Bricks And Figures: December 2024

Hey brick fans!

I posted my custom FunWhole Chili Dog stand on the FunWhole Facebook group page and it got a great response, thank you! Some of the members asked if I had instructions for the Chili Dog stand, but unfortunately I have no skill in using the software that makes the instructions.

Instead, I'll just try to post as many pictures as needed so that people can get a detailed look at the setup and hopefully can copy some of the techniques and ideas I used to create the Chili Dog stand from the original FunWhole Chili Dog trailer set. Here's the review of the original set: https://its-not-lego.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-funwhole-free-gift-chili-dog.html in case you missed it.

So let's get right into it!

After building the Chili Dog Trailer, I knew that it wouldn't quite fit into my city layout. All of the other modular buildings in my city sit on a baseplate, either 16x32 studs or 32x32 studs in size.

It occurred to me that the trailer could be converted into a building and would fit nicely onto a 16x32 baseplate. It's original width is about 12 studs wide, so I had plenty of room to play with.

Depth was not an issue as it's only 9 studs deep (8 plus the 1 stud ledge protruding from the front window).

There were of a number of issues that I wanted to address with the original set. The first was that I didn't really like the umbrella and chain that were clipped to the front. I discarded the chain and thought that the umbrella would look better stand-alone.

In fact, the umbrella looks much better installed onto the condiment table that comes with the set, so I stuck it there.

The other issue I had with the Chili Dog trailer is that the window is way too high for the minifigure height. To scale, the counter or ledge of the trailer would be about 4 to 5 feet high. I wanted to bring the window down to at least waist level height for the minifigures.

So the first thing I did was to remove the base and wheels of the trailer. Converting the trailer to stand/building meant that it needed a foundation, so first I needed to put it on a baseplate, opting for a 16x32 footprint. In order to display minifigures with the stand, I wanted enough space in the front to accommodate not only them but also for the condiment table.

I set the stand back approximately 11 studs from the front edge. Oh BTW, my standard for any new modular buildings that go into my not Lego city means they must all sit on a raised baseplate. If you want to know more about how I make them, here's the link to that little tutorial: https://bricksandfigs.blogspot.com/2024/08/how-i-make-raised-baseplates-for-my.html

After placing the stand I decided to make it 14 studs wide, allowing for 1 stud for spacing on either side.

I decided that the optimal height for a counter would be about 2 bricks high, so this is where I used dark gray masonary bricks. The original set has a white counter protrusion, so I figured I would just continue with a white strip all the way around the building.

As you can see the original window design has been retained, as well as the signage. I reversed the location of the two signboards, putting the smaller one on the right side. The larger sign originally hung off the side of the trailer, but I wanted to incorporate it onto the building to balance out the signs. It's attached using a snot (studs not on top) brick.

Since the original colour of the trailer was burgundy red, I decided to retain the colour scheme, however my selection of extra burgundy bricks was limited, so I knew I couldn't make the chili dog stand extra deep nor put another level on top. What I did have was a lot of sloped bricks, so that's how the roof design came about. If you want to create your own, you could simply just do a square and flat roof and that would do nicely as well. If I didn't have the burgundy bricks, I might have used light gray or white bricks for the building walls instead.

Here's the profile of the Chili Dog stand. I created an overhang just to give it some detail in the front. I've incorporated the A/C unit from the trailer set and placed it into the roofline. The white windows were reused on both sides of the building, but only one has glazing in it.

I used a 1 brick height band of white around the top just to break up all of the burgundy red.

The trailer door and the big printed sign that says Sizzle On! Breads was also transferred from the Chili Dog trailer to the stand. Note that the spotlight, which was originally located on the front of the trailer has now moved to the back of the stand, to light up the rear entrance.

One could probably use all of the spare white tiles that come with the trailer to cover the roof. I opted to go with burgundy tiles, while using the printed 4x4 piece from the set for the roof. Vent details were also kept, except for the small skylight. The ladder has been mounted on the rear of the building to provide roof access.

The roof comes off as one unit to provide access to the interior. I tried to keep most of the trailer's interior details as well, such as the sink, counter, grill and cooktop hood. I might add some extra stuff later like a cooler for drinks, which I could place by the unoccupied space of one of the windows.

You'll notice I placed some skateboard ramps to the back. I wanted to carry over some of the details from the FunWhole Skate shop which is the second set in the Street Fusion series (the Chili Dog trailer being the first). I hope to have a review of the FunWhole Skate shop out soon!

Now that we've examined the structure, let's talk about the lighting.

The Chili Dog trailer set comes with three key lighting elements. The street lamp, the spotlight and the interior light. As per my review of the Chili Dog trailer set, the street lamp is a separate display accessory that includes a signboard, a trashcan and a rat. One of the lighting components used is a wireless light adapter.

Initially I had the adapter at ground level just like the original display, but I found the wiring distracting, so I later moved it and incorporated it into the building structure instead. The streetlamp is now part of the baseplate, as well as the little signboard that reads "Original Favor". The trashcan as shown earlier is now placed at the back of the building.

The streetlamp wire feeds into the building. Interior lighting stays pretty much the same, and you can see the wiring for the spotlight. There's just enough length that I can reach the back, but not enough that I could run it against the interior wall. As mentioned previously, the wireless adapter is fitted into the building. The USB plug leads runs back out the side.

Here's that side view again paying particular attention to the wiring.

This picture shows the underside of the roof.

The Chili Dog sign is attached via a snot brick replacing the silver pipe attachment from the trailer (but you could still incorporate it back into your own building).

What I discarded from the original trailer set: The propane tank, the ghetto blaster, the wheels, the chain, trailer hitch and the HotDog and lightning bolt wording.

I hope the pictures will help you and inspire you to create your very own Chili Dog stand if that's what your goal is. Was there anything I missed? Let me know in the comments! Enjoy the build!