Things you should know about the Xbert Antique Shop 66055 Building Block Set

 

Hi Brick fans!

I recently picked up another Lego compatible set from Temu! Here's everything you should know about the Xbert Antique Shop 66055 modular building set.

Xbert is a new brand of bricks that hasn't produced that many building block sets.  Looks like it's a sub brand of JieStar.

This building block set has 1954 pieces and when the pieces are put together, it creates a beautiful two storey modular building that houses an Antique shop.

The set is designed by Ohsojang/shinjungseub, who has some other unique modular buildings that you can find on rebrickable.

The set has seven large bags of parts and each bag is further subdivided into another set of smaller bags.  The seven bags correspond to the number of steps during the build process.  To see everything that came in the box, check out my unboxing post here.

It's time to open up the bags and start building!

Step 1 - Building the baseplate

The footprint of the baseplate doesn't follow the normal standard of 32x32 studs or 16x32 studs.  The Antique store is 27 studs wide and 13 studs deep.   The actual building footprint is even smaller at only 18x12 studs.  Most of the baseplate is tiled in ingot bricks with the interior floor tiled in tan with black accents.

First impressions:  Brick quality is good, but the clutch is too tight!  It's really difficult to press the bricks together.

Step 2 - Building the Storefront

Ohsojang has designed a storefront that angles inwards towards two brick built doors.  The doors are fixed and cannot move.

Inside the first floor we've already added a table and display case. The white tiles are supposed to have stickers on them, but I didn't apply them yet.  You can see the entire sticker sheet in my unboxing blog post.

Step 3 - Building the rest of the First Floor

The back wall can fold out for easy access to the interior.  It's a great idea that I will probably incorporate into my future modular building mocs.

The first floor consists of dark gray walls and masonry bricks with a band of dark tan bricks for accent detail.  The use of contrasting white and dark red angled plates for the window awning is a novel approach.  You can see that the building isn't really that deep.

Step 4 - Add the Exterior and Interior details

I haven't decided if I'm going to keep the building as an Antique store yet, so I've left off the wording stickers for the time being.

The yellow pipe is really eye catching.  Some nice accessories are displayed at the side of the building.

There are no stairs in the design of the Antique store, so ladders are the only method of reaching the upper floor.

A tall ladder on the interior will allow access to the upstairs.  

Boxes and bric-a-brac sit amongst the display cases add to the clutter of the Antique store.

Step 5 - Building the second floor

There's supposed to be a giant clock on the wall over the bookcase, but I didn't apply the sticker.  I would have preferred a darker brown brick to be used for the upper floor, instead of the red brown.

Step 6 Building the rest of the Second Floor

The remainder of the second floor walls are added.

Second floor ladder is added with some other details.

Back wall in the closed postiion.

Back wall in the open position.  Despite the small size of the store, it's jam packed with details.  

A bookshelf, loveseat and round table are some of the upstairs furnishings.

Step 7 - Building the Roof

The Completed Antique Shop!

It was an interesting build with lots of details.

The shop looks great in the pics.

The design is great, just wis the brick tolerances weren't so tight.  The 1x1 pyramid pieces that make up the roof detailing all the way around were brutal on my fingers!

In case you're wondering if the set is compatible with Lego style minifigures, here's a visitor to the antique shop.

A look at the included lighting kit

Included in the lighting kit are some light strips, a dot light, a 6 port hub, a USB plug and a AAA battery pack (batteries not included).

The LED lights are nice and bright.

The light kit can be added in after the fact as I did here.  There are some extra 1x2 plates that are provided to secure the wires properly.  As you can see, I got lazy and just let the wires hang down randomly.   Please do a better job than I did!

Tried to clean it up a bit but meh.

Anyways, the lighting looks better when viewed from the outside.

I didn't have any issue with missing pieces, and there were a handful of bricks and plates left over.  The sprues contain the flowers that you add to the little tree at the front of the shop.  Again I got lazy so I didn't put them on.

Final Thoughts

When I saw the listing on Temu, I was really attracted to the building architecture and I wasn't aware that it was an Ohsojang design until I examined the details more closely.  I saw some similarities between the Antique Shop and the Lego Parisian restaurant, especially size wise, as their building depths are very close.  If I had to rebuild the Antique shop, I would place it on a standard 32x32 baseplate.  

The included light kit is a nice touch, and it seems a lot of the third party modular buildings sets are providing lights more and more.  Now if only Xbert would change the brick tolerances, this set would be near perfect.   

Design rating: 8 out of 10 (the shop could be a bit bigger and sit on a 32x32 baseplate)

Brick quality: 8 out of 10 (no missing bricks, window glass was clear, brick finish is good)

Brick Clutch: 5 out of 10 (brick tolerances were way too tight)

I was satisfied for the price I paid which was just a tad over $50 CDN from Temu.  The going price is about double and I think it would be hard to justify the purchase of the antique shop at the higher price.

