Lepin 15011 Not Lego Detective's Office Set Review - Part One

This week, I added a new modular building to my ever growing Lepin town, the Detective's Office set number 15011.   This post will look at the construction of the first floor of this set.  I will take pictures of the build after completing every ten steps from the instruction manual.

Here's the cover art which Lepin has copied directly from Lego.  The Lepin set has 2262 pieces which is the same as the Lego version.

Step 10.

The Lepin Detective's Office comes with a 32x32 stud brown baseplate.  The Lepin baseplate is thicker than the original Lego version. The sidewalk tiles have been laid and the pool hall is getting built around the little pool table.

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Step 20.

The pool hall walls are up and the doors and windows are going in.  The ceiling fan above the pool table is a cool feature.  You can even swing it aside, if you want.

Here's a closer look at the ceiling fan.  It has a light fixture underneath it.  From this view, you can see the trophy case and also the dart board.

You can access the pool hall by either the front or back door.

The pool table accessories include three pool cues and even a rake.  The pool hall is a good size and you could probably fit quite a few minifigs into it.

Step 27.

Here are the printed front windows.  They are only slightly scratched, but you can't really tell.

Nothing much has changed at the rear of the building.

Step 32.

The floor tile for the barber shop has been laid.

Step 40.

The barber shop walls are going up and some of the furniture is going in.

Here's the back of the barber shop.

The cabinet on the rear wall has a secret exit out the back if you push it aside.  

Next to the sink and under the folding staircase, there is another trap door.   This is where they smuggle the barrels underneath the outside passageway.

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I was expecting the mirror to be all scratched up, but it came with a film on the reflective side of the piece which protected it's finish.

At this point, I'd like to point out that the two piece tile that rotates the barber chair is defective. It is too loose and therefore the chair does not stay in place.

Either the hole is too big on the plate, or the pin of the round tile is too small.  I have a few of these pieces in my brick stash so I will be replacing it in the near future.

Step 50.

Here's the front facade of the pool hall and barber shop after completing step 50.

A closer look at the hair pieces inside the barber shop.

The side view of the barber shop.

 The first floor is almost completed.  You get six minifigures with this set, but I've only pictured four of them here.  From left to right, you get a police woman figure, the mysterious lady in red, the detective and a pool hall patron.  Not pictured is another pool hall patron figure and the barber.

Step 57.

The first floor of the Detective's Office is now completed.  The barber shop is finished off with the barber pole and the Al's signage.

For busy days at the barber shop, there is a small bench for customers to sit and wait.

Now that the first floor is complete, we can move on to the second floor of the Detective's Office.  Post coming soon to http://its-not-lego.blogspot.com.

Bela Not Lego Star Wars Building Set List - 2016

Last month, I listed all of the Lepin Star Wars bootleg Lego sets that have come out in 2016.  In this post, I will list all of the Bela brand Star Wars sets.   Just like Lepin, they cannot use the Star Wars name on their packaging, so Bela calls their bootleg building set series Space Wars and Space Fights.
If memory recalls correctly, it was actually Bela that started bootlegging the Lego Star Wars sets before Lepin.

Set		Description	Pieces	Lego Set
10359		ARC 170 Starfighter - micro	92	75072
10360		Vulture Droid - micro	77	75073
10361		Snowspeeder - micro	97	75074
10362		AT-AT - micro	88	75075
10363		Republic Gunship - micro	105	75076
10364		Homing Spider Droid - micro	102	75077
10365		Imperial Troop Transport	141	75078
10366		Shadow Troopers	95	75079
10367		Senate Commando Troopers	106	75088
10368		Geonosis Troopers	105	75089
10369		Erza's Speeder Bike	252	75090
10370		Hailfire Droid	163	75085
10371		AAT	251	75080
10372		T-16 Skyhopper	246	75081
10373		TIE Advanced Prototype	354	75082
10374		Battle Droid Troop Carrier	565	75086
10375		Anakin's Custom Starfighter	369	75087
10376		AT-DP	499	75083
10377		Wookie Gunship	569	75084
10378 - 10383		Assorted Minifigures
10384 - 10389		Assorted Minifigures
10463		Flash Speeder	311	75091
10464		Death Star Duel	723	75093
10465		First Order TIE Fighter	548	75101
10466		Poe's X-wing Fighter	742	75102
10467		Millenium Falcon	1355	75105

Pictures below.

