Japanese Street View Izakaya Shop Mini Building Blocks, MOC Creative Model Set, 809 PCS Simulation Architecture Construction Toy (Not Compatible with Lego Japanese Blocks)

This was a lot of fun, definitely challenging. Originally, based on the description, I bought this to do with my 6 year old, but that dream died as soon as I opened the box and saw the pieces and the instruction sheet. (We do regular lego sets together no problem) I think this would be frustrating for the average 6 year old because the pieces are so small that as you are building the whole thing often just crumbles in your hand and you have to re-do things you have done like 6 steps ago. I'd say probly 12 and up is a safer age range. You need to trouble shoot along the way to compensate for random leaning and things like how is this flag supposed to stay in this spot if it falls out one more time i'm setting it on fire (use one of the small circle things or flower things)As for my own personal journey with this set: it took me about 8 hours spaced over 2 days around 4hrs a day. The instructions are really clear, all pictograms just like the regular lego. The only place those got a little odd is with the neutral colors. It was sometimes difficult to tell the difference between taupe and tan and gold. (I'm not kidding). After finishing the bottom floor as I was putting the pieces of the second story on, I started to notice there seemed to be pieces missing from side areas which made gaps. I went back and reviewed the instructions for those areas but I hadn't missed a step or any pieces. I ended up leaving the gaps until I was finished with the entire structure since they weren't causing any issues holding the second story on. I also noticed that as I got closer to the finish line, I was missing small circle pieces. Luckily there are 900 pieces that are all the same shape just different colors so I fudged it. Once I was completely finished, I went back to the gaps and used the left over pieces to fill them in. Besides some smaller pieces missing, the doll's apron was missing, but as a consolation prize I got a mystery piece that looks like a piece you'd build a launching lever with. It is not a part of this set so somewhere out there someone is holding a small apron and looking for the launcher. I also got creative with some of the flower and vine things because they wouldn't stay where they were supposed to go. Lastly, the octopus was much easier to construct than I expected.Pictures:1-Structure next to a lego friends girl for size comparison2-Structure next to regular school glue for size comparison3-Side view while closed4-Front view while closed5-Other side view while closed6-Slightly open7-Open front view so you can see how one side lifts up and leans back8-The small black square is from this set next to the brown square from a lego set - size comparisonTakeaway - yes, i'd recommend this set. i have the cat one which im going to do next. i'd buy more of these for sureEdit:I finished the cat one, and there were missing pieces, notably one of the cat eyes. There were enough pieces to complete the building but, like the other set, I ran out of the correct colors and some of the instructions were missing additional information like a portion needing four blocks but it only says to put three. I cannot stress enough that to enjoy these you really have to have patience and the ability to go with the flow and trouble shoot.

Building this set was a lot of fun. The instructions were clear and there were no missing pieces. The size of these micro sets makes them challenging for me, the small pieces take a while to find and assemble. I worked on this for a week or so and was very happy that it lasted that long. The look of the end product is very cute, like a ramshackle country pig farm and butcher shop. I would definitely get this as a gift.

I just finished the Noodle Shop (the, um, river snail noodle shop), which was my sixth and last in this specific series of street view shops that hinge open. I have enjoyed all of these kits, knowing what I was getting myself into and being blow away by the detail. However...Both this kit and the Lemon Tea shop have a different style of stickers from the other four kits in the series. IN these two sets, the stickers are more like transfers: they have a clear film over them that lifts the decal and then you place it on the piece and pull the film off. Annoying, although it looks good on windows and such. The problem is, you rarely, if ever, get a second chance at placing them, and the decals themselves are fragile. They also like to pop off the sticker sheet when you are getting a diferent sticker, and if they land anywhere on that sheet than the blank space they came from, kiss that decal good-bye, because it will stick to the clear film FOREVER. The instructions in the Noodle Shop are also the least clear, with very few of the sticker numbers noted, which left me guessing which sticker to use in several cases (and often guessing wrong). Again: patience!These last two sets were also the only two where I had missing pieces, and, sadly, the Noodle Shop is the only one where I was missing a piece that is not only distinctive, but right on the front of one of the signs. Oh well. As my wife says, no one will even notice but me.That having been said, these are all fantastically detailed, but definitely not for young kids. Switching back to the market-leading brand, those bricks feel a little oversized now!

Pros- nice packaging, no missing pieces, came as advertised and came with a little block remover tool that sorta works. Instructions were pretty clear and colored. End result was cute.Cons- coloring on the instructions made it a little hard to tell the difference between some of the small brown pieces if you don’t pre sort, pieces are bagged into groups but not based on step- likely based on some kind of manufacturing sorting. Instructions were on a giant fold out sheet on both back and front instead of a booklet.Notes: not LEGO. It is a micro set, they are small pieces. I don’t think it’s appropriate for the avg 6year old. pieces are difficult to adjust if you mess up. This is a nice micro set to start on as it can be completed in a reasonable time frame but in no way would I recommend for a child doing this for the first time.