Saturday, August 20, 2016

My Lepin Not Lego Wish List - 2016

Nobody knows who the Chinese bootleg Lego maker is except, that in the past year, Lepin has cloned most of Lego's large Star Wars sets and now they have started to make all of the Lego modular sets.

There are a few Lego sets that I never added to my Star Wars collection because the cost of the sets was just too expensive for me.  If Lepin were to copy those sets, I would definitely buy them.

Here are a few Lego Star Wars sets that I wouldn't mind seeing Lepin make.

Cloud City 10123





UCS Sandcrawler 75059





Update Sep 25, 2016:   It's here! It's here!
The sandcrawler has been spotted on Aliexpxress.  It is Lepin 05038, 3346 glorious pieces!

Tantive IV 10198





Clone Wars Drop Ship with AT-OT Walker 10195




Are there any other sets you want to see Lepin make?

Monday, August 15, 2016

List of Not Lego Forums and Blogs - 2015

I thought I'd share my list of forums and blogs that happily (some not so happily) discuss the latest alternative brick brands, bootleg lego news and finds.




Forums with little or no drama (brick enthusiasts)


From Malaysia,  the Official Bootleg Bricks thread,
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/3401983


From Australia, the Cobi & Alternative Brick Sets thread,
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2350232


Also from Australia, the WP KO Bricks Wiki,
https://sites.google.com/site/wpkobrickswiki/


From Europe, the Eurobricks community,
http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=94997

Forums with drama (Lego purists, resellers)


From the USA, the Brickpicker Community,
http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/2804-fake-non-lego-knockoff-and-counterfeit-sets-plus-reproduction-minifigures/


From England, the Brickset Forums,
http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/16099/lego-fight-against-chinese-counterfeit-lego

From Italy, the Italian Lego User group


Blogs


https://customizeminifiguresintelligence.wordpress.com

http://bootlegbricks.xyz

http://mybrickstore.blogspot.com

http://alternabricks.over-blog.com

http://downtheblocks.blogspot.com

http://brothers-brick.blogspot.com


Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Hsanhe 6411-1 Not Lego KFC Shop Set Review


It's time to review another one of the Hsanhe modular sets.  This one is the KFE shop model 6411-1. It's modelled after a KFC outlet but obviously they can't use the proper brand.  This little modular has 188 pieces according to the packaging.  As with the other sets, clutch is good and the original windows and doors were not too scratched up.



Here's my build of the KFE/KFC shop.  The outside of the shop has a little seating area with a table and two chairs.  Landscaping consists of a small tree and a row of plants.  There are two signs that you get stickers of the KFE logo.  Below the main sign is a small red and white awning.



Each Hsanhe modular set comes with two minifigures and this set is no different.  You get a male store employee and a female customer.


In case you were curious how the minifigures look from behind, here's a pic of them.  Turns out the male is wearing a hoodie underneath his uniform.


Back side view of the building reveals an L shaped seating area, a counter with cash register and a cooking area, complete with fan hood with storage area above it. Unlike the other two Hsanhe modular sets which I've reviewed, this one has no lights on the ceiling.


Another view of the seating area. Someone forgot to clean it up after the last customer.


Here's the cooking area.  Not sure if those protrusions are supposed to be knobs for the grill or representations of food.


The KFE shop without the roof on.  Only one problem with the layout is that the female customer's big ponytail hairpiece prevents her from actually sitting in the little nook.  They should have used a different hairpiece for the girl.


Ok I already didn't follow the instructions that came with the set.  I lowered the two chairs outside so any seated minifigures would not sit so high up.  Also I changed the two window panels on either side of the door.  The original windows provided were the full size floor to ceiling ones (1x4x6).  I decided to save those windows for a future MOC building, so I used smaller 1x4x5 windows instead. 
Lastly, I used a single 1x4x4 brick for the main sign instead of the bricks that were provided because I prefer to have a sticker on one brick instead of over two or three pieces. 


I've already quickly built up a second floor for the building using my spare bricks. I just need to change the roof structure of the lower level and maybe add some more detailing to the top of the building.   So much for for such a low price.

Brand: Hsanhe
Series: Mini Shop Modulars
Model: 6411-1 KFE mini shop
Number of pieces: 188 plus a few extras.
Recommended:  Yes.