Lego Rip-off Brands

[Sokratesz]

Here is another brand popular in Poland

I fail to see how an MBT could be of any use in a 'Secret Mission'

[ACWWgal2011]

*hides under flame shield*

I think as far as clone brands, people SHOULD be a little more open to the sets. I picked up 3 sets, 1 from each of 3 names since i'm going through a pretty rough patch w/ lego. I got a dollar general $1 set, Best lock police car and a Super blox fire rescue type vehicle. While i didn't care for the quality of the DG set or the little bit of overflow on the police car, i DID love that both had NO extra pieces at all to clutter the container i'm keeping them in.

However, the SB will be welcomed in the living room(other 2 sets stored for now) after a few minor alterations. It just needs the seat and steering column switched to a lego one for the minifigures and the back part altered a little to make a better holding spot for stuff(I think it only needs a 1X6 red brick). And also 4 "Brick, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin and Axle Hole" pieces so I can add on lego tires that look a little better(that's a BL project for another day). The truck looks way cooler then the little LEGO 3-in-1 creator or racer sets that are only about 1 dollar more.

i saw a second SB set at Dollar general but I am trying to save up a few dollars for when the lego series 6 figures come out. It will probably run a little more, but i'm going to go through BL for the skater girl instead of the lego store. I went last month wanting 2 and came out w/ 7 plus spending about twice as much money as planned.

Experimenting w/ different brands today made me decide that while i still don't like the path that lego is taking with the company, I will be sticking to lego(more of less) for the products mostly by buying from Bricklink.

If i ran in circles somewhere, please let me know and i'll correct it. It's just that I currently stayed up later then planned and i am offically worn out.

[Peppermint_M]

Hi, while it is nice to see another member more open to varied brick brands, I have to ask for correct spelling and grammar, as Eurobricks is a forum that requires a good posting standard. As this isn't a chat room or instant messaging/texting service, there is plenty of time to type out the words correctly.

Anywho, back onto topic: I often find Best Lock leaves a lot to be desired and a lot of the other brands are all generic brick bootlegging some legitimate designs. Cobi is my favourite non-Lego brand, since Mega seems to have switched focus to Halo over their old Dragons line. Cobi has a good price and great quality plus some interesting elements that Lego does not produce. The one good thing about Best Lock is how a while back they shared production with Cobi and used Cobi made parts in their sets. I am not sure how easy it is for you to get Cobi, I use eBay.

Another good quality brand is Click Brick here in the UK, their bricks are perfect quality match with Lego bricks and their minifigs are only slightly different (A little stiffer, different prints) and they sell "Swap 'ems" which is a bag with two figures in, something I can get hold of for £3 for three bags (Six figures £3, a bargain!) the sets are a little more awkward to find.

You asked abouot K'nex in an earlier thread, I am afraid price wise it's not much better over Lego. Parts wise, there is a significant difference and the mix of K'nex and Brick parts are frustrating to build with.

Hope this has been helpful (The Moderator formerly known as Queen of the Clone Brands) -All opinions are my own and are not staff policy, the part about posting standards is forum policy-

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

I have seldom found decent Lego clones, if that even exists!

Anyways, although I'm just as angry as anybody to see my favorite company get its work plagiarized, just like I would hate anybody copying my work, there are a few needs that these clone brands satisfy. First off, Lego is expensive, as we all know. Sure, we pay for quality, but not everyone is on the conditions to pay for Lego. So, if these companies can bring something similar (far, but similar ) to Lego fun to people who can't afford it or simply are not interested enough in Lego's standards to pay the price, I think that they do some good. Of course, I don't mean blatant plagiarism of sets, but similar building toy ideas used for other models.

I have to say, I owned a couple of Mega sets, and I got rid of them a short time ago. The quality is not the same, and I have enough room problems in my room ( ) with Lego already. I have only kept a few Marvel action figures that I bought for myself.

So, clone brands? Acceptable to me if they don't imitate blatantly Lego models.

[Yucca Patrol]

Lately, I've picked up a couple large crates of used LEGO that have been mixed with Mega-Bloks, Tyco, and other unidentified blocks (not to mention crayons, dead bugs, and a zillion little pieces of Chinese made plastic toy parts).

I've bought these collections cheap enough that it is worth it to sort through them and separate the real LEGO from the clones from the junk. Of all the clone bricks I have seen, only the Tyco appear to be about the same quality as real LEGO and are the only ones that sometimes slip past me during the first round of sorting prior to cleaning and sterilizing. The yellow Tyco slopes in particular look and feel really nice.

Because I understand that not all parents can afford real LEGO (and some can't even afford the clones), I clean and sterilize the clone bricks just as carefully as I do the real LEGO. Once I get about 5-10 pounds of the clone bricks, I donate them to the thrift store so that needy children can play with them. I also make sure to throw in any older LEGO brand wheels (like the ones with red hubs) to make sure that kids can build cars with the clone bricks.

I have also figured out that some of you violence obsessed LEGO fans really like the olive green Mega Bloks for your military MOC's, so I separate them and sell them on ebay once I get 500-100 pieces of them. They're the only clone bricks that seem to have any aftermarket value whatsoever.

[President of Brick Town]

Found out it is from China and is from a company called Shantou Wange Toys Industrial Co., Ltd.

Click here

Can't really trust them,what kind of plastic is TPR anyway? Is it as safe as ABS?

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

I had forgot that I own a few Tyco blocks. They are even advertised as being compatible with Lego!

However, I haven't got rid of those blocks, and they bring back many fond memories. The quality isn't near Lego's, but I still had fun with it, and even if they use Lego brick rip-offs, I would never get rid of those.

