Clone Brands Train discussions

[Spitfire2865]

I have a ton of heavily 70s to 80s play worn legos and other then scratches on the bricks, they clutch like new...

Its just mint implies never used. If you said its condition was like mint, then it would have made more sense. But it was my reading that was misleading.

[Locomotive Annie]

Banbao Hi-speed Passenger Trainset No:8221.

After having the unopened set box hanging around for some months I decided it was well time to check out the set's contents and make a start on putting everything together.

The currents sets seem to have the 'Toobee' figures in them, but my set had the hybrid minifig type figures that made use of the Toobee torso and pivoting waist which makes them look very heavy set. Not so bad for the males, but the ladies look like they're keen bodybuilders or wrestling champoins. There are six figures in all in the set so it has good play value.

When I purchased this set I was given an extra passenger coach for free and it must've been an old stock set because it had two of the older clone minifigs in it. So it's actually possible to find set #8221 with potentially three different kinds of figures depending on how long it's been on the shelf. Otherwise the sets are the same.

The set box contains a powered loco, a centre coach and an unpowered loco, a small station with three signs, 6 people figures, 18 curved pieces of track, 8 straight pieces of track, a left hand point and a right hand point. All the parts necessary to make the powered loco operate are in the set box except for batteries. All in all it's a big sized box with not much free space inside it when I came to unpack it all. As I said with the Banbao Freight set I reviewed earlier, you get a lot of trainset for your money.

There are two trays inside the set box and one of them has two cardboard pockets built in which contain the motor bogie, the RC controller and the powered loco's battery box. The train base that contains the RC receiver is tied down to the bottom of the tray so it won't slide about in transit and get damaged.

In addition to all the bricks and track the set box also contains a single sheet Banbao pamphlet showing the other sets they make, a very nicely printed sticker sheet, a small instruction booklet for the station and one larger instruction booklet for each of the main pieces, the powered loco, the centre coach and the unpowered loco. As for the Freight set the instructions booklets are clearly laid out and are easy to follow

The sticker sheet for this set looks to be a lot more of a good match for the contents and nothing like so strange as the sticker sheet for the Freight set where I only used about a third of them and then only the ones that were essential.

I've already reviewed the centre passenger coach and there were no real surprises with assembling this one, except that the white bricks to complete one corner of the passenger coach were missing. All the parts for the centre coach are sealed in their own bag so it was very easy to see that while the part count seemed to be right, some of the parts were extras and definitely not the particular white bricks I needed. Fortunately I do own quite a few Banbao bricks so I was able to find replacements, but for a casual purchaser who wasn't a 'brick nut' they would have been feeling very disappointed about then.

This was the first Banbao train set box that I've found to have missing parts. Some years back when I was into brick wargaming it was common for Banbao military series sets to have missing bricks, but it looks like they are still having quality control issues despite there being some improvement in more recent times.

As is usual with Banbao wagons and coaches though this coach rolled as smooth as silk on the track as Banbao's wheels and axles are highly finished and very accurate.

Having already assembled the Banbao Freight set I was surprised to discover that the train base and its associated battery box for the passenger set is a completely different plastic molding with the RC receiver quite open and exposed once the battery box is removed. The motor bogie is different too with a lead with a small computer-type plug issuing from it that plugs into the RC receiver. The Freight set was completely the other way around with the lead issuing from the RC receiver and plugging into the motor bogie. I don't know if the more recent sets have the same motor bogie as the Freight set or not because I've only ever seen this older passenger set of mine up close, but it does seem daft to me to have two different motor bogies each with differences in their top body molding due to the electrical connection when you're a company that only makes two trainsets anyway.

The two locos are of the 'duck-nosed' species of streamlined train and the plastic moldings for the nose are accurately shaped and fit together firmly and perfectly. My only moan is that the hinged windscreen won't fit into place without having the molded pin ends on the windscreen relieved back a little so that they will clip into place. Otherwise it's all good and the nose-piece fits well onto the front of the train base without any problems. As for the rest of the loco body it goes together in a very similar way to the passenger coach without any surprises.or difficulties.

Passengers fit into their seats and stay there because the inside surface of the roof touches the tops of their heads. Other makes of minifigs will fit into Banbao coaches provided close attention is paid to hair styles and headgear because there is precious little room to be had in the way of clearance.

