Butchers's Shop LEGO Ideas Project Review

Overview
This project is a butcher's shop created by Lightningtiger, where citizens of any LEGO town can come to purchase meat to fill their plastic stomachs. It is one of the many town themed projects that Lightningtiger has created and is based off of a real butcher's shop in Australia.

Appeals of this Project
Looking at the front of the building, the Butcher's Shop has some really nice features. The change in texture from the bottom third to the top section adds a nice contrast with the all white structure. I really like how the SNOT technique is used to create the dark red border around the front window, adding some contrast to the color of the building, and then again using a SNOT technique at the top to create the awning. The sign to the right of the door, advertising the various types of meat that are available for purchase makes good use of that narrow space and adds a nice touch.

Moving inside, the shop is full of the necessities that every butcher needs, from display counter, to a meat scale, and even a slicer. I really like how the inside surface of the display counter is slanted under the "glass" top, and the meat scale and meat slicer are very simple, yet still look realistic. The tile pattern really adds to the feel of a building that has been around for awhile, and the fact that the interior is not too crowded just adds to that old building feel when things were much simpler, not to mention the benefit of making playability much easier by allowing room for hands to get in without having to worry about disrupting the setup inside. It is nice to see the minifigures inside as this helps get a feel for the space, and I think two (the butcher and a customer) is the perfect number for a build this size.

Areas for Improvement
Overall, this is a nice building, but I think the addition of some more color would make it more aesthetically appealing. Adding some tan bricks to the lower/mid section of the building or making the awning dark red like the building it was based off of would not hurt. Alternatively, adding some plants in front of the store would go a long way to liven things up a bit. I also think it would be nice to include more types of meat inside the store. Some sausages/hot dogs of different colors would be a nice addition.

Conclusion
This is a really nice project overall. Although it could use some more color and maybe some more variety in the types and cuts of meat offered, I still think this project would fit in well with an existing LEGO town or city layout, and it would offer another option for playability as children send their minifigures to the butcher's shop to buy meat for dinner. I think this would be a nice set if it were to reach 10,000 supporters and pass the Official LEGO Ideas Review. To see more pictures and to offer your support, you can click here to visit this project on LEGO Ideas.

 The photos and review are used with the permission of Lightningtiger.