Lepin 15010 Not Lego Parisian Restaurant Set Review - Part Two

This blog post continues the review of the Lepin 15010 Parisian Restaurant modular build.  In our last post we had finished the main floor and so far we have not encountered any issues with missing or deformed pieces.  The only notable difference between the Lepin Parisian restaurant and the Lego version so far is the chain around the front patio.  On the Lego version I think it's made of black plastic.  On the Lepin version we get a gold linked chain and I think it's actually made of some kind of metal.

Second Floor Balcony: Steps 1 thru 11

The second floor balcony only has eleven steps so it was a relatively quick process to complete.

The upper balcony is enclosed by railings and there is seating for four at two tables.  There are two hanging baskets with flowers in them.  I'm not sure why the designers decided to go with hinged light poles as the Lepin version does not clutch very well and they always feel like they're about to fall over.  I will probably replace them with something sturdier later.

 Here's a different view of the upstairs balcony.

Second Floor Steps 1 thru 10

For the second floor, the outside walls are starting to take shape and is now connected to the balcony.  Second floor progress as seen from the front.

Second floor as seen from the back.   I think the awning over the back kitchen door is redundant given that there is a second floor overhang.

It must be chilly out because Aquaman is sitting in front of the fire with a hot beverage.   That recliner looks pretty comfy.  It's kind of sparsely furnished at this stage with only an additional side table and stool.

I like how the balcony serving table fits nicely into the fireplace wall.

Steps: 11 through 20

 The apartment on the second floor is taking shape nicely.  There's now a small kitchenette with an oven and cabinet storage.  The murphy bed is one of the favourite parts of this set.  I like how you can fold it away to get more space. I will probably incorporate this design idea into future MOC buildings.

This is a look at the murphy bed in the upright position.

The fireplace looks even better now that it's finished.

 One last look at the second floor interior.

The chimney stack masonary details.

Time to bring in the doors on the second floor before someone falls out.

Steps 21 thru 35

 We finally complete the restaurant's second floor.   The doors and windows have been installed and I especially liked building the front windows and surround.

This is the first modular that has showcased the drainage system.  Nice touch.

 Lots of details at the back of the Parisian restaurant.  So as I mentioned in my previous post, I replaced the kitchen and dining room windows with shutters.  I moved the recycle/garbage bin to the other side and created bike parking behind the dining room.

 Here's a side view of the steps leading up to the second floor balcony.

Another overhead shot of the completed second floor.

My next blog post will show the detailed build of the third and final floor of the Lepin Parisian restaurant.  Bye for now.

Hsanhe 6409-2 Not Lego Apple Store Set Review

Today, I will review another small Modular Building from the Hsanhe Mini Street series.  There are six building sets in the series, and this one is the Apple Store 6409-2 which has 184 pieces.

The Apple store building is probably the most plain building out of the six buildings in Hsanhe's series.   The building front consists of two floor to ceiling windows flanking a door with a plain black facade.  The remainder of the building is composed of light gray bricks.   Extra features on the front include a small tree, with flowerbed and a fire hydrant.

This set comes with two minifigures, a male mini figure in a suit and a female mini figure.  I'm pretty sure that the female mini figure is the store employee, because I've never seen an Apple employee in a business suit in their stores.

Since the front of the building is so non-descript, I'll focus on the back of the building instead.  Like the other Hsanhe buildings, this one is six studs wide.  On either side of the interior are transparent shelves where boxes of Apple products can be purchased.

Above the door, there are 4 grills that I assume is the ventilation system.  I attached my own light brick to the ceiling, since this set came with no ceiling light fixtures.

Here are the mini figures inside the store to give you an idea of the relative size of the building.  The store comes with two point of sale counters.  It's hard to see what they look like inside the store.

This is probably a better view of the store interior with the two computer stations.

The store also comes with external signage and a sticker sheet for the Apple logos, which I declined to affix to the building.  You can also see how the computer terminals look like.

