How I Redesigned the Lumibricks Bodega 19017

 

Welcome back, brick fans! Today, I am excited to show you how I took the original 618-piece Lumibricks Bodega set and completely transformed it into a custom modular building.

Before we look at the modifications, here is a quick reminder of what the original Bodega set looked like right out of the box. The storefront featured the vibrant "Papi's Grocery Store" sign alongside a fantastic collection of street-level details, including an ATM and a corner entrance. 

On the side of the building, you'll find a deli window, specialized signage, and a detailed menu. 

If you want to check out my comprehensive thoughts on the unedited build, you can read my full review of the Lumibricks Bodega here: its-not-lego.blogspot.com/2026/08/why-lumibricks-bodega-26-is-must-have.html.

For this modification, I decided to restrict my custom Bodega to a width of 16 studs so it could sit perfectly next to my custom Lumibricks Newsstand modular building. (You can see how I highlighted that updated Newsstand project here: bricksandfigs.blogspot.com/2024/12/welcome-to-my-custom-funwhole-newsstand.html). Side-by-side, both buildings seamlessly share a single 32x32 stud baseplate.

Step 1: The Exterior Shell

The process began by constructing the building's exterior walls while keeping the front and back fully open for accessibility. 

To ensure the overhead clearance was exactly right, I did a test fit with the original "Papi's Grocery" sign. 

On the inside, I laid down long tiled pieces across the floor and secured a long plate across the top structure—this is where I mount the interior LED light strip. 

Step 2: Refining the Storefront

Next, I built two structural pillars using 1x2 wine-coloured masonry bricks, anchoring the ATM machine directly onto one of them. 

For the entrance, I swapped out the original corner door frame in favour of a regular door frame. I also managed to replicate the set's signature removable front window feature for my custom version, though I reduced its width slightly to fit the new 16-stud footprint.

Step 3: Designing the Pull-Out Interior

Because I felt the original interior layout left room for improvement, I decided to engineer a self-contained, pull-out tray. This removable tray houses its own floor, walls, and all the store's extra detailed fixtures.

Inside, you'll find a dedicated counter area positioned at the rear of the store right next to a convenient back door, complete with a security camera mounted overhead.  The Bodega now has a lot more product offerings.

 I made sure to preserve some of the best elements from the official Lumibricks set, including portions of the original tiled flooring, the store fixtures, and the cooler fridge. However, I did make one small aesthetic tweak: replacing the set's digital clock with a classic analog clock face.

The entire interior tray smoothly slides right into the main building structure, thanks to those tile pieces I added initially. To make access completely effortless, I added a small, discrete handle on the back wall so the tray can be pulled out in seconds.

Step 4: The Upper Floors

To complete the multi-story modular look, I repurposed the upper two floors from a modular building I previously used in my custom Starbucks build. If you want to see where those pieces originally came from, you can check out that older project here: bricksandfigs.blogspot.com/2019/10/custom-modular-building-using-hsanhe.html.

As of right now, the upper floors are empty shells, but I plan to fully furnish their interiors in an upcoming project!

I didn't want the extra printed pieces to go to waste, so ....

Papi got a new mobile Deli truck!

What do you think of the new modular Bodega layout? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! If you enjoy seeing these custom builds and alternative brick reviews, don't forget to bookmark my blog and subscribe for updates.Thanks for looking, and happy building!

Clone Zone: Reviewing the Retro Classic Spacemen and Spacebabies Set (6B003–6B010)

 

Welcome back, builders and space cadets! Today we are taking a trip into deep space—and down memory lane—with an in-depth look at a highly-discussed custom release making waves in the alternative brick community: the Retro Classic Spacemen and Spacebabies Set (6B003 to 6B010).

If you are an Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL), you know that hunting down every variation of the iconic vintage astronaut is a massive, incredibly expensive treasure hunt. This compatible set aims to deliver a colourful crew along with their miniature counterparts in one fell swoop. Let's see how they stack up against history.

🌌 The Origins: A History of LEGO's Rainbow Corps

To appreciate what this compatible set offers, we have to look back at the 1978 origin of LEGO Classic Space.

