21 replies to this topic

[paanjang16]

Since there is now an index for clone brand reviews, I thought I might as well post a review of the clone tank I bought some months back. I took these photos a while ago, but dun know if I can post a review of a non-Lego set here.

Clone Brand: Enlighten
Price: RM 65; about USD 20
Parts: +- 300 pieces

The box

The front of the box shows it in action with the cannon shooting. The box is smaller and thinner than a similar box from Lego if have the same piece count.


The back shows something Lego is rarely to do nowadays, more than 1 alternate models!!


There are 5 bags of parts with some loose parts plus the instructions inside the box. There is this HUGE 8x24 green plate for the body of the tank.


Instructions

The instructions are almost like those from Lego. But the biggest difference is that the parts to be installed in each step is highlighted compared to the rest of the parts which has been built. It is sad that a clone brick company has added some innovation into the instruction instead of Lego. I know times when I would miss some parts since the colors are too similar or there are too many parts in each step. In the pictures below you can see the 6-part tool set taken from Lego and the assembly of turret.



The minifigures

The minifigures is 1 general and 1 soldier. Both the torsos and helmets are printed with military insignia. If you are wondering why the general's hand is not attached, well it is because you have to push in the hand into the arm, something Lego has spared us the agony of doing since you need to push it HARD! +1 points to Lego for putting in the hand into the arm!


The accessories

The accessories include 1nos of a 6-piece toolset, 2 M-16s, 1 chrome pistol, 2 binoculars, 1 radio and 6 plastic rods you see on the right. What do these plastic rods do? We'll see in a moment.


The tank

The completed tank, ready to fight for Lego.. I mean for display. The tank is quite big and boxy at the same time. A large spring loaded cannon is attached to the turret. All the camo pieces and the number on the tank are printed bricks! There is not a single sticker in this set!


The hatches you see open to access the driver's seat and the turret cockpit. In the instructions the general sits at the front and the soldier goes into the turret.


The turret

The turret is equipped with a machine gun, a glass sky roof (which oddly when the soldier sits inside the window have to be open to fit him with helmet is worn), a utility storage rack at the rear of turret and an ammunition storage area for the main gun. Remember the 6 plastic rods? Well all 6 goes there, ready to be fired! Basically you put 1 of these rods into the front of the massive gun, pull back a lever to load the spring and release to shoot the rod. Not really kid friendly since the spring is quite strong and the projectile is small    


Inside the turret is a complex control panel which is printed. The soldier has a radar system  to see any incoming hostiles.


The rear of the tank

The rear of the tank is feature packed with 2 storage areas for the toolset and a little door for....


... a mini quad bike! Apparently the rear is empty as there is no engine. So instead of putting in an engine, the guys at Enlighten added in a little quad for the soldiers to escape should the tank is destroyed.


The thread skirt

Both sides of the skirt protecting the threads can be opened to allow maintenance. With a complete toolset, the crew can make repairs anywhere!


Conclusion

As a clone brick tank, the parts are quite well made but still cannot achieve the same standard of Lego bricks. There are some soft pieces, like the blue translucent window on the turret with will break if too much pressure is applied (the same piece for Lego I have lasted more than 20 years and still strong). It is also NOT a kid-friendly toy since the gun shoots a small projectile like a plastic bullet. Realistic and like a real tank, but the using small plastic rods to shoot is somewhat dangerous for kids.

Some other photos

[KimT]

I love the M16's, but the rest is just.. plain odd.
The colours are waay too bright for me and the prints are really low in quality.
Thanks for the review though, I've added it to the 'Bootleg Index'

[Commander Red Hat]

Thanks for this review Panjaang!

I think the overall look of the tank is quite good and i love the olive drab color.
The fact that all is printed is nice too, but i do think that the prints are inferior to Lego's, especially on the minifigs.
I also don't like the small camouflaged parts, i mean camo the whole thing, or not at all.
The road wheels look good as well, though i think they should have added one in the bottom.
I'd love to see Lego make sets like this, or just bricks in olive drab! *Dreams of making US military vehicles in olive drab*  

[Joey Lock]

Now the first time I saw this on Ebay I was like  

But then I saw some reviews and pictures, it would proberbly be a pretty good army started set, just replace the figures with Lego. I mean, its better than any tank lego have every tryed to make into a set, This tank has a Interior!  

