Sheng Yuan SY252 Charlie IX and Dodomo Minifigures (not Lego)

Hi there and welcome back to bricksandfigs.blogspot.com, where I review minifigures and MOCs from my not Lego collection.   Don't forget to check out my latest set review post on Its-Not-Lego.blogspot.com, if you are new here.

Today, I'm reviewing an obscure set by Sheng Yuan. It's SY252 Charlie IX and Dodomo.  I think I got this set way back in 2014.  I bought the set off ebay because it was decently priced and each minifigure came with a nice assortment of accessories.

I had to do a search on Charlie IX and Dodomo to find out more information about this character.  Apparently Dodomo is an awkward student detective.  His dog's name is Charlie IX.  He is China's equivalent of Harry Potter.  There's a series of fantasy books about Dodomo and his royal dog.

Sheng Yuan put out this six mini figure set SY252 due to the popularity in China.  Unfortunately, I haven't dug up any more information about the other characters in this set.  The boy above seems to be quite active in sports. He comes with a soccer ball, goal and a skateboard.

This guy must be a computer nerd or someone intellectual.  He comes with a newspaper, laptop, mug and an umbrella.  Maybe a father figure?

Is this figure the mom?  She's got an apron and cooking utensils.

This figure likes animals a lot and perhaps she's the little sister?   Looks like she has a hedgehog and owl as pets.

Not sure who this guy is, but he's ready for bedtime as he is dressed in pajamas.  He has a side table with book.  Not sure about the squirrels significance.

The figures in this set are near Lego quality.  They all have individual hair pieces and outfits.  Print and colour is nice.  I like this set.  Just not sure why the set isn't called Dodomo and Charlie IX.  Why does the dog get top billing?  If you know anything about this character set please let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for visiting!

Sheng Yuan SY252 Charlie IX minifigure set.

Number of minifigures: 6.

Price paid:  $3.25 USD (won bid)

Bought from: Ebay

I made a Taco Shop Modular Building using not Lego bricks

Happy September brick fans!  Welcome back to another episode of Bricks and Figs, my blog about minifigures and MOCs.  If you want to see my latest not Lego set builds, please check out my other blog Its-Not-Lego.  Today, I'd like to share with you this Taco shop that I made using not Lego bricks.

The inspiration to make a taco shop came from some of the minifigures in my collection.  

I have a few minifigures dressed up like peppers, some mexican attired minifigures and even some masked wrestler minifigures which  I wanted to showcase in a common venue.

And the taco shop was born.  It's a two storey modular building that occupies a 16x32 baseplate.  It's got the obligatory sidewalk and street light that is standard with most modular builds.  The roof has a surprise feature!  Later, we will look at each floor and the rooftop in greater detail.

The Exterior (Front)

I'm quite pleased with the way my Taco sign turned out even though it's not as nice as the other Lego style ones I've seen on the internet and Youtube. 

The front of the taco shop is clad in masonry bricks, green on the lower floor and brown on the upper.  I buy my masonry bricks in 100 piece lots on Aliexpress.

Main floor Interior

With the top floors removed, we can take a look at the main floor interior.  I used red and green as the contrasting colour in the floors and walls and the yellow as an accent colour.  Got a staircase that leads to the second floor.  Added some details like the clock and broom.

Here's a different view of the first floor layout.  There's the seating area with the menu on the wall.  The prep area behind the cash counter is where the tacos are assembled.  There are different compartments for the beef, cheese, avocado and tomatoes.  

I also added a drink dispenser with three kinds of soft drinks and cups above the machine.   Both the food prep station and the drinks dispenser were inspired by Bevin's Bricks taco bell custom modular building.

Here's another view of the downstairs before we head to the second floor. At the moment, we have one employee manning the cash register at the taco store and one customer downstairs.

Second Floor Interior

The second floor is actually a lot smaller than the first floor but gets a lot of light because of the big bay window in the back.  As you come up the stairs, there is a small landing with white and yellow railings.  The floor tile green and red colour scheme is continued here.  There are two more seating areas consisting of more yellow tables and chairs.  I added some minifigures to the second floor.

Here's another view of the second floor layout.

The Exterior (Rear)

If there's one colour of alternate brand bricks I prefer not to use, it's red. There are so many colour variations across the different brick brands.  Sluban brand red bricks are the worst because it's a much darker shade of red than the other knockoff brands.  My building has a mishmash of red bricks.  

Block Tech makes the bay window, but the window glass doesn't stay in.  I might have to glue it down to make it stay.  I placed an awning right across the back to cover the bay window.  I'll probably add some garbage cans and bins to the back.

Just another view.

Rooftop

In order to showcase my masked wrestler minifigures, I put a red floor on the rooftop. It kind of looks like a wrestling ring.  It's actually a fenced off terrace.

I hung up some heads to celebrate Dia de Muertos, Mexico's November holiday.

I added a few other minifigures, maybe it's like tag team or doubles wrestling.

Last Looks

Here's a few more views of the completed Taco shop.  I paired it with my other brown modular next door, but that building is still a work in progress.

Thanks for checking out my Taco shop custom modular building!  Let me know what you think in the comment section below.  See you next time.

Parts came in for my not Lego Jerac Tie Bomber - Update

Hey all!  Welcome back to my Bricks and Figs blog where I show you my latest minifigures, mods and MOCs.  Today, I wanted to give you an update on my not Lego Jerac's custom Tie Bomber MOC 13952.   A couple of weeks ago, I posted my fixes to the address the poor brick clutch of the model.   As you can see from the picture above, I still had issues with wrong colour body panels as well as missing hinge parts for the engine cowling corners.

I'm pleased to report that the extra parts I ordered from Aliexpress finally arrived and I was able to replace the deficient panels and hinges.   Here's how the ship looks now.  The only thing I still need to replace is the cockpit windscreen (I'm using the round skylight from the Sanctum Santorum set, temporarily).

Here's the overhead view and you can see there's no visible off-colour body panels.

This view is the underside of the TIE bomber.
 There were eleven panels that were dark gray instead of light gray.  I ended up ordering 10 pieces of the light gray panels for $1.  As a result, I have one panel that is still dark gray that hasn't been replaced.  The pic above shows where it is.

 Finally, here is how the rear of the ship looks after replacing all the hinges on the corners where the fuselage meets the engines.   The hinges cost me about $2 for 20 hinges, so the total cost of the fixes for the TIE bomber was around $3 shipped.


Here's the link for the parts I used.  They were the cheapest I could find off Aliexpress, but if you see a better deal, go for it.

Two piece hinge (set of 10).  https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_dSixodA

Light gray curved panels (set of 10).  https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_dXI0T7e

Well, that's it, just a short little post to let you know that I've fixed most of the issues with not Lego version of Jerac's TIE Bomber.  Thanks for looking!

If you are interested in getting the not Lego set of Jerac's Tie Bomber from Aliexpress, please follow the link below.

AliExpress.com Product - 1494Pcs DIY MOC TIE Bomber Small Particle Building Block Model Compatible Legged 13952