Overall this is a set that has more pluses than minuses and I consider it to be good value for money.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Locomotive Annie

[Hey Joe]

Thanks for the review Annie. It sounds like an ok set.

I got my first look at one of those Tobee figs a few weeks ago, I wasn't so impressed although it's nice they're trying to do something different. A nearly Duplo-sized head on a regular minifig body looks a bit odd to me. The swiveling waist is a nice touch however. I defy any child to put those d@mned arms on though!

Have fun, Joe

[Sharkyla]

I have a ton of heavily 70s to 80s play worn legos and other then scratches on the bricks, they clutch like new...

Yeah, have all my LEGO from when I was a kid, apart from the random teeth marks, they indeed do clutch like new.

I've been buying clone sets direct from China for a while now, - mostly because it's the only way I can afford to continue to enjoy this hobby, - and it's becoming very noticeable that the Chinese manufacturers are upping their game. The brick quality is improved for a start and with the better manufacturers like Banbao and Enlighten the quality is very close to that of Lego

Bought the Enlighten 'Frisco Fe' and about 6 boxcar/tanker carriages. Not too bad for a clone brand. (all up about $80 AUD, free postage) I have a ton of their track as it is a whole lot cheaper.

Of course though, the two brands will never mix

LEGO train track is far too expensive, even more so as I live in Australia.

[pacc]

I recently got a pair of the enlighten 638 steam engines and also the 624 deluxe wagon to add to the Constitution train.

The wagons were nice but the steam engine has more useful parts, mostly because it was based on a Lego "my own train" model.

The printed parts are nice and there are some special molds such as the double doors and the small wheel that fits on a stud up front.

I partly got it to get more wheels and wagon bases for rolling stock and I could even stretch to using some of the parts without studs,

such as the curved roof bricks, together with Lego.

Regarding clutching power it is good for any build but won't stretch to SNOT builds adding large bits hanging on only a few studs.

However the single technics bar and the chimney (also crossbar technics hole) have terrible fit compared to lego.

But why not have the cake and eat it. I built a smaller locomotive based on the Lego 3740 instructions: http://www.brickset....ail/?Set=3740-1 (start from page 15 for the second model) and got parts left for future wagon projects...

There are some decisions to be made while building - but if you just wanted the wagon base you can't go wrong with an extra engine.

[Heppeng]

Great use of an Enlighten train! You have to be careful with clone brands - there are great differences in quality between the different ones, and it is unfair to label them all as equally poor. Enlighten have some way to go before they are as good as lego, but they appear to be the best of the bunch, and I have yet to have any Enlighten train fall apart as frequently as my Emerald Night...

Edited October 5, 2013 by Heppeng

[mikezang]

I still use RCX on train to control my train, so that I have to modify original 6W to 7W train and increase height, but I am not sure which vertical position is better for that modification train, please give me suggestion.

[Duq]

Whatever looks good to you really. There's no right or wrong answer here.

By the way, 'Brick' is not very popular here....

[JopieK]

@Mike: I just merged your question on this clone brand with the Train clone brand topic.

[galacticslave]

I think all the other brands are dreadful and will never be as good as Lego. Megabloks bring me out in a rash.

Edited January 9, 2014 by galacticslave

[sportinglife]

A slightly modified Enloghten 630

[v6TransAM]

It seems to be held in decent regards here and I have a 3 yr old turning 4 in a month.

I am thinking the Cargo train, which he is asking for and a boatload of track would make for some fun father and son times.

Anyone know where the cheapest place to acquire said track as well as any opinions and comments on its use?

(see what happens when you like trains and legos and he does too................)

[Lazarus]

Enlighten is the best way to go I say just for starting up, it works just as well with PF and is cheaper so for a 4y/o who will probably break stuff, i know i have two of them. If its cheap you wont care so much if it get broke.

[Professor Brick]

A word of warning. While the curves and straights seem to be fine, I recently purchased a set of switches. Bad idea. They are warped and don't lay flush with a flat surface. Even worse, they don't contain the spring mounted mechanism like Lego switches so derailments are practically unavoidable. So maybe use the real deal where it counts, and supplement your set of straights and curves with the brown stuff.

