39 replies to this topic

[Snark]

As someone who equallly enjoys Lego, Megabloks and Kreo, I've always found it rather odd at how fervently people here hate the alternative brands. Now if the other brands aren't for you, that's cool and all, but I don't think I've ever seen this level of scorn and vitriol ever directed at brands of childrens' toys before.

To the best of my knowledge, Nerf fans generally don't hate Buzzbee, and GI Joe fans don't hate the myriad army action figures out on the market, so the contrast between such fandoms and this has always been odd.

Frankly, I find the behaviors rather offputting and alienating, especially given that it was an interest in Kreo that brought me out of my so called dark ages.

[JimButcher]

I think it's to be expected. This is a LEGO fansite, and as far as my knowledge goes, TLG was the first company to come up with the idea of interlocking brick sets (or if they weren't, they're certainly the longest lasting). I would expect a degree of hostility from loyal LEGO fans towards Megabloks and blatant rip-offs, because no one likes when an idea is stolen for profit (although it's pretty common these days). Plus, TLG offers one of the best customer services I've experienced, and they generally deliver what the fans want. We're pretty loyal.  

What it really comes down to, though, is simply ignoring any negative statements towards Megabloks, Kreo, etc. if it bothers you.

[Leo Crimson]

Well Lego did lose a lawsuit against MegaBloks trying to stop them from making similar toys, so that might be a factor.



I don't hate alternate brands, I just prefer Lego's superior quality and sets.

[Peppermint_M]

In the beginning Hillary Page made the Automatic Binding Brick, in old imperial measurements he sold it through his Kiddicraft "Sensible Toys". He did not meet with huge success but when the UK company he purchased his plastic molding machine through sent their machine to a company called "Lego" they sent some samples of what could be done. Modifications to metric measures on the brick later and the LEGO brick was born.

Things get complicated and a bit confusing (also a little sordid, from a certain perspective, at times) but needless to say the company beat out all competition until recently where in all courts TLG have been persuing have come back with the verdict that they no longer hold patent on the stud and tube bricks.

Hence KreO being made and sold without issue.

As for fan hate, it happens. Ship to ship, show to show, movie fans and music fans... Every rabid fandom has what it hates for whatever reason. That's what people are like.

In all things of life I like a little of everything so I like to use clones for parts for figures.

[Jimbobulus]

JimButcher, on 18 July 2012 - 01:17 AM, said:

I think it's to be expected. This is a LEGO fansite, and as far as my knowledge goes, TLG was the first company to come up with the idea of interlocking brick sets (or if they weren't, they're certainly the longest lasting). I would expect a degree of hostility from loyal LEGO fans towards Megabloks and blatant rip-offs, because no one likes when an idea is stolen for profit (although it's pretty common these days). Plus, TLG offers one of the best customer services I've experienced, and they generally deliver what the fans want. We're pretty loyal.  

What it really comes down to, though, is simply ignoring any negative statements towards Megabloks, Kreo, etc. if it bothers you.

If these other companies weren't around, there would be no competition. This would lead to a decline in quality. Do you want that?

[escortmad79]

Jimbobulus, on 19 July 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

If these other companies weren't around, there would be no competition. This would lead to a decline in quality. Do you want that?

Too late! I've experienced some horrendous Lego bricks in sets over the past few years!

Mismatched colour bricks, broken parts in modular sets, translucent red parts in sets, poor quality Chinese plastic etc

[Lego Amaryl]

I agree that the existence of clone brands is important for competition, however I think it's more than evident thay are a copy... a bad copy.
Megabloks and other brands not only use the same "stud" system of LEGO, but they keep introducing new molds similar to the new LEGO bricks (e.g. new mudguards, wedges, etc...).
Plastic quality is poor, set design is often more childish than LEGO, minifigs are ugly... and no competitor brand has a brick "system" comparable to LEGO (in fact, usually they use the word "compatible" on the boxes).
So I don't hate them, I simply keep them away and suggest to my relatives and friends not to buy them for their children, especially those from very low cost brands.

[Darth Hagrid]

If you don't get why people hate clone brands, just take a gander over this way...

[vexorian]

Snark, on 18 July 2012 - 12:57 AM, said:

As someone who equallly enjoys Lego, Megabloks and Kreo, I've always found it rather odd at how fervently people here hate the alternative brands. Now if the other brands aren't for you, that's cool and all, but I don't think I've ever seen this level of scorn and vitriol ever directed at brands of childrens' toys before.

