a true modular building like the others such as the Town Hall, the Parisian Restaurant or Green Grocer to name a few.  But just before Christmas, I saw it for sale on Aliexpress for about $43 USD, and I succumbed.

My package came without a box, and comprised of two 16x32 baseplates, one instruction manual and twenty-eight numbered bags.  At 1275 pieces, the Market Street set is the smallest of the Lego modular building sets.  The Lepin set is a bootleg of the Lego set 10190.  The original Lego set had a retail price of about $90 USD.  Current prices on Ebay for the now discontinued Market Street set range from a low of about $600 USD to over a few thousand for an unopened box set.

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Marketplace

Having not seen the original instructions, I assume that the Lepin instruction manual is a Lego knockoff as well.  My instruction manual came with stickers strategically covering the Lepin logo.

The Market Street building set is made up of two sections.  One is a covered market place and the other is a three and a half storey building.  Following the first ten steps of the instructions, here is how the covered market place starts off.

This set comes with three minifigures, and I think there are some minor differences between the Lepin and Lego  versions.  Sorry, the gorilla doesn't come with the set.

There are only eighteen steps to fully complete the covered market.  There are two produce baskets and a pair of iron gates and that's pretty much it.  The manhole cover pattern is not quite aligned properly.

The horn and whip design over the front entrance gives it a gothic feel.  I think it would be better suited for use in the haunted house set.

Side view.

Not sure why there are two vents on the roof, given that the interior is unfurnished and open.

Ok, time to move on to the multi-storey building.

Foundation

The Market Street building sits on a raised foundation.  It has a number of windows on the front and an internal staircase.

Here's the completed foundation.

Let's see how the building looks next to the market area.

First Floor

Here's some views of the first floor as it takes shape.

Other than an interior staircase, there isn't anything else inside.

The front door is covered with an awning and flanked by two large windows.

There aren't any windows on the side or rear of the building, but the design makes it look like there used to be windows but have now been bricked in.

With all light gray  bricks interspersed through the dark blue, it gives the impression that the paint is peeling and that gives the building an aged look.

A look at the spartan interior.

And here's how the building looks with the first floor completed.

I'll stop here and continue the Lepin Market Street build in a second blog post coming soon.

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