Well there you have this quick review of the Hsanhe Apple store.  I chose not to apply the stickers because I plan to add more bricks to this building and make it a full modular building as I did with the modified Hsanhe KFC building.   I'm thinking this might be a very easy building to integrate into the side of a Lepin modular, but I haven't decided which one yet.  

Since this building is very plain, I would not recommend buying this set as your first Hsanhe modular.  Instead, the Corner Coffee (aka Starbucks) model or the Fast Food (aka McDonalds) models are more interesting visually so I would get one of those ones first.  If however, you already have some other modular buildings, this one is easy to integrate into other buildings, because the facade is very simple.

Brand: Hsanhe

Series: Mini Street

Model: 6409-2 Apple Store

Number of pieces: 184

Price paid: about $7 CDN, free shipping.

Lepin 15010 Not Lego Parisian Restaurant Set Review - Part One

Having built three other Lepin modular buildings, I can honestly say that the Parisian Restaurant is my favourite build so far, despite it being the smallest building as compared with the Cafe Corner, Fire Brigade and Town Hall.

According to the Lepin packaging, the Parisian Restaurant has 2418 pieces, most of which contribute to the highly detailed interior.   Here's how my set looks after unpacking it.  The brick parts are distributed in over 40 different numbered bags, which I count to make sure there are no missing bags.

 The Lepin modulars distinguish themselves from the Lego versions by using a thicker base plate.  The instruction manual is a booklet that consists of 83 pages.  As with my previous Lepin modular sets, I take pictures after each ten steps of the build.   Without further ado, let's take a look.

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Steps 1 to 10.

I'm glad this set comes with one big baseplate instead of two smaller base plates because I find it more structurally stable.  You can see that the restaurant's footprint takes up only a small portion of the base plate.  

There are two principal rooms - the kitchen and the dining room, and an outdoor patio.  As per the first ten steps, I've laid the building's foundation bricks and applied the flooring. Outside, the patio and sidewalk have been constructed.  If you look closely, you can see that the tiles in the patio spell CHEZ.

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Steps 11 thru 20.

Exterior landscaping has been added and the patio has been somewhat furnished.  

Back in the kitchen, the counters and cabinets are in.  The chef is already starting to prepare a hearty turkey dinner.  

Here are some more views of the restaurant kitchen.  Looks busy in there.

Here's how the restaurant looks from behind at this point.  Another two layers of bricks have been laid on the main floor walls.  Both customers and staff are looking forward to the grand opening.

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Steps 21 thru 30.

 More dining room furniture has been delivered and installed, and the back walls are going up.  The staircase is starting to take shape too.  The dining room has a special guest today.

Multi angle views of our main floor progress today.

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Steps 31 thru 40.

The main floor is now substantially built up.  All the windows are in too.  I love the architectural details of the columns on the exterior of the restaurant.

Another shot of the restaurant.

A view into the dining room.  It's got drapes!

I started to install the back windows, then I remembered I have these brown shuttered windows from a Wange Villa set that has long since been dis-assembled.  I figured this would provide more visibility into the kitchen and dining room, than the supplied windows.

Here's the windows that I didn't use on the rear of the restaurant.

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Steps 41 thru 50.

The main floor of the restaurant is about 95% completed.  Front entrance is now covered with the canopy.  It's nice to see that the Chez Albert sign and menu are both printed pieces, not stickers.

Another view of the staircase details.  

More views of the front.

Today, we have a guest chef who is in town visiting Albert.  On a side note, is that supposed to be a pantry or a refrigerator under the staircase?

See how small the building is?  There's lots of room out back.

It's looking a little sparse back here, so I placed a plant and the bike just to add some interest.  You don't get those two items with the set.

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Steps 51 thru 57.

Final touches added to the main floor include the awning and lights over the patio, the hand rail on the staircase and the requisite street lamp.

Here's a final look  of the completed main floor from above.   Well, my camera batteries need to recharge now, so I think I'll wrap up this post.   In a subsequent post, we will build the second floor of the Lepin Parisian restaurant.   Stay tuned!

Update:

Part Two review is here.

Part Three review is here.