COMPARISON REVIEW: 6237 Pirates' Plunder

[Mister Phes]

COMPARISON REVIEW: 6237 Pirates' Plunder

Assamite (we all remember him don't we?) was at a market one day and he stumbled across some Brick sets. He so kindly purchased a couple and sent them to me. I thought it would be interesting to compare them to their official LEGO counterparts, so here is the first COMPARISON REVIEW!!!

VS

Base plates

This is definitely the most noticeable difference in terms of quality. The Brick plate is a much brighter yellow and because of it doesn't look at nice as the LEGO. The picture however is poor so this may not be evident.

The mini-figures suffer from rigid joints but unless you're playing them then it doesn't really matter. The biggest annoyance is their hands fall out easily when positioning weapons in them.

Imperial Guard Commander

The arms appear as a brighter shade of red. This may pose problems in close-up shots however in large MOCs the mini-figure could well be suited to a dark shady background position.

Pirate

The torso design is slightly different but it's not really that noticeable.

Parrot

The Brick parrot has a different pattern so in fact this could be used along side the genuine LEGO parrot for some variation.

Treasure

The Brick treasure appears more gold in colour rendering the genuine LEGO treasure to appear more platinum or perhaps even silver.

Combined in Chest

When mixed together however you can't really tell the difference.

Shovel

There is a noticeable colour difference between the shovels. The Brick shovel is closer to the new "light stone" LEGO colour. As The LEGO Group no longer produces the original shade of grey this is probably the colour they'd have to produce the shovel. I don't think a bley shovel would work in a pirate set because it would look too metallic in a modern sense.

Swords

The Brick swords are actually nicer than the genuine LEGO swords as their chrome surface makes them appear much more interesting.

Conclusion

The Brick set is definitely not a substitute for the genuine LEGO set but it is definitely not as inferior as many claim.

There is definitely a colour discrepancy between some of the pieces, but the LEGO Group has already forced such a discrepancy upon AFOLs by changing the shades of grey and brown. The same building principal applies to Brick pieces when combing them with genuine LEGO - they can work well in MOC just so long as builders use them strategically.

The quality in some areas is below that of LEGO which may pose a problem for children who actively play with their LEGO. AFOLs on the other hand shouldn't have too many difficulties if they want to statically integrate the pieces into their MOCs.

Until the LEGO Group starts producing new Pirate sets I'd recommend Brick sets as suitable part packs for MOCing.

[Siegfried]

A few might be surprised to hear me say this, but I think you make some valid points. IMHO blindly saying that "Lego is better" without being open enough to at least consider the options is silly. I would be very curious at the reaction this topic would get. Personally I would consider buying these if I found them in a store, although loose hands do bother me. (It's the biggest reason why I don't remove hands... ;-) ) In fact, I think they look better than the average M%g! Bl&k sets. :-D

[Asuka]

Looks pretty close to the original. Well, long time no seen, Pirate line, so if anybody find

some useful parts with these, why not. I

[Scouty]

Here is kinda what I think of it:

+5 points for introducing new colors (Chrome and the bird)

+5 for new torso decal EDIT: Whoop, they're not different.

+5 for Gold coins

-10 for essentially copying Lego

They look good, but it's just copying, and slightly improving, but less quality plastic.

Those chrome swords are neat looking and would enhance upon the original swords (in color).

Thanks for the review.

[Siegfried]

While I agree that this set is just a copy, I don't think it should be seen as inferior for that alone. As a similar (but not same ;-) ) example, I never used to buy AMD chips, I would always insist on Intel because it was their design. But the Pentium 4 was a horrid design, made for Megahertz not useful work, and while I was waiting for Intel to admit to it and drop the design, I bought AMDs instead.

The question is; what makes a Lego set a Lego set?

• Design? Obviously not as this is a Lego design and it still isn't Lego!
  
• Manufacture? Obviously not as Lego don't make most of their parts anymore.
  
• Branding? Possibly, but Galidor wasn't well liked by many and that was official Lego.
  

