Zhe Gao QL0935 Hill Tavern (Not Lego) Set Review

Hello brick fans!  Welcome back to Its Not Lego, where I review the latest Lego alternative building sets.  Today, I'm going to show you this new modular building from the Zhe Gao brand.   It's a three storey building called the Hill Tavern. This will be my first Zhe Gao branded set, and I'm excited to see what the quality is like, so let's go!

TL:DR

Here's the synopsis, if you just want the details for the set.

Model: Zhe Gao Hill Tavern
Set Number: QL0935
Number of pieces: 1367+
Number of minifigures: 3

Fake Lego?  No.
Missing Parts: N/ Deformed pieces: N/ Scratched pieces: N
#itsnotlego Rating:  4 out of 5 stars.  The set is good value for the price but the minifigures are not Lego standard, and there are a few bricks with clutch problems.

The Instruction Manual and Sticker Sheet

The Hill Tavern's instruction manual has 46 pages.  Mine was all wrinkly and has seen better days.   Here's the front and back covers and the first page.

The Hill Tavern is part of Zhe Gao's Street View series.  The set number is listed on the manual as QL0935 but there's no piece count.

On the back page of the manual, it shows you the three other modular buildings that make up the Zhe Gao Street View series.  I looked up the set codes and these are the other Street View modulars pictured:

QL0934 Coffee Store

QL0935 Hill Tavern, that's the one we are reviewing today

QL0936 Rome Restaurant

QL0937 Chinese Restaurant

As you can see from the manual, there are 4 stages to the build process and there are  a total of 4 bags of parts for the set.

Here's the small sticker sheet for the Hill Tavern, which I didn't use.

The Minifigures

This Zhe Gao set comes with three minifigures, two guys and one girl.  There's one guy that looks like he works behind the counter of the Tavern.  His apron is more suited for a coffee house than a bar, don't you think?  The other male minifigure looks to be some kind of delivery person.  It's interesting to note that his skin colour is different than the other 2 minifigures.  Finally there's the female minifigure who has a really high forehead.  There are two accessory pieces which are a brown broom/mop and a lavender purse.

The minifigs are a unique design and do not follow the Lego standard so they won't be compatible with the rest of my city minifigures.  They have lots of ball joints and pose really well for extra play value.  Lego style minifigs don't have this kind of flexibility.

This is how a Zhe Gao minifigure looks before assembly.  There's an internal skeleton that has three ball joints.  It goes inside the torso piece and then that gets attached to the hip joint.  The legs are then attached to the hip ball joints.  The arms have a ball joint at the elbow and wrist.  The minifigure's head and hairpiece looks like it might be compatible with Lego friends. There's a total of 13 pieces that make up a Zhe Gao minifigure.

The Build

This is how the package looks like with the mailing sleeve removed.  As noted previously, there are 4 stages to the build so let's proceed with stage 1.

These 8 bags will build the first floor foundation of the Hill Tavern.

A progress picture of from stage 1.  The main floor is fully tiled which is a nice bonus.  The orange brown headlight bricks have very little clutch and are the worst pieces in this set.  The remainder of bricks have decent clutch and not scuffed. The window glass is just a bit hazy.   Let's move on to stage 2 now.

The stage 2 build completes the main floor with 10 bags of parts.

Some nice exterior details include the 4 carriage lights, and a small fenced off patio seating area with umbrella.  The street light is black and there's a mailbox or trash can next to it.  The contrasting sand blue and white tiling gives a nice contrast to the orange brown brick facade of the tavern.

Here's the interior of the main floor.  Navy blue and white tiles adorn the floor.  The bar area has 2 stools with eye catching turquoise blue countertop.  Other features include cabinet and drawer storage and a small cooler and a plethora of  bottles, cups and glasses.  The delivery guy is having a drink at the table.   I'm glad that the design of the building includes a staircase to the second floor.

 Please note that there is no back wall in the design of this modular.  To facilitate picture taking I've removed the support beams.

Stage 3 consists of 9 or 10 bags of parts to build the Hill Tavern's second floor.

Second floor front facade.  Yellow window frames are nicely contrasted to the orange brown bricks and sand blue accents.  I think the center white portion is mismatched and doesn't really complement the rest of the building.

The second floor interior consists of a large stairwell with sideboard and separate bedroom.   In addition to the bed, there's a floor lamp, a bookshelf, and desk and chair.   Zhe Gao is quite generous with the small accessories as evidenced by the extra mugs and bottle.

The second floor layout has a lot of wasted space that could have been put to better use.

I forgot to mention that there's a sink mirror and towel inside the bedroom.  It would be easy to reconfigure the second floor to provide a full 3 piece bath.

Here's the completed first and second floors of the Hill Tavern.

The view from the rear  so far.

The fourth and final stage begins.  It will build the third floor rooftop terrace.

The top floor of the Hill Tavern sports a very spacious terrace with seating for two and a small flower bed.  A light stand and flower pot complete the accessories. 

Enjoy the rest of the pics!

Well that's a wrap for today.  What did you think of the Zhe Gao Hill Tavern modular building?   This was my first Zhe Gao branded not Lego set.  Do you have this or the other buildings in this series?  How were they to build? Did you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments below!   See you next time, Bye!

Update (Feb 2021):  

Thanks for making it this far!  In the following months after this post, I turned the Hill Tavern into a full modular building and fully furnished the interiors of every floor.

