I completely rebuilt the JMBricklayer Coffee Shop

 

Hi brick fans!  I'm back with another MOC, this time I've rebuilt the JMBricklayer Coffee shop 21102.  I reviewed the original set here on my other blog Its-Not-Lego.

I placed the original completed Coffee Shop in my not Lego city just to see how it looks.  Um, yeah let's see what we can do.

Ok, here's the newly revised Coffee Shop which I have basically rebuilt from the ground up.  The first thing you will notice is the raised baseplate on a standard 16x32 stud footprint.   This meant that I had to completely destroy the original folding baseplate that let you open the interior for display.

Next you will notice the large and colourful tree, which was originally located inside has been moved to the outside.  

The front door has been replaced and the height of the building has been significantly lowered to reflect the minifig scale.  Flanking the entrance door on either side are some potted plants that used to sit in the previous and now defunct plant stand.

Here's the side profile, where you can better see how the sloped roof has been reconfigured and relocated to the rear of the coffee shop.  I've used whitish bricks for the walls from a number of alt Lego brands, so unfortunately their colours don't always match.

The original masonry bricks have been salvaged and will be reused in a future building.

Yeah, the white bricks look really bad here, sorry.

Moving to the rear of the shop, it has been completely revamped with glass instead of brick.   You will notice that the slanted roof now has new window glass which was not in the original set.

Just another view of the back.

With the new windows, one can see the seating area.

I've reconfigured the roof and it is now comprised of three sections.  The white roof sits directly over the front of the coffee shop.  The new widened roof still features the original skylight, but now it has been centered into the roof and the previously exposed studs are now covered.

The black sloping roof was redesigned to come off, yet still hold the dark nougat roof panel securely in place.  The angle of the slope has not changed too much.

The dark nougat roof panel has been widened to 16 studs in width and sports glass panes in all the windows as previously mentioned.

Looking down into the seating area, with roof removed.

With all roof panels removed, here is the full view of the coffee shop interior.  I really had to scrounge through my spare parts to find all the dark nougat tiles that I used for the flooring.  I had to get a bit creative in laying out the tiles based on what was available, (mostly 2x2 and 1x2 tiles), but also I also had to judiciously use the tiles with the single stud to mount my tables and chairs.

The entire coffee station was preserved and moved into the new building layout.  The only thing that didn't make it was the upper shelf where the sign is currently sitting.

Betty the barista is back behind the counter.   I've added a lot more minifigures to the coffee shop to fill up the extra space.

The clock and the record player have found their way back into the coffee shop.  There's a new cabinet for baked goods that didn't exist before.

Here's another view of the coffee shop looking out the front.  I've offset the front door so that the traffic flow comes naturally into the aisle.

Looking towards the rear of the coffee shop.  The laddered element was a bit of architectural detail I wanted to preserve from the original shop.  Before it was on the exterior but I moved it inside to help define the seating area from the serving area.

I replaced the legacy long table with three smaller tables with accompanying chairs in the seating area.

I managed to save two of the three pieces of wall art in the new shop, but unfortunately couldn't find space for the OG air conditioner.

Oh, before I forget, I want to mention the Coffe Home shop sign.  As you know the spelling is incorrect and it would be naturally expected that I remove or replace the sign with the correct wording.  

But then it occurred to me that I would be placing the coffee shop with all of my other Japanese shops, and I thought what if the shopkeeper didn't have a proper command of the english language and inadvertently spelt the sign wrong.  

I've actually seen some gibberish English signage on some storefronts in my past trips to Japan and China.  So, instead of replacing the signage, I thought I would keep it exactly as it was, just to acknowledge that maybe there was some kind of language barrier.  I think that in the end, it kind of gives the shop some extra character that is unique and differentiates it from my other buildings.

I hope you've enjoyed the tour of the rebuilt JMBricklayer Coffee Shop.  Let me know what you think of the redesign.  Do you like the new version or prefer the original design?  Let me know in the comments below!

Last pic with the revamped Coffee shop nestled amidst my other Japanese themed buildings.