Yes, I realise the obvious answer is that it is a combination of all, but if the manufacture can be done by someone else and it is still seen as Lego, why can't the branding be someone elses... 8-| I like being a purist, but it is not because I blindly think Lego is better, it is because they are better. If that changes then I will consider jumping ship... or just buy more from BrickLink! :-D Lego do not deserve our support for their name alone.

If M*g^ Bl&ks started making good designs I would even consider buying their sets... but I can't see that happening. :-X

(Please note ImperialScouts and Asuka that this is not a rebuttle to your comments. I just thought I should clarify my points more.)

[Asuka]

So this means war, Sinner.... *sing*

Or at least an easy joke.... :-P

Nah, seriously, you

[Siegfried]

I wouldn

[Mister Phes]

A few might be surprised to hear me say this, but I think you make some valid points.

What!!! I always make valid points!

[Siegfried]

What!!! I always make valid points!

:-D I meant that people might be surprised to hear that I think a Lego-clone set could just possibly be worth buying. Perhaps I should have said;

A few might be surprised to hear me say this, but I agree with much of what you said.

[Mister Phes]

That's much of the reason I create this review - I got tired of people criticising the clone brands without evaluating them properly.

[Asuka]

So, just to investigate a little closer, I guess that clone brand

[Mister Phes]

I haven't tried this yet...

I think I'll release this thread to the rest of the forum now since it seems to be the start of a good discussion.

[Axle]

I think you should do some more comparrison reviews.

I'd like to see the Captain redbeard in Enlighten form.

[Mister Phes]

You send me the sets and I'll review them!

[oDDerFisken]

First time i saw these pics was when i surfed around on BS. And at first i though "what is this. Is this really a LEGOset?? I don't think these guyes look right". i wasn't aware that they really was a "fake" set untill i saw the titel.

Point is: it's easy to see it is not real legoset. The figs' heads are odd. Like a square. But the swords in silver is okay i think. And the parrot. Just for som change in the colours.

[Lord Of Pies]

Nice review Mr Phes!

Here is my opinion:

(The same format Imperialscouts used :-P )

+5 for shiny weapons

+5 new colours

-15 for copying TLC

-5 for crappy heads.

Overall= -10 :-/

[Mister Phes]

Why thank you Lord of Pies!

The heads don't look crappy head in the real life and I don't think they turned out too badly in the pictures. They are slightly different, particular the density of the beard on the Imperial Guard.

[RememberTheLittleGuy]

*Sniff*, I lost all of my pirates and armada sets... 8-|

Edited December 8, 2007 by RememberTheLittleGuy

[Captain Brownbeard]

i like the Lego better because of the color difference and you cant move the arms good and the hands fall out and im loyal to Lego and hate copies

[Captain Green Hair]

Chrome cutlasses! *wub* *wub* *wub*

That parrot could be usefull, but for the rest it's a big fat *n*

[Axle]

Mister Phes, could you take a picture with an official one with a fake ones' hat and weapons?

Edited December 22, 2007 by Axle

[Wes]

My question is: do the plate fit exactly with Lego plates? I remember when my little brother accidentally bought some Mega Bloks, I tested them and found that the elements are not compatible, due to size differences. Tyco bricks, on the other hand, seemed to work okay. They were scattered in my childhood Lego collection (before my dark ages) and seemed to work fine. Currently my collection is about 99.7% Lego (some old childhood Tyco bricks might be around still). I prefer Lego minifigs strongly over clone brands.

Hopefully, Lego will come out with a new pirate line in 2009 that will reclaim the pirate niche that these clone guys are exploiting.

[Shoc]

Seeing as this topic has been ressurected (probably my fault), I will give my say on this.

I think the silver cutlass is great (don't know how sturdy it is though) and also the 'parrot' is good for bird diversity, but I wouldn't buy this set, as it is funding a company who copies Lego completely.

:skull:

[AmazingPharaoh]

Either one is good for me, I'll take it!

[ZCerberus]

If you are going to bump a post this old, only do so if you have something REALLY useful to add. This comment does not qualify.