Not Lego Deals on Aliexpress

From time to time, I get asked how much I paid for a bootleg Lego set or where I got it from.  Well, I can say that most of purchases are from either Aliexpress or Ebay.  But these days, bootleg brick sets are getting harder to find on Ebay, so I check Aliexpress more often for the latest sets.

Once in awhile, as I'm looking at the newest listings, I can't believe some of the incredibly low prices that are displayed for some sets.   Sometimes I think the seller may do it deliberately to reel in potential buyers to their store, so they offer a really low price for a limited time and then jack up the price after a few sales or days.  Other times, new sellers don't realize that they've completely mis-priced their offerings, maybe due to foreign exchange rates and whatnot.

In any case, these deals are too good to pass up, but sadly I can't buy everything I see.  I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there also looking for a great deal on bootleg brick sets.  Which is why I decided to publish a new blog called altbrickdeals.blogspot.com.  Whenever I come across a really good building block set or minifigure deal, I will post a screenshot of the item and put a link to it.   Hopefully, some of you can take advantage of the deals I find.

Please be reminded that I'm not affiliated in any way to Aliexpress or the sellers stores.  I cannot vouch for the item quality or how long the deals will remain in effect, so please do use your own diligence and research before making any purchases.

Hsanhe 6410-2 Not Lego Seven Convenience Store (7-11) Set Review

No modular town is complete unless you have a Seven convenience store.  Notice that Hsanhe  called it Seven, and not Seven-Eleven and that the logo is just a bit different.  This is one of the six small modular buildings in the Mini Street series.  There are 208 pieces in this set.

The Seven convenience store comes with a large sheet of instructions that is double sided.  You also get a small sticker sheet for the building logos.  This little modular is very easy to build and the clutch is excellent.  It will integrate well with your existing Lego or alternate Lego brick sets.

This building comes with two mini-figures, just like the rest of the other Hsanhe sets.  You always get one male and one female minifigure.  In this set we have a male employee and a female customer.

This set comes with a green recycle bin and a small light stand in the front of the store.  I found the light too small and chose not to include it here.  In the manufacturer's picture at the top, you can see the little light.  Instead I chose to put a trash can in it's place .

Here's the interior of the Seven shop.  You enter through the center door which has an air conditioner above it.  Hanging from the ceiling are two pendant lights. There is a counter with some product and a small cash register.  Behind the counter is another shelf with stuff.

There are even more items for sale on the other side of the shop. The shelves are jam packed with stuff.  Looks like they have fully restocked the merchandise.

There's so much stuff, that there's hardly any room to move.  Behind the counter there's even stuff on the floor.

So the owner of the Seven store just hired a new employee, and on his first day at work, he's getting robbed!

I think it is a very dangerous job to be a convenience store clerk, especially at night.  This robber is actually pointing a gun at the poor store employee.   Just give him the cash and hope he goes away.

I added a security camera (doesn't come with this set) for situations like this.  Sadly, the robber is a masked bandit (head courtesy of Batman Bane minifig), so I don't think any arrest will be made.  Just hope the poor store employee did not get harmed.

Finally, just some pictures of the Hsanhe convenience store next to some other modular buildings. I have some 16x32 baseplates coming in the mail. I plan on expanding and making the Seven store a full modular building like the KFE building next door.   I will also put a second storey on it in the near future.

Brand: Hsanhe
Series: Mini Street
Model: 6410-2 Seven Convenience store
Number of pieces: 208 plus two minifigures
Price paid: about $7 CDN, free shipping, Aliexpress.

AliExpress.com Product - [New] City mini street view 7-11 Shopping store convenience store + figures Building blocks funny assembles game toy kids gift

Lepin 15010 Not Lego Parisian Restaurant Set Review - Part Three

This is the third and final post about the Lepin 15010 Parisian Restaurant and today we will finish off the third floor and roof.

Part one of my Lepin Parisian restaurant can be found here and part two can be found here.

Third Floor Steps 1 thru 10

The building instructions for the third floor of the Lepin restaurant begin on page 57 of the instruction booklet.  Nothing too exciting as we start adding walls to the third floor base plate.

Back side view.

Steps 11 thru 20.

Now the fun begins.  Here's a look at the architectural details of the third floor.  I understand that the original Lego arched windows have a diagonal grill. That's pretty much the only difference for this stage of the building.

Another look.

We see the interior starting to take shape.  The artists studio has a couple of easels and a stand with paint brush.

There's another fireplace on the third floor.

Steps 21 through 39.

Yay, we have not completed the third and final floor of the Parisian restaurant.

Here's a look at how the back panel flips out to give you access to the artist studio interior.

Unlike the second floor fireplace this one has a sturdy hinged door. to keep the flames in.

This side view shows the door entrance detail with it's colourful awning and a potted plant.

Here's the same look, but with the roof closed up.

The chimey design and masonary details are continued from the second floor.

The completed structure viewed from rear.  You can see how the staircase connects the second and third floor together.  As mentioned before, I like how there is a drainage pipe incorporated into the building design.

Side view.

Front view.

Finally, here's all the minifigures that come with the Lepin set.

My 4th Lepin modular building is now complete.  This set was one of the smallest buildings as compared to the Lepin Town Hall and Fire Brigade which appear much larger.  However, the detailed kitchen and patio, the second floor apartment and third floor artist studio make up for the size difference.  Definitely my favourite features are the front facade, the murphy bed on the second floor and the two fireplaces with the masonary chimneys.  Despite it's smaller size, this was a really fun build.

Time to focus my attention to the next building, which is the Lepin Detective's office set 15011.   Another review on the way.

Brand: Lepin

Series: Creators

Model: 15010 Parisian Restaurant

Number of Pieces: 2418 pieces

Copy of Lego: Yes, Lego 10243 Parisian Restaurant.