The prices are changing constantly on Temu, so keep checking for a good deal.  Here's a search link for the Antique shop on Temu.

You can also get it from Afobrick.com: https://afobrick.com/en-ca/products/xbert-66055-vintage-antique-shop?ref=oGOdUj_izrflQ

Don't forget  to use my affiliate code itsnotlego to get another 5% off the price.

Or Aliexpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_okTdEZb

Thanks for looking, let me know what you think!   Bye for now!

Jiestar 89100 European Jazz Cafe Set Review

Hey whats up, alt brick fans?   Welcome back to Its-Not-Lego.blogspot.com!

I had the opportunity to pick up this latest modular building, which is called the European Jazz Cafe, set 89100 from the Jiestar brand.   

I just finished building it and I can tell you this is unlike any other modular building I've built before.

The European Jazz Cafe is an alternate build of the Assembly Square.  This version has 3369 pieces.  It is a corner modular building and comes with a unique vehicle, a three wheeled stroller and eight Lego style minifigures.  The set design can be found on the rebrickable site as MOC 32576, the original designer is Inyong Lee.  Jiestar has copied it and made some minor changes to the original design.

Here's a fun fact:  In December 2016, I made the original jazz cafe by customizing my Hsanhe 6410-1 corner coffee set.  Follow the link to see more pictures of it.

The Exterior

The modular building consists of a cafe on the main floor and a stage on the second floor where patrons can listen to live music.  The third floor overlooks the stage and has extra seating.  

The interesting thing about this design is that it's schizophrenic.  It has two completely different facades depending on which side you are viewing it from.  Which do you like better, the left side or the right side?

Here's an overhead shot so you can see the rooftop.  There's a lot of great building techniques in this building.  The sloped roof on the third floor is an example of that. I'll probably employ this design in a future modular build.

Just some views of the backside of the Jazz Cafe.  It should be noted that the clutch of the bricks is extra tight, that's why you see a lot of gaps between the bricks.  I didn't press down too hard because it will be difficult to separate them in future.

I wasn't really a fan of how the back walls are put together, but I guess the original designer had to use what bricks were available to him.  I really want to rebuild parts of this building using normal building techniques.  The main floor walls in the rear  is also a hodgepodge of colours.  I'd want to fix that.

Thankfully the pretty front facade makes up for the ugly backside.

First Floor Interior

The first floor is a masterpiece.  I like the use of colours, and the fact that it has a bathroom conveniently under the stairs.  Each floor has a little micro build. On the main floor stair wall, there is a little red train.

This coffee counter looks amazing and is probably my favourite part of this set. I don't have enough words to describe all the little details, so just look at the pic.

Here's the seating area by the windows.

The entrance to the Cafe is on the corner of the building.  But it looks like there's also an emergency exit near the stairs, which take you up to the second floor.

Second Floor Interior

The second floor consists of a large stage with a drum set and upright piano.  The VIP seating is closer to the stage.  Regular seating is by the windows.

I probably didn't build the drum set properly.  Looks a bit wonky.  The drumsticks are located on the wall.

Those blue tables are crucial in securing the triangular shaped windows to the wall. This was probably the most challenging part of the build.

The second micro build can be found by the corner window of the second floor.  It's a tiny representation of the Assembly square modular building.

Third Floor

The third floor mezzanine can be reached by the stairs.  There's more counter seating and lighting for the stage located here.

The last micro build can be found on the third floor, it's the tower bridge.

Here's the modular building deconstructed into it's various floors.

My favourite things

This coffee sign.

The folded patio umbrella.

The design elements.

The dark tan accents along the turret window.

The triangular windows that stick out.   The Jiestar version uses different pieces to secure the window.  The original design uses thor's hammer.

Here's a screen grab of the original building technique used.

Here's the oddly looking vehicle. It probably didn't need to be made, in my opinion.

The three wheeled stroller and a bike with no tires.

These are the minifigures that come with the Jiestar version of the Jazz Cafe.  You'll definitely see some differences between the these ones and the figures depicted on the rebrickable website.  I wouldn't have expected minifigures to be included on a MOC design building, so this was a pleasant surprise.

I can say honestly that this set is for advanced builders only.  Anyone else might get frustrated at some of the techniques used, but if you are looking for a challenge, this set is definitely for you.

You can also find the Jiestar Jazz Cafe on Aliexpress.  Search for  other modular buildings by using the search term: streetview.

I'll be doing a separate post highlighting the build process of the Jiestar jazz cafe.  Look for that one soon!   Bye for now.