Today we’re back with another Xingbao original from their China Town Zhong Hua Street View series. This is the Chinese Theatre set, number XB-01020, with 3,820 pieces. XB-01020 Chinese Theatre was released in summer 2018, part of the first wave of releases. Like all Xingbao Chinese buildings, this set has no counterparts from any other brands, though it is built to the same scale as the typical modular building from Lego. For that reason, you can feel perfectly at liberty to mix some Chinese Street View architecture into your city, if it is otherwise comprised of Lego modulars or Lepin clones thereof.

Let’s take a look at the Chinese Theatre. The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s a fairly large building with a sizable footprint, but less usable space inside the building than many others of similar size. It is also only one story, with the main part of the building elevated above ground level. The front of the theatre has a main stage with a porch that juts out from the main portion of the stage, and two staircases down to ground level. I understand that this theatre design is based on traditional Chinese opera house architecture. Behind the stage is a dressing room, complete with a wardrobe, a vanity, chairs, and a pot belly stove to provide heat. Go further back and there are two doors that exit onto a rear balcony. The actors in this opera have room to relax and get ready for their nightly performances.

The details in the windows and walls really looks a lot like traditional Chinese buildings I have seen. The techniques employed definitely evoke a carved hardwood aesthetic, with the squares and rectangles underneath the windows, for example. As with lots of SNOT building techniques, you’ve got to be a bit careful in the assembly as many times a fairly large panel of a wall or window is held in position only by one or two studs, and not in a particularly stable location. But the effect is very attractive.

I had to Kragle these circled bits. They were just too loose otherwise to remain fixed when hoisted into a vertical position.

I really like the detail in the furniture design, but find the chairs a bit large for the mini-figures that are included, and the mini-figure building scale in general. Of course, perfect mini-figure scale doesn’t allow for a lot of detail in chairs. This is seen in many Lego modulars, where mini-figures sit only in single-piece molded chairs, free of any detail. Speaking of which chairs, Xingbao can’t use the same moulded shape as the LEGO chair, as the legs of Xingbao minifigures are just slightly too long to click into the seat bucket. All of Xingbao’s Chinese sets feature furnishings and architectural nods toward ancient China. This is seen in furniture which mimics traditional wooden beds, couches, chairs, and tables. Still, it’s a bit awkward having adult mini-figures who are too short to climb into their own chairs without ladders or a boost from another mini-figure. This is nowhere as evident as it is in the luxury seating in front of the stage. The cheap seats consist of two benches where the less affluent can sit on a plain wooden bench for the duration of the performance. But the guests of honour have their very own fancy carved chairs and table. Because these pieces are all separate to the main building, they do stand out a bit.

In addition to chairs and tables with “carved wood” features, the theatre also presents some highly traditional (and somewhat repetitive) looking rooflines. With flying eaves, dragon finials, and scores and scores of rounded ceramic tile-looking parts, the mostly green and black roof is accented by the custom golden parts and the hanging of multiple red lanterns from the edges of the roof. There are also some custom-printed signs hanging in the eaves of the roof, above the stage. These stickers look nice and go on to the multiple tiles smoothly.

Speaking of signs, the front of the theatre contains a number of printed tiles. These all have high quality printing of Chinese calligraphy, whose meaning is out of my ken. But they all look very lovely and lend the theatre another authentic touch. Along with the printed tiles, all ten of the included mini-figures feature detailed prints. Among the mini-figures are two actors in costume and several theatre-goers. Aside from having to “Kragle” a few bits (see photo above), the only other issues present in this set all concern mini-figures: one white figure was missing a shoulder joint–luckily the spare parts bag had a green shoulder joint I could use. Since the shoulder is so small to begin with, and since it is largely obscured by an armour piece, this was no big deal. The other problem was that two hairpieces are a bit loose and therefore easily fall off the figures’ heads. Because of their hair problems, I thought these two figures would make a good couple–able to commiserate and understand each other like no other minifigs can.

Aside from those minor quibbles, the set had no quality issues. The extra parts number in the scores, ensuring that if something does turn up missing, you’ll likely be able to cope.

This is the second China Town building I’ve made by Xingbao and I remain convinced that this brand is onto something with their original designs. This completed building is highly attractive, with its beautiful traditional Chinese colour scheme. It’s architectural style is a fun break if you’re mostly used to building more common Lego and Lepin designs. As mentioned, there is some repetition as one builds row upon row of roof tiles, but for the most part, there are interesting techniques and clever features throughout the build. I’m glad I chose the Chinese Theatre for my town and recommend it gladly for a little something different.

At 88 USD for 3,820 pieces and 10 mini-figures, the price per piece is attractive: about 2.3¢ per piece US, before shipping (which will vary, of course). Our friends at Building Toy Store are offering a coupon for 10 USD off your order, exclusively for readers of Alt-Blocks, in addition to other discounts on their site. Just go to BuildingToyStore.com using this link, create an account (which gets you a 10% discount), and use coupon code K7CXYREL. You may also find a coupon code on their site for an additional 5% discount.

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