Tuesday, October 11, 2016

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.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

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.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

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.