Here are the subsequent posts specifically about the Zhe Gao Hill Tavern.  Enjoy!

1. A look at the original set          <--- you are here

2. Modular conversion         

3. First floor furnished

4. Second floor furnished        

5. Third Floor furnished

6. Bonus Pics (coming soon!)

Qman 1132 Bun Shop Set Review (Not Lego)

Hey and welcome back to my Its Not Lego blog!  Today's set review is this Bun shop by Qman brand.  This is the first Qman set to be added to my collection of not Lego building sets.

TL:DR

Here's the synopsis, if you just want the details.

Model: Qman Bun Shop
Set Number: 1132
Number of pieces: 112
Number of minifigures: 2

Fake Lego?  No.
Missing Parts: N/ Deformed pieces: N/ Scratched pieces: N
#itsnotlego Rating:  3 out of 5 stars.  The set is ok for the price but the minifigures are not Lego standard.

Here are the other Qman sets listed on the back of the instruction booklet.  There are six other sets in this series of City themed buildings and vehicles.  Set numbers range from 1131 through 1137.

There's just 1 bag of parts for this small set.  I think the set name is supposed to be Golden Baozi shop but Qman got the english spelling wrong, so it's called Gloden Baozi shop.

Sadly, no printed parts. Here's the sticker sheet.  You can see that in the lower corner, it's printed as Enlighten 1132.  So Qman is a sister brand to Enlighten.  As with most Enlighten brand sets, the brick quality and clutch is pretty good.  The clear parts are not scratched or deformed.

The minifigures that come with this set are not compatible with Lego minifigures.  Here you can see that even the parts that make the minifigs are completely different.  I can't even salvage any of it for use with other minifigs.  I'll just end up giving these figures away.

Here's how the minifigs look after assembly.  You get one boy and one girl minifigure and I think the boy works in the shop because he has an order pad in his pocket. I've included a couple of random Lego style minifigures in the picture for comparison purposes.

This is a very easy build and a good beginner set for little kids.  The shop is pretty basic but it has a light fixture, a computer for taking orders and some sauce bottles. I like the little buns and the steamers on the counter.

The yellow brick that sticks out is supposed to be a sign which you get a sticker for.  There's also stickers for the store banner, the computer screen and menu above the steamers. I didn't add any of the stickers yet.  I think Qman did a good job in designing the steamer fixture above the shop.

Other sets this size don't usually have a back wall but this bun shop does.  It even has a door and curved glass wall.  I wonder if they could have just made a solid wall instead of the curved glass.  If I were to rebuild this set, I would add my own bricks to complete the back corner and then move the curved window to the front of the shop.  The set also comes with a table and stool so patrons can sit and enjoy their buns.

Summary

The Qman 1132 Gloden Baozi Shop is a nice little build for the younger kids.  At just 122 pieces, it's not too challenging but will have a lot of play value.  One could add more tables and have lots of minifigs come and enjoy the buns.  If I could change anything, it would be to have standard Lego style minifigures and having extra buns.  I paid about $5 Cdn from Aliexpress for this set.  That included the free shipping.

Sembo Block 601070 Japanese Crab Shop (Not Lego) Set Review

Hey and welcome back to my Its Not Lego blog!  Hope you guys are all doing well and staying safe.  Today we will be looking at another set by Sembo Blocks.

TL:DR

Here's the synopsis, if you just want the details.

Model: Sembo Japanese Crab Restaurant
Set Number: 601070
Number of pieces: 341+
Number of minifigures: 3

Fake Lego?  No.
Missing Parts: N/ Deformed pieces: N/ Scratched pieces: N
#itsnotlego Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars, excellent play value, solid build, excellent clutch, wish it was bigger.

On the back of the instruction manual, Sembo shows you all of the other Japanese themed shops in the series.  From what I can tell there are six different shops.

Just wanted to point out that the parts bags are numbered.

The crab restaurant sits on a 20x16 stud base plate.  The building itself is 18 studs wide but only about 8 studs deep.  In the front of the shop, there's two large windows and an entrance.  On one side you can probably watch them steam the crabs in the cooking area.  On the other side there is a tank that holds the fresh crabs.  Outside of the shop is another stand-alone tank with more crabs.

The inside of the crab restaurant is mostly empty except for the grill and prep area.

Here's the sticker sheets and the fabric banner.  I won't be installing the stickers just yet.

This is how the shop looks just before placing the shop banner.  There's lots of signage which looks bare without the stickers.  There's also some extra details over the crab tank.

Here's a side view of the crab restaurant.  I really like the big distinctive crab on the second floor.  Too bad they didn't put any walls on the side of the second floor.

The second floor is supposed to be the restaurant and seating area, except I haven't put the pieces in place because I plan on rebuilding the set as a modular building.  At that time, I will add the furnishings to make it look more legit.

Minifigures

You get three minifigures with this set, the crab shop owner and two japanese ladies in their colorful kimonos.

Summary

The Sembo Japanese crab restaurant is a fun little build.  From a parts to price perspective, it's a tad more than I want to pay, costing around $20 USD.  I think the shop could have been more detailed but I do like the crab sign.  Like the other Sembo japanese shops I have reviewed, this set doesn't scale very well with the minifigures. The external crab tank is way too tall and the minifigures wouldn't be able to reach what's on top very easily.   For this reason, I only give it a 4.5 out of 5.    I will be rebuilding this set soon as a modular building.  Look for that review in the near future!   Thanks and bye for now!