[Omicron]

Can't really trust them,what kind of plastic is TPR anyway? Is it as safe as ABS?

It's plastic.

-Omi

[President of Brick Town]

It's plastic.

-Omi

No offense but you hadn't answered my second question, is it as safe as ABS? Also the link redirected to a Wikipedia page about TPE. Not TPR, is it the same, TPE and TPR? Also when did a LEGO forum got so overcrowded with clone brands?

[Peppermint_M]

No offense but you hadn't answered my second question, is it as safe as ABS? Also the link redirected to a Wikipedia page about TPE. Not TPR, is it the same, TPE and TPR? Also when did a LEGO forum got so overcrowded with clone brands?

When I got tired of the zealotry of the fan community and started to review the cheaper clone sets I came across in local shops. Sadly the economic woes of the nation have closed many of these budget stores and my sources have gone in the main. I have a few sat on the hard drive but I have been a little busy.

Luckily, crossmr came along, with his access to Oxford bricks, the best of the compatible brands. Oxford bricks were formerly rather hard to find before he joined.

So now, instead of the sort of uninformed complaining about brands you don't like. There are some objective reviews. Also, many members can now find the better brands to get parts and figure accessories that TLG does not cover.

[Darth Hagrid]

I don't know if anyone has brought it up yet, but look at this: Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

[frogstudio]

I don't know if anyone has brought it up yet, but look at this: Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

They are from an Italian company and are prety good. Bought one for my niece and she is completely in love with it (they are compatible with Duplo).

[Vindicare]

I don't know if anyone has brought it up yet, but look at this: Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

What's the problem? Are girls not allowed to have sets geared towards them? Or is it because it's a clone brand, which, of course should never happen! Lego should be the only brand allowed to make plastic building bricks!

[Peppermint_M]

No one I know is young enough for Duplo, but if that is t he Mega ones, I have a few of the smallest sets. They are quite cute.

[Snark]

I don't know if anyone has brought it up yet, but look at this: Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

I can't possibly be the only one who thinks that looks amazing. I mean, seriously! Who wouldn't want to bring Hello Kitty along with Jack Sparrow or Luke Skywalker on their adventures!?

[Fred Daniel Yam]

There seems to be a lot of clone brands out there, here's a list I made of the ones I know so far:

Tyco

Byggis

Tente

Oxford

Mega-Bloks

Brikblox

Tatco

C3 Art Asylum

PeBe

Enlighten

Best-Lock

Shifty

[Peppermint_M]

If you strike out the bootleggers and check the index you'll see the full list of those reviewed too.

[Darth Hagrid]

I can't possibly be the only one who thinks that looks amazing. I mean, seriously! Who wouldn't want to bring Hello Kitty along with Jack Sparrow or Luke Skywalker on their adventures!?

I suppose it's just me then...

[Darth Hagrid]

They are from an Italian company and are prety good. Bought one for my niece and she is completely in love with it (they are compatible with Duplo).

Actually, this is a MEGA BLOKS set. They appear to have bought out the Italian company (Androni Giocattoli?)'s license. They are also producing Collectable Minifigure Hello Kitty sets as well.

[crossmr]

I don't know if anyone has brought it up yet, but look at this: Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

Oxford also makes Hello Kitty sets, in regular Lego sizes, which are actually pretty nice and provide a selection of brick colors which I think Lego doesn't even touch.

[lorax]

I have a collection of the Hello Kitty Megabloks

I love them, I have them stored with my smurf megablok sets

I use the figures (and mushrooms, instruments and cakes) in layouts and builds and my toddler plays with the pieces. I also have a Mario knex character and plan on getting some more (I am not a purist though).

[Snark]

Oxford also makes Hello Kitty sets, in regular Lego sizes, which are actually pretty nice and provide a selection of brick colors which I think Lego doesn't even touch.

Oxford makes them as well? That's awesome! Would you happen to have any pictures? I'm curious to see what they look like.

[Aanchir]

Lately, I've picked up a couple large crates of used LEGO that have been mixed with Mega-Bloks, Tyco, and other unidentified blocks (not to mention crayons, dead bugs, and a zillion little pieces of Chinese made plastic toy parts).

I've bought these collections cheap enough that it is worth it to sort through them and separate the real LEGO from the clones from the junk. Of all the clone bricks I have seen, only the Tyco appear to be about the same quality as real LEGO and are the only ones that sometimes slip past me during the first round of sorting prior to cleaning and sterilizing. The yellow Tyco slopes in particular look and feel really nice.

As far as Tyco sets are concerned, I'll give one warning: the ones I had in my own childhood were not 100% compatible. If you stuck a LEGO rod piece of any kind through the hole in a Tyco 1x1 round brick, it would be very difficult to remove.

[Peppermint_M]

As far as Tyco sets are concerned, I'll give one warning: the ones I had in my own childhood were not 100% compatible. If you stuck a LEGO rod piece of any kind through the hole in a Tyco 1x1 round brick, it would be very difficult to remove.

Smother it in oil.

No really, it works. Lots and lots of it, any kind you are comfortable to use (considering price/smell etc) just fill a small cup/bowl/pot with oil and place the stuck parts in, after a few minutes take it out and wipe with an absorbant cloth all the parts you need to grip (but not the stuck area and the part that is the path you plan to pull it through)and it should slide off no problem.

This worked with the 2x2 dishes with holes in that I got stuck on flagpoles and lightsaber blades. I should work in other cases to.

[GiantDinosaur]

I've seen pretty much everything listed at TRU, they always have a little shelf for them near the cash register.

Edited October 23, 2011 by GiantDinosaur