Saturday, July 30, 2016

Hsanhe 6409-1 Not Lego Sweet Shop Set Review


I recently purchased a set of six mini modular buildings from the Hsanhe brand.  I already reviewed the Coffee Corner set, so today let's look at the Sweet Shop set number 6409-1.


To save costs, I don't have the box shipped to me, so this is how I receive the Hsanhe set from Aliexpress.



This building set comes in three bags and some plate pieces.



Instructions are provided on a single two sided sheet of paper and are easy to follow.


 There are approximately 193 pieces to this set.  There aren't any special pieces in this set, so you could easily build this shop with your own brick pieces using the instructions above.


Here are the two minifigures that come with the sweet shop, one male and one female.  Quality of both is excellent.  The male minifigure is wearing the sweet shop uniform and apron, and the female is the customer.


The Hsanhe Sweet Shop is based on the Lego ideas concept.  In that concept, this building was a Dunkin Donuts store.  Building pieces and colours are the same, only the stickers have been changed.


Here's the sticker sheet that comes with the set. I only applied the main log sticker to my set.


Left side view.  What makes this a modular set is the holes on the side where you can connect this building to the others.   Not sure what the green box is supposed to be.  Is it a trash can?  A newspaper box?  A mail box?  I dunno.


Right side view.  There's a small street light that's way too small for the set.  You also get a small strip of plants on the sidewalk.


Police officer smells fresh donuts.  Here's the inside of the sweet shop building.  There are three shelves loaded with sweets for sale.  On the other side of the building is the counter, cash register.
Use the grips please, no dirty hands on the donuts.


Top view of the mini modular.


I moved the counter and cash register so that the mini figure has more room at the takeout window.

Two small lights attached to the underside of the roof.

Here's a last look at the sweet shop.  Thanks for looking.

Brand: Hsanhe
Series: Mini Street
Model: 6409-1 Sweet Shop
Number of pieces: 193  (with some spare pieces).

Friday, July 15, 2016

Lepin 15002 Not Lego Cafe Corner Set Review - Part One

Having read many positive reviews on Facebook and brick forums about the Lepin modulars, I decided to spend some money and I ordered two sets from Aliexpress.  I ordered two sets instead of one so that the shipping costs could be combined and make it more cost effective.   I bought the Lepin 15002 Cafe Corner and the Lepin 15008 Green Grocer sets to review.

Normally I look for free shipping on my Aliexpress purchases, but when searching for the Lepin modulars I found building sets to be cheaper with separate DHL shipping, than those sets with prices that included free shipping.

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One week after I ordered my sets from Aliexpress, my doorbell rung and a giant package was left on my doorstep.  I opened the door just in time to watch the DHL delivery truck pull away.  Here's what I got:



its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

Here's the package after unravelling.  There were two Lepin sets inside.  One was the Cafe Corner set that I ordered, but the other set was the 15004 Fire Brigade set, not the Green Grocer set.  I've contacted the seller to let them know of the mixup and hopefully we can find a solution.  For now I'll start reviewing the Cafe Corner set.

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

The Lepin Cafe Corner is a knockoff of the Lego Cafe Corner 10182. I didn't count all of the separate packages that make up the Lepin modular, just too many to count.  You get all the bricks pictured here, an instruction booklet and two green base plates.  Here are some sample pics of the manual.

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

The minifigures:  Apparently the hair pieces do not match that of the original Lego minifigures.

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin 15002 cafe corner modular

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Well, that's it for now.  I'll start building the Cafe Corner and post pics when I'm done.

Update:  You can check my progress of the Lepin Cafe Corner build here.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Lepin Not Lego Modular Buildings List - 2016

Earlier this year, I heard a rumour that Lepin would be copying the original Lego modular building sets.  Certainly that was an ambitious plan, even for a bootleg company.   Then, around the end of April 2016, images of the Lego Brick Bank set 10251 surfaced, but with Lepin logo in place of Lego.
Then, in May, Asian brick forums started to buzz with actual Lepin set pictures and reviews.

For the most part, the Lepin set is about 98% accurate with some minor changes on a few bricks and minifigure hair.  There have been some reports about missing pieces.

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings

The Lepin Creators set 15001 Brick Bank, 2413 pieces

The Lego Brick Bank set currently retails for $219.99 CDN, $169.99 USD.   On Aliexpress, you can find the clone set for under $70 USD or $90 CDN. That price includes shipping via DHL.   That's about one third of the Lego retail price.   Use the Search function on Aliexpress and look for "Lepin 15001" to check availability and pricing.

Update Jan 24, 2017:  I've made a list of the cheapest Lepin Modular building sets on my blog post here.

Here are the Lego modular sets that have been copied by Lepin that are currently for sale on Aliexpress.  So far, there are 14 sets that have been made or scheduled to be released.  In terms of pricing, the following Lepin sets can be bought for under $100 CDN shipped:  Brick Bank, Cafe Corner, Fire Brigade, Market Street, and Green Grocer.  The rest of the sets are about $120 CDN and above.


Lepin # Name  Lego # and Status 
15001 Brick Bank 10251
15002 Cafe Corner 10182 - Retired
15003 Town Hall 10224 - Retired
15004 Fire Brigade 10197 - Retired
15005 Grand Emporium 10211 - Retired
15006 Palace Cinema  10232
15007 Market Street 10190 - Retired
15008 Green Grocer 10185 - Retired
15009 Pet Shop 10218
15010 Parisian Restaurant  10243
15011 Detective's Office 10246
15012 Ferris Wheel  10247
15013 Grand Carousel   10196 - Retired
15019 Assembly Square 10255





I probably won't be getting the Lepin 15007 Market Street, just because it doesn't look like that interesting a build.  If the price of this set drops below $50 CDN, I might pick it up for it's parts.
I'm also not that into the 15012 Ferris Wheel or the 15013 Grand Carousel.

That makes ten modulars that I want.  I only want to pay on average $80 CDN for each, so I'm looking to shell out about $800 CDN.  Wow, I guess I will have to live on instant noodles, TV dinners and Mac and Cheese for awhile.

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Here are some of the pictures I found on Aliexpress.

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15002 Cafe Corner, 2133 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15003 Town Hall, 2859 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15004 Fire Brigade, 2313 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15005 Grand Emporium, 2182 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings

Lepin 15006 Palace Cinema, 2354 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15007 Market Street, 1275 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15008 Green Grocer, 2462 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15009 Pet Shop, 2082 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15010 Parisian Restaurant, 2418 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15011 Detective's Office, 2262 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15012 Ferris Wheel, 2478 pieces

its-not-lego.blogspot.com, lepin modular buildings
Lepin 15013 Grand Carousel, 3263 pieces


Lepin 15019 Assembly Square,  4002 pieces



I decided to order a couple of the sets to review their quality.   Look for a future post in which I review one of the modular sets by Lepin.

Aug 20th Update:

My Lepin modular build reviews can be found here:

15002 Cafe Corner, built June 2016

15003 Town Hall , built July 2016

15004 Fire Brigade, built August 2016

15010 Parisian Restaurant, built September 2016

15011 Detective's Office, built October 2016

Nov 28 Update:

I created a new set list of Lepin Movie themed building sets and have moved the Ghostbusters and Simpsons buildings there.

More set reviews to come!  As always, thanks for visiting Its Not Lego and See you next time!