When LEGO first introduced the theme, astronauts featured a beautifully simple design: a solid-colour suit, a vintage logo of a rocket ship circling a moon, a visor-less helmet, a separate oxygen tank, and a classic smiley face. Over nearly 50 years, LEGO has trickled out new colors across various sets, collectible minifigure (CMF) series, and books:

The Original Era (1978–1984): White, Red, Yellow, Blue, and Black.
The Modern Expansion: Green (via the Ideas Exo-Suit), Pink, Light Grey, Purple, Orange, and Brown.
Recent Holy Grails: Bright Bluish Green (Teal) and Warm Gold debuted in the Minifigure Vending Machine (2025), while Bright Light Blue appeared in the Arcade Pinball Machine set.

Piecing together a complete authentic 14-color LEGO spectrum requires buying highly specific, retired sets or hunting individual parts on secondary markets, costing hundreds of dollars.

References: 

https://brickset.com/minifigs/category-Space/subcategory-Classic-Space

https://tipsandbricks.com/post/2556-tips-collecting-every-classic-space-minifigure/ (oct 2024)

https://brickcult.com/article/all-lego-classic-space-colors/ (jan 2026)

https://bricksafe.com/files/Aventurium/classic-space-guide/Lego_Space_Minifigures_Guide_2026_1.9.3.pdf (may 2026)

🎨 Official LEGO Colors vs. This Compatible Set 6B003-6B010

The 6B003–6B010 set provides 8 distinct spacemen alongside 8 matching Space Babies. How close do these colours get to the real thing?

Set Designation	Figure Colour	Historical LEGO Equivalence
6B003	Red	Matches the original 1978 release.
6B004	Light Blue	Not quite the 2026 Pinball Machine version, but close
6B005	Purple	Matches the 2022 CMF 22 series variant.
6B006	Green	Matches the 2014 Exo-Suit release
6B007	Black	Matches the 1984 release.
6B008	Yellow	Matches the 1982 release.
6B009	Blue	Matches the 1984 release.
6B010	Orange	Matches the 2020 Lego Minifigure book version.

🔧 Parts Breakdown & Custom Twists

(Refer to my individual parts breakdown photos below!)

When you dump the pieces out, you will notice a few fascinating departures from traditional LEGO design choices:

Double-Sided Heads: Unlike the strictly standard vintage smiley faces, these figures feature double-sided printing with modern, expressive faces. For the most part I prefer the traditional smiley face than the more expressive faces. (See pics above and below).
Arm & Leg Printing: Traditional Classic Space figures are strictly monochrome. This set breaks tradition by introducing sub-printing on the limbs, bringing a slightly upgraded, modern aesthetic to a retro template.
The Space Babies: Every astronaut includes a perfectly colour-matched baby! The space babies have removable helmets, heads, oxygen tanks and hands.  The torso is molded with arms and legs.
Clutch Power and Mold Quality: The helmets emulate the thicker modern chin-strap style (which LEGO introduced after the 1980s thin straps kept cracking). The prints on the torsos are crisp, with the classic gold moon logo well-aligned. The adult helmets have the indents to add a visor.

A view from behind.

Here is the parts breakdown for the spaceman minifigure.

And here is the parts breakdown for the space baby.

Tips for Head Removal

Once the helmet is on the minifigure's head, it can be very difficult to remove. The trick is to find a different minifigure torso with a tighter neck joint and insert it into the stuck head. You may need to test a few different figures to find one with enough friction. Once you successfully pull the head out of the helmet, rotate it to your preferred face, attach the head back onto the spacesuit, and slide the helmet back on.

To remove the spacebaby's helmet, start by detaching the combined head and helmet from the torso. Next, insert a LEGO compatible pistol piece into the bottom of the stuck head to give you enough grip to pull it free from the helmet.

👥 The Final Verdict: 

For around $13USD, which I got from Aliexpress, you get a full, vibrant squadron that looks spectacular on a display shelf.

While scanning through Aliexpress, I also came across this 9 minifigure set that has includes some alternate colours, such as light gray, white and pink.  Based. on the picture, these ones come with matching oxygen tanks but no space babies.

For a real splurge, you can also get this chromed 8 minifigure set on Aliexpress.  These ones come with clear visors attached to their helmets, but they do not appear to have any matching tanks.

While a purist will instantly spot these as Lego compatible clones, the value here is in the instant gratification of a matching adult-and-baby space crew. It is a fantastic, budget-friendly shortcut to filling out a custom lunar base layout or a colourful display stand.

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Which colour in this lineup is your absolute favorite? Drop a comment below!

Thanks for looking, bye!