To the best of my knowledge, Nerf fans generally don't hate Buzzbee, and GI Joe fans don't hate the myriad army action figures out on the market, so the contrast between such fandoms and this has always been odd.

Frankly, I find the behaviors rather offputting and alienating, especially given that it was an interest in Kreo that brought me out of my so called dark ages.

If it makes you feel better, I hate Nerf and most other toys too.


I love competition as a force that would force LEGO to improve. However, this is something that Megabloks and Kre-O  do not do. They still are very low quality. If anything, Megabloks and Kre-O may be having a negative effect on LEGO's product, forcing them to be more "manly" and license-focused.

I have come to know oxford from up close, and they have these wonderful tanks and the plastic is not awful like BTW/Kreo or Mega. I don't hate oxford. Of course, I have limited money and I can only choose to collect one brand, it will have to be LEGO.

Edited by vexorian, 19 July 2012 - 04:49 PM.

[Jimbobulus]

escortmad79, on 19 July 2012 - 04:11 PM, said:

Too late! I've experienced some horrendous Lego bricks in sets over the past few years!

Mismatched colour bricks, broken parts in modular sets, translucent red parts in sets, poor quality Chinese plastic etc

Well, it would be even worse were there no competition, so thank your lucky stars for the clone brands  

Lego Amaryl, on 19 July 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

I agree that the existence of clone brands is important for competition, however I think it's more than evident thay are a copy... a bad copy.
Megabloks and other brands not only use the same "stud" system of LEGO, but they keep introducing new molds similar to the new LEGO bricks (e.g. new mudguards, wedges, etc...).
Plastic quality is poor, set design is often more childish than LEGO, minifigs are ugly... and no competitor brand has a brick "system" comparable to LEGO (in fact, usually they use the word "compatible" on the boxes).
So I don't hate them, I simply keep them away and suggest to my relatives and friends not to buy them for their children, especially those from very low cost brands.

They use the same stud system because it's the best. Some don't use the same system, but they are inferior. Lego did the same, they aren't the original brick builders. The UK company Kiddicraft designed the patent, Lego bought it off of them. Plastic quality is not poor on all the brands. Some of them, maybe most of them, yes, I agree. But there are some viable companies which make good quality products. Lego are just a cut above.

vexorian, on 19 July 2012 - 04:45 PM, said:

If it makes you feel better, I hate Nerf and most other toys too.


I love competition as a force that would force LEGO to improve. However, this is something that Megabloks and Kre-O  do not do. They still are very low quality. If anything, Megabloks and Kre-O may be having a negative effect on LEGO's product, forcing them to be more "manly" and license-focused.

I have come to know oxford from up close, and they have these wonderful tanks and the plastic is not awful like BTW/Kreo or Mega. I don't hate oxford. Of course, I have limited money and I can only choose to collect one brand, it will have to be LEGO.

Megabloks and Kre-O are not low quality. They are just not as good as Lego. There is a difference. Lego is pretty much unbeatable for quality. Kre-O and Megablocks arent as good, maybe by some distance, but this does not make them a bad product. I don't understand the point about forcing Lego into the Licences- surely if the other competitors are so poor, they have no need of licences?

I love Lego. I always have. And they ARE the best. But for some of these other brands I think we should just give them a break. Some of them deserve the abuse they get, they are truly horrible things to use. But not all of them and they shouldn't all be tarred with the same brush.

[Nightshroud99]

I was telling my friend the other day, on Facebook, that people always need to b**ch about something. It was on the subject of piercings and tattoos, but it applies here as well.

If you don't like it then ignore it, this is similar to discrimination against races. People need to understand that other people like different things and to live with it/grow up.
I used to like Mega Bloks, but I don't anymore. However, I do not go around telling people not to buy them and that they are crap, just that the plastic quality is a bit less and that the instructions are confusing. The sets are very nice in my opinion, but I'd rather spend my money on LEGO.

[Legocrazy81]

Nightshroud99, on 19 July 2012 - 07:15 PM, said:

I was telling my friend the other day, on Facebook, that people always need to b**ch about something. It was on the subject of piercings and tattoos, but it applies here as well.

If you don't like it then ignore it, this is similar to discrimination against races. People need to understand that other people like different things and to live with it/grow up.
I used to like Mega Bloks, but I don't anymore. However, I do not go around telling people not to buy them and that they are crap, just that the plastic quality is a bit less and that the instructions are confusing. The sets are very nice in my opinion, but I'd rather spend my money on LEGO.

