LEPIN brings out Monster Fighters HAUNTED HOUSE (16007)

[Adamskii]

I brought up that <insert clone company name here> had copied the UCS Millennium falcon in the Star Wars forums and the thread was locked down and all links removed - don't talk about clone stuff - people get kinda biblical in their hate..

Sad.

Adam

Edited August 29, 2016 by Adamskii

[dr_spock]

I brought up that Lepin had copied the UCS Millenium flacoln in the Star Wars forums and the thread was locked down and all links removed - don't talk about clone stuff - people get kinda biblical in their hate..

You can talk about clone stuff is over in the Community forum. Usually it is frown upon in the specific themes forums...

[Legotom]

I tell you what, if one of the Chinese knock off firms remade the Lego monorail, making sure it's 100% compatible with the original system, I would give them so much money.

[Paperballpark]

A good moc is horrendously expensive, lol.

Very true! I could have bought three aftermarket Emerald Nights with what I've spent on my latest train.

Mind you, it will be about 3.5m (about 11.5ft) long and contain 6800 pieces...

[Ashi Valkoinen]

What he said!!! I already had a vast majority of the dark blue gray parts I needed in hand when I built an MOC of a GP-30 not long back and still spent in excess of $200 on parts... And I thought that LEGO would be cheaper than HO.

totally off from this topic, but the cost of L-scale models fits quite good between H0 and LGB in price and scale as well. Bigger, more expensive than H0, but smaller and cheaper then digital LGB-models. I've seen an RhB passanger car set and a vintage loco worth of 3000€-s once on an exhibition, but non-exceptional models cost tons of money as well.

But somewhere money should be spent, and I prefer MOCs over cheap replicas. :)

[Jim]

We don't not want our regular forums to be flooded with clone brand discussions.

This can be discussed in community, where I will move this topic to.

[AFOLguy1970]

If Lepin is also cloning the train track, especially straight track, they might make a lot of money.

[Rotundus]

But somewhere money should be spent, and I prefer MOCs over cheap replicas. :)

Again... What he said!!

[dr_spock]

How you spend your money is your own business.

If Lepin is also cloning the train track, especially straight track, they might make a lot of money.

If they are inexpensive enough, they could be used for a garden railway and replace cheaply when the outdoor environment destroys them in a few years. It would easier than hand laying rail to L-gauge 38mm.

[mostlytechnic]

It's like they don't even try - they obviously took the real EN box and poorly edited it. You can see that the N in Nemerald is different than the rest of the word, and the 10194 is still visible on the front of the train, etc. Oh, and you can clearly see the 19104 under the windows of the loco too.

[lanesteele240]

If you dont use all capps, STAR WNRS is star wnrs. That n is real close to an a. Well close enough not to get sued. If chinese courts cared about outside companies copyright stuff anyway

[agrof]

Looking at the quality and how Lepin develops on international market, I hope that some "healthy" competition will force LEGO to make some develpment on our (customers) advantage. Like reducing prices.

Under "healthy" competition I mean, that Lepin starts to make own designs, and not just takes over the actual Lego sortiment. Though, I can not blame anyone, who buys copies of outdated or overpriced sets.

Edited September 2, 2016 by agrof

[gololo]

I have bought a couple of Star Wnrs Lepin models. And I've also bought a couple of Enlighten wagons.

Enlighten's quality was passable because the wagons I bought didn't have too many pieces. But one of them which had a few more showed the problems of this brands: sizes of bricks are not consistent and it was difficult to a point to make all pieces fit and that the model didn't fall apart.

Lepin's quality is much much better. It's far from being Lego quality, but it's very very good for the money you pay. I bought a couple of AT-ST for 1/3 of the price of the original Lego one, and they look very nice on my shelf. The only thing I dont like at all from Lepin is the "transparent" pieces. A link was posted before with a comparison of the pieces and I agree that Lepin's transparent pieces are foggy.

[Florian_Wayne]

I have the LEPIN Super Star Destroyer for 95€ including shipping and DeCool UCS Batman Tumbler for 65€. Shipping time for both sets are only 3 days from China to Germany. No problems with german customs.

The quality is nearly Lego. I will buy some more sets who are extremly expensive like UCS Falcon or Emerald Night Train. Thank you LEPIN/DeCool

Edited September 2, 2016 by Florian_Wayne

[Vorkosigan]

No one who knows about Bricklink uses pickabrick. It's *FAR* too expensive, and *FAR* too limited.

Maybe not pickabrick too much but bricks and pieces certainly. It all depends on the specific parts and timing, official LEGO sources are often better priced for very recent parts and figures.

A good moc is horrendously expensive, lol.

Not if you have a large collection and MOC from and it and then recycle the MOC after a few days / weeks / months. The cost of building up the collection was high, but at a certain point it becomes nearly self-sufficient UNLESS you want to keep your MOCs for a very long time.

I have bought some other brands as souvenirs (Oxford, which has its own designs) but when it comes to clones of LEGO sets I see no point in buying them just to have a model sit on the shelf forever.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Real or bootleg, the only thing the tumbler Batmobile (The "Collateral Damage-mobile" as I call it) is fit for is scrapping for parts :P

Me, I haven't really dealt with Lego clones aside from some Holi sets my dad bought once (and those are clones in a loose sense; figures and parts colors often differ from what the box and instructions show). But I am familiar with the debate from being a Transformers fan. Myself? I'll happily buy a bootleg if the thing I'm after is off the primary market and it's the most cost-effective way to get the parts or figure I need (and it often is when it comes to G1 combiner bits). A bootleg of something current, though...

