Major modifications to my Lumibricks Gelato Store!

 

Hey brick fans!

I just spent the past few weeks completely revamping the Lumibricks Gelato Store.  

So here's the original Gelato Store, before my mods.  You can find my entire review of it here: https://its-not-lego.blogspot.com/2026/01/best-lumibricks-gift-sets-under-150.html

Moving the Gelato store to an expanded 32x32 baseplate means I have to strip away the interior furnishings.   Let's see how it looks now!

Where the original staircase used to be is a walkthru to the back of the store.  Above it is a new patio.  Much of the original lighting has been retained, where possible.

Here's the new location of the staircase.  A new door was added at the top of the stairs.

Some side views.

Here you can see that the staircase keeps going around to the rear of the gelato store.

The stairs lead to the new rooftop observation deck (which used to be a garden and art space).

There is a new bus stop and bench in place of what was a small eating area.

A sliding glass partition has been added to the front of the shop.  Some of the outside fixtures have been relocated from their original locations.

The panel can be displayed in open or closed positions.

I've designed the back panels to swing away for interior reveal.

Here's my new interior layout of the Gelato store.  I managed to preserve about 80-90% of the original interior fixtures. There is a new cold room/freezer that is located under the stairwell.

The second floor has partitioned seating for up to eight minifigures.  It still needs tiling on the floor.  

The rooftop deck has two benches and wall to wall windows for viewing.

I've added a clock as a decorative feature of the rooftop.

Adding the updated Gelato store to my city!

Anyways, thats all the pics of my Gelato store modifications!   Thanks for looking!

#lumibricks #lumibricksgelatostore

Sidewalk modification tutorial for the Lumibricks/FunWhole Gelato Store F9078

 

Hey brick fans!

I just recently built and reviewed the Lumibricks/FunWhole Gelato Store set and it was definitely unique and interesting in it's construction.  It has all the similarities of a traditional modular building but it can also be unfolded so that the entire exterior and interior can be displayed dollhouse fashion.

As you can see from the above picture, the Gelato store is comprised of three different levels, all of which can be separated.  The ground floor is the gelato store, the second floor provides seating for the patrons and the rooftop is a garden/artist retreat.   The sidewalk is an extra piece that clips into the building while it's in it's modular form.

Alternatively, the gelato store is hinged such that it can be opened to maximize the visibility of it's exterior and interior spaces.  This method allows easier access to the rich interior details and facilitates play.

There is one drawback though.  When it's time to open up the Gelato store for interior access, sidewalk removal is not so straightforward.  In fact, it's a bit of a struggle to switch between modular building mode and dollhouse mode because of said sidewalk piece.

The Issue

Herein lies the problem.  Above I've taken some screenshots of the instruction manual that shows you the sidewalk attachment process.  From the first picture (ie pg 202), there are a total of four connection points  as depicted by the dark gray studs at the front of the building.  The sidewalk is then slid into place and tiles are then placed on top of those connection points to secure it as shown in the bottom pic (ie pg 204).

To switch to dollhouse mode, you have to remove four or more tiles to disengage the sidewalk piece, so that the building can be unhinged.  A further complication is that the leftmost connecting tile is placed immediately under the doorstep, meaning that piece has to be removed as well.  All of this limits the immediacy and excitement of play.

The Fix

I wanted to retain the ability of sidewalk attachment but make it quicker and easier to remove it or add it back.   I decided that the four connection points was excessive and the same thing could be accomplished using only two connection points.  Also I didn't want to remove the doorstep each time.

My solution involves reworking some of the tile placement on the sidewalk and at the front of the building.  Specifically, I wanted to eliminate the connection points at the far right and far left of the sidewalk, ie the 2x3 tiles near the front door and the nearest the bench.

While I was figuring out how to arrange the sidewalk tiles, I realized I should also place some studs to allow the set's four minifigures to be displayed as well.

To make the fixes, I used a handful of extra spare tiles consisting of some:

1x1 tiles, 1x2 tiles, 1x3 tiles, 1x4 tiles, 2x2 tiles and some studded plates including a modified 4x4 plate.

I recognize that not everyone will have the exact tiles I have so hopefully you can use whatever you have on hand to redo the sidewalk.  The objective is to keep as much of the original sidewalk design intact but just alter it enough to provide the two connection points and the mounting studs for the display of the minifigures.

Step One

The first objective is to eliminate the two connection points previously occupied by the 2x3 tiles on both sides of the building  by two 1x3 pieces.

Here's the door side.  Notice the grill piece under the black column details.  I've repositioned it from it's original location.  The two studs below it will be one of the new connection points.

