Clone Brands Train discussions

[LegoSjaak]

For me it is simple... i'm going for quality and will only buy Lego.....i'd rather have one decent Lego train then 3 crappy trains which fall apart during a ride or so. In life you can make a choice between high and low quality, whether it are cars, food or toys... Everyone should decide for themselves what to choose...

So, for me it is only original Lego!!

[kyphur]

Well, my initial idea is to use ME Models Metal Rails (since LEGO 9v rails cost a King's Ransom on BL) and some kind of motor brush or slot car brush as pickup, with a 9v brick (as in one of those heavy-duty DC adapters, which are usually rated at 3-7 Amps as opposed to the small "wall wart" ones that are usually only good for 1-2 Amps max) providing a steady voltage supply to the rails (and using flex-track pieces to isolate reversing loops so you don't get any shorting problems)... But enough OT, I'll see about posting some schematics and such when I get the idea more down-pat.

I keep a watch on the Train Tech forum, definitely interested in this when you do create a thread. My main desire is the second scenario I mentioned, charging TLG LiPo Battery while the train is running. The thought would be to have a section of track powered so that when the train runs over it it would add juice to the LiPo. That way I don't need the whole track powered and don't need to worry about reversing polarity or the drop in power at distances from the connection. Additionally I could park a train on powered side track for it to just sit & charge.

Well, I looked closer, and it was just being sold by the same reseller... It was actually made by SLUBAN, which, IIRC, actually makes MEGABLOKS look high-quality! ...but here is the link anyways...

That re-seller is a bit expensive. For the Frisco Fe they want $22.99 shipped while I only paid $17 to an eBay seller. If anyone is interested just PM me and I'll send you the eBay User ID of the guy. I ordered 1 each of all 18 Enlighten Trains for a grand total of $244 shipped which averages out to $13.55 per set!

[Lord Insanity]

That re-seller is a bit expensive. For the Frisco Fe they want $22.99 shipped while I only paid $17 to an eBay seller. If anyone is interested just PM me and I'll send you the eBay User ID of the guy. I ordered 1 each of all 18 Enlighten Trains for a grand total of $244 shipped which averages out to $13.55 per set!

The online store a2ztoy.com is expensive for a single item but get several and the shipping per unit goes down significantly. For example the box of one of each Enlighten sets. That is all 18 engines and cars and one of each of the 2 track packs for 189.90 with shipping to the US for 57.14. Grand total of 247.04 or 12.35 per set.

As far as the quality comparison goes... So you think LEGO's new lower quality made in China parts (like the collectible Minifigures) are only 75-80% of normal LEGO quality? Because the Enlighten stuff is pretty much right on par with those. Maybe we are not thinking in terms of the same scale. If normal LEGO is 100% and "dissolve if you touch them" hypothetical bricks are 0% I would put Enlighten and Oxford (as well as LEGO's lower quality China parts) in the 90-95% range. MegaBloks would be in the 70-80% range. Best-Lock pre-Cobi merger (plates are half thick instead of 1/3) would be in the 40-50% range. (totally worthless) Best-Lock post Cobi merger (plates are 1/3) would be in the 80-85% range. (yes they went from worthless to better than MegaBloks)

@LegoSjaak - While I have no problem with being brand loyal at least do so on honest terms. Enlighten trains are not going to fall apart anymore than LEGO trains. If anything Enlighten's train set clutch power is usually slightly stronger than LEGO's. Make no mistake I have a strong brand preference for LEGO but certain things LEGO just doesn't do (like offer separate train car sets or make modern military sets) so one has no choice but to look elsewhere to fill those gaps. When buying the parts to make a MOC of those "gaps" is 2-3 times more expensive, high quality clones like Enlighten Trains or Oxford Military sets can be quite appealing.

[frogstudio]

Hi!!! I own several of these trians,which I bought on my last trip to china for virtually nothing... The only issue I've found is that the bricks are much heavier, adding quite a lot of strain to the motors you use... so take that into account if you plan to use them other than for display. Just my 2 cents..