Yep. No matter how good or inexpensive something is, there will ALWAYS be someone complaining. Of course, it's somewhat to be expected on here since it IS a LEGO fan site. But still...

I don't have a problem with clone brands. I don't even pay attention to them in the aisles. Although, Nanoblocks are pretty cool. There is one clone brand though, I think it's simply called "Brick(s)", that are blatant rip offs of LEGO. If you are an AFOL who likes say, Halo or Mario or Hello Kitty, then have at it and buy one. If you like it, great. I don't see why we should turn our noses up at these companies.

Look at K'nex, LEGO should be honored they're using bricks now. After all those years of using their click system they switched to using(not all) bricks. It's flattering to me. They(as well as Hasbro/Kre-O) and other toy companies obviously see how well TLG has done in the years since almost being wiped off the market and want to get their piece of the pie.

[Bilbo Baggins]

The truth is that there's a part of me that really dislikes this clone brands, but what I do is try not paying them attention. I got really mad when I learned MB has The Amazing Spider Man license because I was really looking forward to LEGO sets based on the movie

[fred67]

Yeah... I don't know.  People choose a side in fandom and then vigorously defend it like they have some vested interest - whether is their car brand, shoe brand, video game system, operating system - people often feel the need to validate their choice.

I do think the clone brands are inferior quality, and generally avoid them, but I don't hate on them... I don't really care, frankly, and appreciate the fact that they do themes that TLG won't.  I do have a MB set (just the one, though).

That said, it can't be because they are clones - because TLC ripped off kiddiecraft before buying the rights.  They were no angels.  I also respect the fact that any patents on the brick functionality are long since expired, and there's a reason that patents expire.

One last thing, at the presentation I saw last fall, one of the executives from TLG's North American marketing division explained that one of the things TLG did to overcome it's near bankruptcy about a decade ago was to STOP trying to compete at the low end with clone brick makers.  They realized they had a premium product and could charge premium prices and they marketed it that way.  There's a reason TLG is so much more successful than the clone makers - because they do a better job.

[TheLegoDr]

I don't love the clone brands, but I have seen some interesting molds used that TLG do not have. It really does depend on which clone brand you are talking about because I have some early 90s Tyco blocks and Megablocks that have awesome clutching power and no problems with color variation or yellowing effect over the years, yet "they are an inferior product." There are some terrible brands out there and then there is some decent competition. TLG has done a great job at marketing and they come out on top as far as overall product satisfaction and customer service. However, I have had some crappy Lego bricks all the same.

So who knows, I suppose there is such loyalty to a brand that people won't buy another one just because it is their competitor. Some people will only buy Ford vehicles, whereas others absolutely hate that brand. I have loyalty, but never that fiercely I guess. I want the best, whatever that may be.

[JimButcher]

Jimbobulus, on 19 July 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

If these other companies weren't around, there would be no competition. This would lead to a decline in quality. Do you want that?

No, but I think you missed my point. Besides, LEGO has been of tremendous quality even before clone brands. And IMO, Lego is still much better than most. The only reason I could see myself buying, say, Megabloks instead is for licensed themes that Lego doesn't have (like Halo, if I was into that sort of thing).

[sharky]

What's worse than clone brands are the clones of the clone brands.  For example, the Super Blox brand marketed by Crazy Art seem to be a clone of the Oxford stuff.  Oxford being the Korean brick brand that also makes Kre-o sets for Hasbro.  Wow, talk about some worthless bricks.

[RaincloudDustbin]

Darth Hagrid, on 19 July 2012 - 04:41 PM, said:

If you don't get why people hate clone brands, just take a gander over this way...

Ha ha! That's hilarious. 1. It's called 'Brick'. 2. The so called Spiderman has 2 right arms. I wonder if the guy at the factory got sacked over that. I wonder if they even have a factory. 3. How did they obtain the licence for Spiderman. I wonder if he's called 'Web-Boy'. Thanks for posting that- it made my day.

This is one of my favorite ever comments...
'Coming soon to a rubbish tip near you:

Right Handed Spiderman A.k.a Arnold Schwarzenegger

In

Terminator 2.5: Lawsuit Day

Synoposis: In the early part of the 21st century, poorly made bootlegs kill the LEGO franchise, however, one bootleg is reprogrammed and sent back in time to fight for the LEGO cause, ensuring all bootlegs like him are never made.

*dun-dun-dun-der-dun-der-der*'

Edited by TeardropTrashcan, 20 July 2012 - 02:50 PM.

[Peppermint_M]

Bootleg and clone are two seperate things.

