Hsanhe 6410-1 Starbucks Shop Converted to Modular Building (not Lego MOC)

 

The Hsanhe 6410-1 Corner Cafe set was probably my favourite of the six buildings in the Hsanhe Mini Street series, because it captures the Starbucks colour scheme nicely.  In this post, I will show you how I made the Starbucks building grow in size from Short to Grande (see what I did there?).   In case you forget how it looked originally, you can find my post about the Corner Cafe set here.

As with my other Hsanhe building conversions, I wanted to make a building that would fit onto a 16x32 baseplate, all the while retaining the design of the original set.

I was able to achieve building depth by cannabalizing most of the bricks from the Bela Friends Pet Hospital set.   I strategically placed some floor to ceiling windows on the sides of the Corner Cafe building to let more light in.

On this side there is only one window and it is used to add light to the stairwell that goes up to the rooftop terrace.

There is a rear patio which I could probably do a better job of furnishing.  I want to added some more tables and umbrellas to the rear patio.  I took the glass panes out of the frames in the back.

From this view, you are able to look into the Starbucks and you can also see the stairwell.

I didn't want each of my Hsanhe to modular conversions to be all the same, so I have tried to make each building unique in style, yet not deviating too much from the original design of the sets.  For the Starbucks/Corner Cafe, I decided to put a roof top terrace on the roof of the building.  I put railings all around the top so people wouldn't fall off.

The roof top terrace is made up of a seating area and a small stage.  The seating area is comprised of the tables and umbrellas that originally came with the set.  They used to be in the front of the building and I have moved them here instead.    Here you can see a musical couple entertaining the Starbucks patrons.

The minifigures I used warrant a closer look.  I had these minifigures sitting around from the Bozhi bootleg 16 piece set 98060.  I didn't have to do anything with the piano player minifigure, he's just perfect the way he is.  For the singer, I changed her hairstyle to make her an older lady.  I wanted this couple to look like they have a day job and have a nightclub act after hours.

I designed the Corner Cafe rooftop to come off so that you can access the building interior. 

The black blocks that make up the staircase are from Megablocks.

When you come into the Cafe, there is a row of tables and chairs agains the windows.

The barista station is on the other side of the building and fits in nicely next to the staircase.

There's also extra seating for anyone waiting for their order to go.  I like the brick wall a lot.

Another view of the inside of the Starbucks/Corner Cafe.

And here's the finished and modified Corner Cafe with the rest of the Hsanhe buildings I've modified.  This was certainly a very fun update.   I really like how the building depth makes the buildings look so much better.  Let me know if you like this design or what could be improved to make ti better.

Hsanhe 6409-2 Apple Store converted to modular building (not Lego MOC)

 

Yup, I did it again.  I converted another Hsanhe building into a full modular.  This time it's the Hsanhe 6409-2 Apple Store.  It will be the 4th Hsanhe building that I have modified.

This is how the Apple store looked after we built it.   You can find the construction review and pics here.

And here's how the Apple store looks now.  Let's review the changes I made.  I designed the Apple Store so that it only has one brick wall and three walls of windows for lots of visibility.  Well that, plus I don't have a lot of light gray bricks left in my stash either.  To compensate, I used a lot of the windows that come from the Bela Friends sets.

Also, I made the base bigger by adding some more plates.  The base is slightly wider than the standard 16 studs because I wanted to make sure to feature the unique facades on three sides of the building.  

Here's a view where you can see how the building looks from side and rear.  I didn't add any detail to the back of the store.

Yup, pretty plain out back.

Another side view.   From here, you can glimpse the fully detailed interior.

I succumbed to adding the stickers to the set, because otherwise it would have been to too plain.  I made a mistake on the main logo though.  I think I should have used some white bricks instead of black.  You can see that the white from the sticker kind of bleeds through.  It's not a solid white.  Oh well, too late now.

Here's the roof of the Apple Store in closed position.

To ensure structural integrity of the building front, I left a bit of the roof fixed to the building.

The wall shelves that came with the set were relocated to the rear of the building.  I also moved the two cash registers to the back, so that the front of the store is used for product display.

I didn't go too nuts on making a lot of product tables, because it would have been cramped.

I added a small tree to the front and tiled in the sidewalk.

I think it's fitting that one of the Apple store employees has green hair.

Here's the updated Hsanhe Apple Store added to my Lepin modular town.   Hope you have enjoyed the pics.   Until next time, bye bye.

Hsanhe 6410-2 Seven Convenience (7-11) converted to modular building (not Lego MOC)

Last month I reviewed the Hsanhe 6410-2 Seven Convenience Store Modular set.

This is how it looked after I finished building it.

Afterwards, my plan was to make the Seven convenience store a full modular building on a full 16x32 baseplate.  The rest of this post looks at how I modified to make it fit with the rest of my modular town.

The most important feature of the building is the colour scheme and the signage so I wanted to keep that intact.

For the rest of the building, it has been extended by another 12 studs to make it 18 studs deep.

I added a bit of a cornice under the facade and made it removable from the building.

I used window frames from a Bela Friends set but not sure if I might revert back to the original black frames that came with the set.

At the back, we have a door for deliveries, plus I added a light to keep the raccoons away from the garbage can.  You will probably notice that some of the white bricks have turned yellow.  Those ones are MegaBlocks bricks.  They are crappy but until I get some new white bricks, I am forced to use these ones.

Here's the roof top.  It's composed of two removable pieces.

As you saw earlier, the front facade can be totally removed.  Here I have just removed the back portion of the roof, so you can see the store interior.

I kept the checkout counter and added a more shelves with products.

I added a slurpee dispenser.

And a giant fridge for keeping things cold.

Here's a closer look at the Zombie minifigure I re-purposed as store clerk.

Just curious if anyone else out there has modified their Hsanhe sets to make them full modulars.  Please let me know.  Thanks for looking.

Sluban's Hot Dog Cart Building Block Set Review M38-B0565

Hi there, brick fans! I saw this little building block set back in 2016 and thought it might be a nice addition to my modular town. This Hotdog Cart is made by Sluban for its series Town Business Street. The set number is M38-B0565 and it contains 112 pieces.

The instructions for the Sluban Hot dog cart comes on a single two sided page.  This is the first side.

Here's the second part of the instructions.

 The hot dog cart set comes in two separate bags.  There's no stickers that come with this set.

 These are the Hot dog cart building block pieces removed from their bags.

 Sluban mini figures are made differently than Lego mini figures so they aren't compatible at all.

Here's a comparison of the Sluban mini figure versus a Lego compatible mini figure.  The Sluban mini figure actually has more mobility than Lego.  It's head can tilt side to side and it's hands can rotate in different directions.  The torso can also turn left and right.

 This Sluban set consists of one mini figure, a red scooter and a hot dog cart with an assortment of foods.  Despite it being a hot dog cart, the only things sold are buns and sandwiches.  There 2 green beverage bottles too.

The scooter can attach and detach from the the cart.  The cart carries two goblets and has tables that flip up on either side for serving food.

Here's the back view, but I'm not sure what the attachments are supposed to be.  To the right of the cart, you can see that you get a lot of extra parts that are leftover from the build.

 You get two sandwiches and a large assortment of buns.

Our vendor mini figure has setup his hot dog on a busy street in town.   But he doesn't look too happy that nobody wants to buy his sandwich.

This set only cost me about $2 back in 2016, but now seven years later is costs $7 CDN.  Do you think it's still worth it?   Let me know!

Brand:  Sluban
Series: Town Business Street
Model: M38-B0565 Hot Dog cart
Number of pieces: 112 with lots of extra parts