Don't forget you can get the JMBricklayer Coffee shop 21102 (in it's original form, of course) at the JMBricklayer shop or their Amazon store.  And don't forget to use my code ITSNOTLEGO15 to save an extra 15% off their online store purchases (non sale items only).

Thanks and have a great day!  Bye!

Review of the JMBricklayer Medieval Observation Tower 30105

Intro

Today I'll be reviewing the Medieval themed JMBricklayer Observation Tower building block set.  It is a Lego compatible building block set which has over three thousand pieces.  

This will be my second medieval themed set as I also have the JMBricklayer Ancient 3-in-1 Weapon which I reviewed not too long ago. You can find that review here.  In fact, JMBricklayer has eight different medieval themed sets for you to choose from on their website. Please go and check them out if you get a chance.

Huge thanks go out to JMBricklayer.com for providing this set to me for my review! 

The Details

• Brand: JMBricklayer
• Set Name and Number: Medieval Town Observation Tower 30105
• Number of Pieces: 3061+
• Numbered bags: Yes
• Minifigures: No
• Missing or deformed pieces: No
• Extra pieces: Yes
• Stickers or Printed parts: Printed
• Age Rating: 14+

Where to get it

Here's a screenshot of the Medieval Observation Tower set from the JMBricklayer website store with the current pricing in USD of $119.  That's an excellent price for so such a large set.  They offer fast and free worldwide shipping and provide replacement parts for missing or damaged pieces.  You can contact them either through their online store or their Facebook page for queries or support.

Save 15% on all your purchases from the JMBricklayer store by using code ITSNOTLEGO15%!

Unboxing

JMBricklayer were very kind to send me the large boxed set depicting the Medieval tower on a matte black background.  As the box indicates, the set is rated for ages 14+  and has 3061 pieces.

Inside the box of the JMBricklayer Medieval Observation Tower set, we find the instruction manual and several numbered bags of parts.  The numbering of the parts bags corresponds to each section of the build and in this case there are 5 different sections.

The JMBricklayer model 30105 looks to be a rebrand of the Urge Medieval Guard Tower set based on the set number on the manual and the parts bags which say 50106.  If you search brick4.com for set 50106, it will say that the observation tower set is from Mork, not Urge.  All quite confusing.

Here are the five different sections of the build as outlined in the instruction manual.

• section 1 has 13 bags of parts to build the base and the farmhouse
• section 2 has 10 bags to build the horse stable and staircase
• section 3 has 11 bags to build the farmhouse upper level and roof
• section 4 has 12 bags to build the lower part of the watch tower
• section 5 has 11 bags to build the upper part of the watch tower, observation deck, and roof.

There are also two additional un numbered bags; one containing baseplates, a horse, a brick separator and another bag of extra pieces.

There are some wooden planks and shield parts that are printed as well as a fish tile that is also printed. No stickers, yay!

In total, there are 59 bags in this set.

Parts bags for sections 1 and 2.

Parts bags for sections 3 and 4.

Parts bags for section 5, baseplates, brick separator, and extra pieces.  Ok, let's build this thing!

Build Pics

From section 1, here's the base and some interior shots of the farmhouse.

Some exterior shots as well.  Lots of stone foundation details, and I like the torches too. Plenty of windows for good air circulation.  The staircase is nice and sturdy.  On to section 2 ...

The horse stable gets added as well as some more exterior details.  Inside the stable is a trough for water.  Gotta keep the steed well hydrated. The covered roof looks good.

The minifigs don't come with the set, but I couldn't wait to add some of my own to see if the medieval tower was minifig scale or not.  The guard just might have to duck his head to get through the front door.  The doorways could be taller to accommodate guard helmets in my opinion.

Around back, there's a rear entrance and the makings of another staircase to the second level.  Decent height for the back entrance.  Check out the vermin that lives under the stairs.  Section 3 awaits ...