Now, can we all stay civil or will we the staff use this as our go to place to find those unsuitable for membership?

[IAmWillGibson]

I have a healthy respect for Not-Lego stuff. I mean, it's not as good. Let's be up front. Say it and know it and then move on.

Not that I have much stuff by other brands, really, and I would avoid the KO stuff like the plague not out of some elitist respect for LEGO but rather because it's just a bad toy.

But there's stuff to like in these other guys' sets, and I always enjoy seeing pieces that aren't ripped off from LEGO designs. Kre-O, questionable set designs aside, has some interesting stuff here and there, and certainly offers things LEGO wont. I said elsewhere, the weapons in the Battleship sets are up there with Brickarms as far as I'm concerned. I mean, yeah, they're a small percentage of the parts, but they're very good parts. They also have a pretty swell dual-sided stud element that I'm waiting for LEGO to just happen to produce as well.

And I'm really psyched about the Transformer Kreon blind packs and Combiner sets. They're just so dumb that they can't not be charming.

vexorian, on 19 July 2012 - 04:45 PM, said:

I have come to know oxford from up close, and they have these wonderful tanks and the plastic is not awful like BTW/Kreo or Mega. I don't hate oxford.

Which is awesome because Kre-O IS Oxford.

[agentofchaos73]

Tried Megablocks a few years ago. Quality of bricks was crap, figures looked like garbage. I don't have any interest in any of their current offerings, but I will say that their figures have improved significantly in the past several years. Still don't look right with LEGO figures, but they almost kinda work as smaller characters for Minimates. Just not my cup of tea.

As for Kre-O, I have yet to build one of their sets, but that will soon change when I build my Megatron set I got for $15 from Target earlier today. As for the Kreons, I don't care for the look of the humans with the body type they chose, but I really like the Transformers themselves.  They look pretty cool to me, and they are just similar enough to LEGO minifigures that they won't look TOO out of place with them.... aside from the fact that they are supposed to be giant robots.     I've got all of the Transformers Kreons to date aside from Bumblebee and Soundwave, and I'm looking forward to the 2013 offerings.

Then there's the brand called Best Lock, which I'm not even sure still exists, but I bought a couple sets for my kids a few years back, and they were TERRIBLE! Figures were awful, and the bricks absolutely would not stay together, which I found funny considering their name.  


I think there's room in the market for these other brands, as everyone's tastes are different. Buy what you like, and like what you buy.

[Rook]

I don’t "hate" the other brands. I think they have a place. They keep Lego® pricing competitive. Would I buy them, no. It comes down to two issues for me. Quality of brick and misnaming. I hate that many non-Lego or non-brand specific buyers/sells refer to all brick toys as “Lego”, when there is a clear difference. This would the same as selling a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 1.0 and calling it an iPad. Sure they’re similar and they do similar things but they are not the same and should not be sold as the “same” product. Which is often the case in yard sales, Ebay, etc. You'll often see a "pile of Lego" and when you look at its building bricks from China that someone got in a Dollar Store.  



"Porsche* for sale!"

*Porsche logo has been applied to Yugo for your pleasure.

Edited by Rook, 23 July 2012 - 05:03 PM.

[Jimbobulus]

Undoubtedly some of the clone brands are terrifying. That spiderman... yeaugh   That is a real monstrosity. But thankfully, they aren't all like that!  

[RaincloudDustbin]

Peppermint_M, on 20 July 2012 - 05:10 PM, said:

Bootleg and clone are two seperate things.

Now, can we all stay civil or will we the staff use this as our go to place to find those unsuitable for membership?

Sorry, should I tone down my post?

[5150 Lego]

vexorian, on 19 July 2012 - 04:45 PM, said:

I love competition as a force that would force LEGO to improve. However, this is something that Megabloks and Kre-O  do not do. They still are very low quality. If anything, Megabloks and Kre-O may be having a negative effect on LEGO's product, forcing them to be more "manly" and license-focused.

I can't speak for Megablock as i have not had any recent contact with them, but your comment about Kre-o's quality is false and provably untrue. There quality is just as, if not better than LEGO. The bricks hold together strong, colors all match well, and they even have quite a few bricks that are unique to there brand. Now if you want to argue set design that's a completely different topic as i do believe they have some catching up to do. But as far as quality there right up there with TLC.

Peppermint_M, on 20 July 2012 - 05:10 PM, said:

Bootleg and clone are two seperate things.

Now, can we all stay civil or will we the staff use this as our go to place to find those unsuitable for membership?

Everyone has been civil.