[Lego Dino 500]

What's the brick quality like on the Star Destroyer and UCS MF? If it's semi decent, I kinda want to orator them for display and build them, this is the only way I could ever afford to get either of those sets. They were too expensive for me to purchase 10 and 4 years ago, and they're sure as heck too expensive now.

I remember drooling over the 10179 for months in the Lego magazines as a kid, and never got it. I can't afford the however many thousands it is for a MISB falcon. Anyone know if a clone brand still produces 8998 Toa Mata Nui?

[Mark Kay]

I have the LEPIN Super Star Destroyer for 95€ including shipping and DeCool UCS Batman Tumbler for 65€. Shipping time for both sets are only 3 days from China to Germany. No problems with german customs.

The quality is nearly Lego. I will buy some more sets who are extremly expensive like UCS Falcon or Emerald Night Train. Thank you LEPIN/DeCool

Which supplier have you been using please?

[agrof]

Here is a comparison for Lego 42056 and Lepin 20001 Porsche GT3, if someone is interested:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=159&t=1615833&i=40

[moustic]

in Belgium on the second hand site :

http://www.2ememain.be/enfants-b%C3%A9b%C3%A9s/jouets/legos/lepin-green-grocer-10185-307414679.html

150 euros ...

[grum64]

I wouldn't buy these cheap knock off sets on principle, however good the fit and finish might be but what worries me as much as anything is the possible toxicity of the plastics used. In the past there have been cases where the materials used to make cheap knock off verisions of children's toys have been made children ill. Due to the way I build and the fact that I've got a Grandaughter who's of an age where she's likely to put pieces in her mouth I just wouldn't risk it.

Edited September 9, 2016 by grum64

[Florian_Wayne]

I wouldn't buy these cheap knock off sets on principle, however good the fit and finish might be but what worries me also is the possible toxicity of the plastics used. In the past there have been cases where the materials used to make cheap knock off verisions of children's toys have been made children ill. Due to the way I build and the fact that I've got a Grandaughter who's of an age where she's likely to put pieces in her mouth I just wouldn't risk it.

Go and buy your overpriced UCS sets for thousands of euro if you are rich. I will buy my UCS Falcon for 170€.

LEPIN and other brands uses ABS. In Germany (where I live) our carmaker uses the same plastic in their luxury cars like Mercedes S-class etc.

Every plastic can be toxic if you eat or burn them, LEGO too. So beware...

Edited September 9, 2016 by Florian_Wayne

[grum64]

Go and buy your overpriced UCS sets for thousands of euro if you are rich. I will bye my UCS Falcon for 170€.

LEPIN and other brands uses ABS. In Germany (where I live) our carmaker uses the same plastic in their luxury cars like Mercedes S-class etc.

Every plastic can be toxic if you eat or burn them, LEGO too. So beware...

I'm not rich, very far from it and I don't buy UCS sets but of course you're free to buy what you want, Lego, Lepin or otherwise, I'm not saying you're not. All I'm saying is that for the reasons I stated I won't be buying anything other than genuine Lego and if there's a particular set I want I'll save for it.

Edited September 9, 2016 by grum64

[LegoFjotten]

I got curious enough about the quality of these blatant rip-offs to purchase a copy of Market Street.

As much as I hate to admit it, the quality was pretty good. Not quite LEGO quality, but not far off. Colors were consistent, clutch power good. A few parts were a bit dirty, and I noticed some of the tiles had quite a bit of scuff marks on them.

Some pieces had issues though:

- 2x2 turntable wouldn't stay together at all

- Windows panes fits poorly and are very loose

- The hoses are different (very thin) and won't allow arms to be connected in the middle section

- The flowers fits poorly on the stem and will fall off very easily

- Some of the doors are different from the original MS

- The seat piece is nothing like the LEGO seat

- The baseplates are like regular plates with slightly rounded corners

Overall though, I must reluctantly admit it is a very good copy.

[Aanchir]

Go and buy your overpriced UCS sets for thousands of euro if you are rich. I will buy my UCS Falcon for 170€.

LEPIN and other brands uses ABS. In Germany (where I live) our carmaker uses the same plastic in their luxury cars like Mercedes S-class etc.

Every plastic can be toxic if you eat or burn them, LEGO too. So beware...

You know, there's a third option besides buying aftermarket sets outside your price range and buying cheap illegal knock-offs. It's called "being a grown-up and knowing you don't always get everything you want". There are plenty of LEGO sets out there that are affordably priced and offer just as much value or more than similar-priced sets of the past.

It's true that LEGO doesn't have any kind of monopoly on ABS plastics. However, if you think all ABS is chemically identical you're sorely mistaken — not only are there several different formulations of plastic that fall under the category of "ABS", but the possibility of impurities exists, which is part of why the LEGO Group takes great care in screening their raw materials. Also, LEGO and LEPIN alike use several different materials besides ABS. What about the rubber they use for tires, or the inks they use for printing, or the adhesives they use for stickers, or the metal they use for train axles?

Toy companies in Europe and the Americas face constantly evolving safety regulations, and the LEGO Group has a reputation for remaining on the cutting edge of toy safety — there's a reason that only two of their products have ever been recalled for safety reasons. The LEGO Group's own internal safety standards are often actually stricter than legally mandated safety standards in the countries where they operate. Can LEPIN make that claim? We don't know. They are a brand founded on deception, and as such without analysis from an outside regulatory agency, it's impossible to know whether they adhere to any kind of reliable safety standards.