[Spyder]

Ummmm, please forgive me for saying this, but, that's actually a pretty awesome tank. Sure, the quality isn't as good as Lego, but it's not as bad as some of the other clone brands. I actually really want this set, so I could make it out of Lego. All the little features it has are really nice. Let's face it, Enlighten made a better tank than Lego ever has, and I like it. I also really want that chrome pistol. Anyways, great review, but where did you buy the set? (I want one. )

[Big Cam]

Good review, interesting set.



I'm wondering where on earth do you even get these knock off sets?

Edited by Big Cam, 27 August 2009 - 01:50 PM.

[Thee Pirate]

I really miss the old hinges, and these car roofs. Now we have those tacky click hinges that are still useful but just don't do it for me... and those storage compartment doors? Those are to die for

Megabloks also makes a really nice tank, but that one would be a little harder to make out of Lego because it has some really weird plates in it.

[paanjang16]

Spyder, on Aug 27 2009, 09:42 PM, said:

Anyways, great review, but where did you buy the set? (I want one. )

I bought 1 from a small shop in 1 of the shopping malls near my area. Apparently this toy shop brought in some clone bricks as an alternative to real Lego which is insanely overpriced here in Malaysia. Our prices are more expensive than our friends across the causeway (Singapore) !

[Darth Legolas]

Quote

If you are wondering why the general's hand is not attached, well it is because you have to push in the hand into the arm, something Lego has spared us the agony of doing since you need to push it HARD! +1 points to Lego for putting in the hand into the arm!

Are you kidding me? If you find trouble pushing minifig hands in you've gotta go to the GYM!   Seriosuly, though, I mix and match hands all te timr. That's how I made a ponitless CW Rodian into an awesome Rebel Pilot!

I really hate to say it, but this tank is pretty sweet. A very innovative design for an utter rip-off. I really like all of the features for this one tank. Of course, this tank is perfectly matched by the Republic Gunship with almost the same features in a differnt form.

Lego has always had lots and lots to do with one set, but this has a lot more for the size! Of course, I still like good ol' leog, and further than that, almost mostly SW and Indy Jones, at which point, this does not interest me!  

Edited by Darth Legolas, 27 August 2009 - 03:00 PM.

[lampuair]

Korean OXFORD produces some amazing military machines. pictures shown are the SLUBAN version, (direct copy of OXFORD designs)

[prateek]

Spyder, on Aug 27 2009, 08:42 AM, said:

Ummmm, please forgive me for saying this, but, that's actually a pretty awesome tank. Sure, the quality isn't as good as Lego, but it's not as bad as some of the other clone brands. I actually really want this set, so I could make it out of Lego. All the little features it has are really nice. Let's face it, Enlighten made a better tank than Lego ever has, and I like it. I also really want that chrome pistol. Anyways, great review, but where did you buy the set? (I want one. )

I think the same thing. This is actually good for a clone.

[Spyder]

paanjang16, on Aug 27 2009, 10:51 AM, said:

I bought 1 from a small shop in 1 of the shopping malls near my area. Apparently this toy shop brought in some clone bricks as an alternative to real Lego which is insanely overpriced here in Malaysia. Our prices are more expensive than our friends across the causeway (Singapore) !

The Toys R Us by me just divided the Lego Isle in have so that they could sell clone brands. They have mega bloks, best lock, and a couple others I can't remamber. Luckily they gave another half of an isle to the other Lego sets. I doubt TRU will ever carry enlighten though, most of their sets if not all are illegal, and I can never find them online.

[Luke McAwesome]

Believe it or not, this is pretty good for a bootleg!  

Though it's pretty obvious that they ripped off some of LEGO's print designs.

[Peppermint_M]

That seems to be a mix of Lego and Best-Lock clone. Some Lego prints and a Best-Lock design (if not OXFORD). Pretty decent Tank, modern military isn't really my thing (unless I can add some pulp awesome to create Dieselpunk) Good find.