[v6TransAM]

Enlighten is the best way to go I say just for starting up, it works just as well with PF and is cheaper so for a 4y/o who will probably break stuff, i know i have two of them. If its cheap you wont care so much if it get broke.

He does okay all things considered and the Lego track has withstood all abuse since Christmas. Just trying to have some fun. I am sure something will get broken in our future though

A word of warning. While the curves and straights seem to be fine, I recently purchased a set of switches. Bad idea. They are warped and don't lay flush with a flat surface. Even worse, they don't contain the spring mounted mechanism like Lego switches so derailments are practically unavoidable. So maybe use the real deal where it counts, and supplement your set of straights and curves with the brown stuff.

Thank you for the advice(both of you), I was not aware of issues with the switches so your idea is valid as well(I'll stick with Lego switches). He loves trains and now Legos, so I am getting something for "us" to do, that can be ours alone and he does not have to compete with the 1 yr old for(when he is being good).

I know he would be disappointed if we had running issues due to track.

a2ztoystore looks to be the best deal going I can find.

[mikezang]

There is a new brand named Ausini which build a lot of train set, you can find them here

http://003.tsdn.net/en/ProductList.aspx?Class1=17

http://003.tsdn.net/en/ProductList.aspx?PageIndex=2&Class1=17&Class2=0&type=&keyWord=

I just want to know if they are copied from lego set and which set number, can you help me?

[JopieK]

even their website is bad... can't see the pictures!

Their train lineup is impressive though, I like some of their trains, others are just ugly, but I think their new high speed passenger train is better than the new LEGO version.

This is a direct clone of Maersk though: http://003.tsdn.net/...px?id=182&type=

Having those wheel holders in all those colors and different buffer colors would be a dream for most LEGO Train fans though.

[mikezang]

even their website is bad... can't see the pictures!

Their train lineup is impressive though, I like some of their trains, others are just ugly, but I think their new high speed passenger train is better than the new LEGO version.

This is a direct clone of Maersk though: http://003.tsdn.net/...px?id=182&type=

Having those wheel holders in all those colors and different buffer colors would be a dream for most LEGO Train fans though.

Here are what I knew at the moment:

SudiniNo Pieces LegoNo

25002 832

25003 764

25004 791 - 7939

25110 928

25111 1008 - 10219

25412 186

25413 150

25414 199

25415 215

25505 226

25606 257

25705 410

25807 588

25808 573

25809 483

25810 517

25811 462

25812 586

25813 531

25902 630

25903 681

25904 666

[Lance]

They actually don't look that bad for a clone brand, lots of variety for sure. I wouldn't mind having one.

[mikezang]

They actually don't look that bad for a clone brand, lots of variety for sure. I wouldn't mind having one.

I think so, by the way, do you know any relevant lego set no? I just want o know it...

[Frank STENGEL]

Well, I tried with an ausini set a while back (http://003.tsdn.net/...px?id=272&type=) The thing is that there is a big difference between what's shown on the site (3D renderings) and the actual product. To be precise:

• Flesh is actually dark tan
  
• The light brown is actually medium brown (but the stickers are the right colors)
  
• There is no printing (i.e. no camouflage effect, just a sticker set for some of the details)
  

What I got was a reddish brown tank with zombie looking minifigs

Edited February 16, 2014 by Frank STENGEL

[Duq]

Notice the track is not a copy of Lego track; it's using single stud sleepers.

The trains look ok. Some are almost complete copies but others are original designs. I've never seen Ausini in a shop though.

[Frank STENGEL]

Indeed the track looks a lot like BanBao track.

It seems that ausini is also producing for store brands (you buy bulk: we put your name on it). That's how I was able to buy the set.

The only place I have consistently found them is on aliexpress, and that at prices that made lego almost cheap

[mikezang]

Notice the track is not a copy of Lego track; it's using single stud sleepers.

The trains look ok. Some are almost complete copies but others are original designs. I've never seen Ausini in a shop though.

Can you tell me which is copied from which?

[Heppeng]

I dunno, some of the apparantly original non-lego designs look like copies of Enlighten - particularly the double cab diesel looks like Enlightens set 623, except it looks like unlike Enlighten they did not bother to clone proper train doors!

The station in 25110 also looks like a copy of 7937

Edited February 16, 2014 by Heppeng