Similarly, we have replaced the 2x3 tile with a 1x3 tile at the edge of the baseplate.  And the grill piece moved under the black column defining the other connection point below it.

After a bit of tile rearrangement, here is the look of my modified sidewalk.  As you can see from the picture above, the mount points for the railing, table and two chairs, as well as the balcony theatre signpost have been retained.  The mount point for the ice cream structure has been shifted a bit.   Additionally I have relocated and added some studded plates for minifigure display.  Of course, you can adjust the stud placement to your own liking.   The most important detail to note is the two gray studded connection points that will line up between the sidewalk and the building.  

After you are happy with the tile arrangement of your sidewalk, slide it back towards the gelato store.

Place two 2x2 tiles on top of the connection points (located next to the grill pieces).

Return the accessory pieces back to the sidewalk, ie. the doorstep, railing, table and chairs.

And the ice cream fixture and sign post.

Attach the minifigures as desired!

Now to switch into dollhouse mode, simply lift up on the sidewalk and it should come right off.  To return to modular building mode, again just slide the sidewalk up against the building and snap the two 2x2 tiles back into place.

Hopefully this fix to the sidewalk makes it more convenient and enjoyable to play with and display the Lumibricks/FunWhole Gelato store!

Thanks for looking, bye!

#lumibricks #gelatostore #lumibricksmoc

I added a tilting cab to the Aliexpress Fire Truck MOC-156284

Hey brick fans!

I've got a handful of Lego compatible fire trucks in my collection from brands such as Kazi, Gudi and Wange.  While that's all and good, they are mostly European style fire trucks and what I really need is a North American style fire truck for my Not Lego city.  

Luckily there's quite a few fire truck MOCs on Aliexpress, and mostly 8 stud wide trucks, however I've decided I want all the vehicles in my city to be only 6 studs wide.  So that narrows the choices of fire trucks I can find on Aliexpress.  There was one model that caught my eye, it was listed as MOC-156284.

It just happened to be towards the end of the  Aliexpress 11.11 sale, and there were some special discount coupons being offered up, so I was able to buy it for just under $22 CDN.  When I last checked the item is now sold out by the vendor, although the fire truck is still being  sold by other Aliexpress vendors at differing price points.

It took about two weeks for the Fire Truck to arrive via Aliexpress, so not bad in terms of shipping.

The parts arrived in a blue zipper bag, which then yielded another ziplock bag.  That ziplock bag contained three more ziplock bags, none of which were numbered.

The instructions were printed on a sheet of paper, back and front and were ridiculously small.  I think one would need a magnifying glass to read each step.  Fortunately, the package included a QR code which when scanned provided instructions in PDF format which could be downloaded.

Alright, so I just opened all of the bags and sorted the parts by colour.  According to the listing, there are 422 pieces.  Ok, let's build!

And it's done!  It's a fairly decently designed model and looks very nice.  However, when I placed it next to my other fire trucks, it felt kind of small, even though all of them were 6 studs wide.  I think the length of the model is alright, but the truck doesn't feel tall enough.

I also didn't like the white wheels that came with the truck so I swapped in a set of gray spoke wheels instead.

There's still quite a nice bit of detail on this fire truck though.

Lots of emergency lights in the back.

Nice view of the front of the cab. The mirrors and door handles are a nice touch.

Firefighting equipment and tools can be found in the four opening storage units.

Up top, there is the directional nozzle for the simulated water hoses.

One thing I forgot to take pictures of while I was building, was the cab's interior. It consists of a steering wheel and 4 seats.  I tried to place a minifigure inside the cab, but there wasn't enough headroom for him to sit properly.  The model's design doesn't allow for the roof to come off.

So I added a row of flat bricks and voila, we now have a removable canopy.  At best, we can only fit two firefighters into the narrow cabin, one behind the other, and for them to be placed inside, you have to remove the minifigure's legs.

(image source: https://ebhfd.wordpress.com/about/)

In researching real fire engines on the internet, I came across some pics of fire trucks with their cabs tilted up for engine access. How cool is that?   And then I figured someone already did this to one of their Lego fire trucks, so I searched. and searched, and came up with nothing.  Zip, zero, nada.   If anyone reading this knows of  somebody that tilted their fire engine cabin, I'd love to see how they did theirs.

So here's mine!

The pole is just temporary to hold up the cab.

Obviously I couldn't fit a diesel engine in such a small space, so maybe the fire truck is electrified and underneath is the battery pack.

If you look closely, I had to redesign the entire front of the cab to allow for hinge placement.  There you have it,  hopefully anyone who is searching one day for a Lego fire truck with tilting cabin, will end up on this blog post!

Please let me know what you think of my fire truck mods!  Thanks for looking!   Bye