Bela 10359 ARC Starfighter - Microfighter

Bela 10360 Vulture Droid - Microfighter

Bela 10361 Snowspeeder - Microfighter

Bela 10362 AT-AT - Microfighter

Bela 10363 Republic Gunship - Microfighter

Bela 10364 Spider Homing Droid - Microfighter

Bela 10365 Imperial Troop Transport

Bela 10366 Shadow Troopers

Bela 10367 Senate Commando Troopers

Bela 10368 Geonosis Troopers

Bela 10369 Erza's Speeder Bike

Bela 10370 Hailfire Droid

Bela 10371 AAT

Bela 10372 T-16 Skyhopper

Bela 10373 TIE Advanced Prototype

Bela 10374 Battle Droid Troop Carrier

Bela 10375 Anakin's Custom Jedi Starfighter

Bela 10376 AT-DP

Bela 10377 Wookie Gunship

Bela 10378 - 10383 Minifigures

Bela 10384 - 10389 Minifigures

Bela 10463 Flash Speeder

Bela 10464 Death Star Duel

Bela 10465 First Order TIE Fighter

Bela 10466 Poe's X-Wing

Bela 10467 Millenium Falcon

Between Bela and Lepin, I think they have bootlegged all of the Lego 2016 Star Wars sets.

Sembo Brand Building Block Set Preview in 2016

 

This is my first look at some building sets put out by the Sembo brand.  I have found Sembo makes a lot of mini modular buildings, but only a few that are minifigure scale.  My post today will focus on the Sembo minifigure scale modular buildings, of which I found three on Aliexpress.

SD6701 Western Restaurant Modular Building

At first glance this modular restaurant building doesn't look too bad.  It uses a lot of the textured brick on the exterior.  There is a nice restaurant sign on the roof. Not sure if the piece is printed or stickered.  It has two floors and comes with a female and male minifigure and a scooter. 

When you look closer, you find that there doesn't seem to be any front door, only an archway, but I could be wrong.  There's an eclectic mix of windows, including a round piece on the second floor.  The design of the building is a bit hodgepodge in my opinion.

I found some other images of this building on the internet.

It doesn't look to be in a proper scale to the minifigure in the picture.

Here's another picture of the front and back of the building.  There is a back patio with umbrella and water fountain, but both look too small in scale.  I'm not sure if the light brick has been added by the set owner or if it's included in the set.

It would appear that you can't really fit the minifgures inside the restaurant first floor because the headroom is very low.  The second floor appears to have a higher ceiling.  However, the chairs seem to be very small compared to the table.  

I found a review of the Sembo restaurant here.

This set has 355 pieces and retails for about $15 USD on Aliexpress.   From a value perspective, I think the Hsanhe modular buildings are a better value because they have about 200 pieces for about half the price.

SD6701 Ferris Wheel

The Sembo SD6701 Ferris Wheel comes on a green baseplate and the set includes a ferris wheel, a water fountain, a swing set and a circular ride.  

The set comes with three minifigures.  I'm not sure if the circular ride rotates or not.  The box indicates that the ferris wheel turns, but the ferris wheel is too small for the minifigures, so they can only play on the ride or the swing. As an amusement park, it's not that amusing.  It has 447 pieces and can be found on Aliexpress for about $15 USD.

SD6900 Apple Store

This is Sembo's largest set at 1116 pieces.  It is a large building that you might see in any big city.  The lower floor houses the Apple store retail space and there is a back wall with signage.  There is a central atrium with an elevator shaft but not sure if you can come out upstairs or not.  The upper part of the atrium is surrounded by glass panels on all sides with a large Apple logo on the back.  There looks to be several light fixtures hanging from the atrium ceiling.  I think you get some light blocks to illuminate the building.

Here are some more images of the Sembo set I found from Aliexpress.

This set comes with four mini figures and looks very impressive. It retails for about $100 USD on Aliexpress.

Here's the summary of the Sembo modular buildings

SD6700 Western Restaurant - 335 pieces, 2 minifigures,  $15 USD
SD6701 Ferris Wheel - 447 pieces, 3 minifigures, $15 USD
SD6900 Apple Store - 1116 pieces, 4 minifigures, $100 USD