On the second floor of the farmhouse, we find a barrel of swords and a table and stool.  On the table, there is a brush and what looks to be a picture of a fish.  Is one of the tower guards artistically inclined?  In lieu of the table, the placement of some cots for the soldiers would be better suited, methinks.

The roof pieces are now ready to be assembled.

This vantage point of the farmhouse looks perfect.

This side not so much.  This is the side where the observation tower will be built. It's too bad that the tower and farmhouse couldn't be separate, stand alone buildings.  I would have loved to see each being displayed on their own.  The tower build continues in section 4.

In section 4, this level of the tower has a cache of weapons and it can be accessed via the passageway to the farmhouse or from the outside staircase.  From here, the tower guards can climb up the ladder to the next level.

Section 4 builds not one but two levels of the watch tower. Here's another level with a wrap around staircase and flag pole.

Tower guards can continue to ascend the tower from the inside ladders or from the exterior stairs.  Weapons can be found readily at every level.

Whoa, the tower looks massive, but we aren't done yet!   Let's move on to section 5!

Section 5 completes the top of the observation tower.  There's a large lookout platform and a crossbow that can actually be turned using the gray knob.  It's a neat play feature.  Just need to make sure you don't take out any of the guards when you turn the crossbow!

With the final section built, we just need to finish assembling the tower.

And here it is from every angle!  It looks absolutely stunning!

Gallery

Once you have finished building the observation tower, the set looks fantastic from every angle, no matter which side you look at it from.  I found that I couldn't stop taking so many pictures of the observation tower.

Quick Recap

The building is rich with details, for example,  the small horse stable, complete with carrot and pail.  There's lots of weapons such as spears and axes scattered throughout the inside and outside of the building.  

On the ground level, there is a village farmhouse and stable that has been converted into a military outpost.  The interior of the farmhouse is used to store armament such as weapons and armour, complete with interior passage ways to get to various levels. I really like the beige walls and brown timber accents used.  The blue, black and dark blue roof tiles provide an excellent contrast.

The adjoining watchtower rises over the farmhouse and looks like it might have been constructed at a later date, with it's gray stone foundation. The winding staircase on the exterior wall leads to the five different levels of the tower.  Soldiers can quickly traverse all the levels using ladders on the inside as well.

High atop of the tower is an expansive lookout that provides a strategic vantage point.  There's lots of room for guards and archers.  As mentioned during the building phase, one of the cool play features of this set is the rotating crossbow that is operated by a knob on the side of the tower.

Pros and Cons

Frankly, I cannot find any fault with the look and feel of this set.  The observation tower simply looks amazing.  The size and height of the observation tower impressed me and the clutch, quality of bricks used and the colours were all excellent.  I think it makes a great display model.

Despite this set being a rebrand of the Urge 50106 set, I was disappointed that it didn't come with the four minifigures that are included in the Urge set.  

Interior wise, I would have replaced the small table and stool on the upper floor of the farmhouse with cots or bunks for the guards.  

Structurally, the farmhouse and tower held together really well, but I didn't like the semi circles attached to the baseplate in front of the doorways.  If you try to move this set around, those particular pieces might fall off so I would recommend adding additional baseplates underneath for support.

I happened to have two spare 32x32 baseplates around, so I placed them under the observation tower and farmhouse to make it easier to carry.  You could probably just use one 16x32 baseplate and one 32x32 baseplate also.

Summary and Rating

The medieval observation tower is an impressive set and would make a nice central focal point for any medieval village display.  This was my first medieval village building set but I'm now wanting to add a few more medieval style buildings to my collection.  Because this set was lacking minifigures, I would recommend adding your own medieval themed figures. Medieval minifigures can be readily obtained individually or in lots from Aliexpress.

I would have given the JMBricklayer Medieval Observation Tower set a perfect score, except that it didn't come with the minifigures that Urge provides in their set and the base of the set could have been better supported.  My rating is therefore adjusted to 4.8 out of 5.  Other than that, it's a fantastic set!  You really have to build it and see for yourself.

Don't forget to save 15% on all your purchases from the JMBricklayer store by using code ITSNOTLEGO15%!