[Black Rabbit]

The spring loaded cannon looks pretty awsome and it inspires me to make my own spring loaded gun for my light tanks.
Sadly this loooks like it has more play value than most lego sets

Edited by Black Rabbit, 27 August 2009 - 10:08 PM.

[The Who]

KimT, on Aug 27 2009, 12:35 PM, said:

I love the M16's, but the rest is just.. plain odd.
The colours are waay too bright for me and the prints are really low in quality.

Well what did you expect? Black? And the M-16's are nice...

Captain Blue Hair, on Aug 27 2009, 01:02 PM, said:

I'd love to see Lego make sets like this, or just bricks in olive drab!

If Lego only made these parts in Olive Drab, you could almost make your own with these instructions. I had no idea you were into military though, I thought you and Phes just liked Pirates.

Joey Lock, on Aug 27 2009, 01:53 PM, said:

...proberbly be a pretty good army started set, just replace the figures with Lego.

You're proberbly right, but Lego doesn't make these minifigs, so that's not exactly possible without decals and Brickforge or Oxford. (Probably is spelled wrong, by the way)

Darth Legolas, on Aug 27 2009, 03:59 PM, said:

I mix and match hands all te timr. That's how I made a ponitless CW Rodian into an awesome Rebel Pilot!
...
I still like good ol' leog,

Why did you edit your post if you didn't correct any spelling errors?

Anyway, this is actually a rather nice set, considering the brand, and I would really buy a few of these if I could only find them in stores around here. Excellent review. Are all of the minifig parts compatible with Lego minifigs?

[PenguinPool]

I obviously don't like the clone brands, but this tank is pretty nice. My favorite part by far would be the cone that attaches the main cannon to the swilvley turret thing. It would be pretty good for R4 units. I also like the olive color.

-May the Force be with you.

[Spyder]

Black Rabbit, on Aug 27 2009, 06:07 PM, said:

Sadly this loooks like it has more play value than most lego sets

Unfortunately, I think you're right.

Quote

The spring loaded cannon looks pretty awsome and it inspires me to make my own spring loaded gun for my light tanks.

I want to make my own too. I love the fact that it's not kid friendly, and you could shoot a kids eye out. (I hate those big rubber missiles that TLG make. ) Another thing nice about it is that it includes six rods to shoot out of it! And all in a nice storage container.

[Tom Bricks]

This actually isn't too bad, I think I might make that bike out of Lego...

[JCC1004]

They took alot of mould but they took the M-16 from this:
http://farm4.static....0f95a9754_b.jpg

They bootleg company took a piece from another bootleg! I know because I bought that at Dollar General for 3 bucks.

[General Armendariz]

lampuair, on Aug 27 2009, 11:13 AM, said:

Korean OXFORD produces some amazing military machines. pictures shown are the SLUBAN version, (direct copy of OXFORD designs)

Excuse me for this but... OMG are you willing to trade for those M1 Military helmets! I need them!

[Peppermint_M]

JCC1004, on Aug 28 2009, 02:05 AM, said:

They took alot of mould but they took the M-16 from this:
http://farm4.static....0f95a9754_b.jpg

They bootleg company took a piece from another bootleg! I know because I bought that at Dollar General for 3 bucks.

Happens all the time. Quite a few "sets" are a mix of bootleg Lego, Megablocks and Best-Lock bricks/designs/elements then you often times have OXFORD ripoffs. These elements all get replicated by other bootleggers or they start trading under a new name wheh the authorities catch up. Some brands seem to have links to the official companies however, and may just be a name for the English speaking world due to language/prior copyright holders of the name.

its just these bootlegs aren't clone brands, they're rip-offs.

Edit: Just noticed. I have that exact set but in Black and the police have riot vests, gas masks and beretts and a selection of weaponry. Bought at christmas from Wilkinson's an "everything" shop chain (small amount of groceries, hair dye, soft furnishings, DIY, Toys, Brewing gear...etc). I am planning on getting the larger sets this year and doing a review.

Edited by Peppermint_M, 28 August 2009 - 07:33 AM.