[kyphur]

As far as the quality comparison goes... So you think LEGO's new lower quality made in China parts (like the collectible Minifigures) are only 75-80% of normal LEGO quality? Because the Enlighten stuff is pretty much right on par with those. Maybe we are not thinking in terms of the same scale. If normal LEGO is 100% and "dissolve if you touch them" hypothetical bricks are 0% I would put Enlighten and Oxford (as well as LEGO's lower quality China parts) in the 90-95% range. MegaBloks would be in the 70-80% range. Best-Lock pre-Cobi merger (plates are half thick instead of 1/3) would be in the 40-50% range. (totally worthless) Best-Lock post Cobi merger (plates are 1/3) would be in the 80-85% range. (yes they went from worthless to better than MegaBloks)

I can't comment on the quality of MegaBlocks, ever since I saw that their idea of building planes & tanks is to have 3 large specialty parts in a set with a dozen bricks I turned away and never looked back. Regardless of quality they just missed he concept of a Building Toy.

I've had BestLock in my hands and it was total crap, wasn't aware of the recent [!?] merger and quality increase.

I also can't say anything in regards to oxford as I've only seen reviews on this site but never handled their product.

Regarding Enlighten, their parts have a few issues:

• Train bases are weaker plastic that isn't as straight as LEGO train bases.
  
• Most of the studs have very visible artifacts from being cut from a spru. A lot them are not just visible but required trimming so that I didn't puncture my fingers while building.
  
• Color consistency is not up to LEGO standards.
  
• Trans Colors are cloudy.
  
• The smaller parts are too soft. Examples are the 1x2 tile grill & any hand tools for MiniFigs.
  

@LegoSjaak - While I have no problem with being brand loyal at least do so on honest terms. Enlighten trains are not going to fall apart anymore than LEGO trains. If anything Enlighten's train set clutch power is usually slightly stronger than LEGO's. Make no mistake I have a strong brand preference for LEGO but certain things LEGO just doesn't do (like offer separate train car sets or make modern military sets) so one has no choice but to look elsewhere to fill those gaps. When buying the parts to make a MOC of those "gaps" is 2-3 times more expensive, high quality clones like Enlighten Trains or Oxford Military sets can be quite appealing.

I completely agree with everything you said here...

Edited October 27, 2011 by kyphur

[BillytheKid]

I finally get my hands on an Enlighten train. One loc en 2 wagons, only €30,-. Lego train are 4x more expensive........ And with the present economic is fallen down, this is a nice good looking train set to buy. Too bad Lego hasn't have these sets anymore.

The quality is good and mine runs at 12v .

Inner view of the loc itself:

And the innerview of the wagons:

And if I had kids, I properly would buy this sooner than real Lego, because it's much cheaper.

Edited November 22, 2011 by AFOL12v

[President of Brick Town]

Hi, Im not sure this is already posted by surfing around Brickshelf today I saw:

Oversized image removed by moderator.

REALLY, we have Enlighten on our left, now this on our right.

What's left? They copied 7897 and the RC powering system. It's no longer before they release PF.

[WesternOutlaw]

I'm not sure I understand the intent of this post. Is it for all of us to be reminded that these cheap LEGO copies are crap. If so, it is.

[President of Brick Town]

This is made to get people's opinions, especialy the "Queen of Clone Brands"

[sneff]

I work in the hobby industry dealing with radio control cars, planes, boats and helis. we have to deal with the same kinds of copies and it is a real pain in the butt.

People buy low quality imitations on flea bay and they think all r/c products are low quality like the product they just purchased and they get a bad taste in their mouth.

I hope the same sort of thing doesnt happen with these.

[peterab]

Given the BanBao train looks like it's based on this it's hard to argue that LEGO has far superior quality in this case.

7897 has to be the worst train produced in the history of LEGO (IMHO of course), combining as it did the RC baseplate and the one piece nose, which is notorious for its poor molding resulting in gaps with adjacent bricks and poor clutch power. The BanBao train at least doesn't have visible gaps on the package.

Anybody want to 'invest' any of their money for a BanBao review? While I'm interested, I'm not interested enough to test it with my money.

[AndyC]

The BanBao train at least doesn't have visible gaps on the package.

Neither did 7897 though, to be fair. I could've lived with the RC base for that model, it was really only the crappy front piece that spoiled what otherwise might have been a nice set.

Have to admit I'm curious about how bad that BanBao thing would be too, though not enough to spend actual money on it.

[peterab]

Neither did 7897 though, to be fair. I could've lived with the RC base for that model, it was really only the crappy front piece that spoiled what otherwise might have been a nice set.

There seems to be a gap on the rear vertical edge of the crappy front piece to me, and it's pretty visible in all the marketing photos I've ever seen of this set. At least they didn't airbrush it out because that would have been misleading, but that piece is one of the worst LEGO has ever sold.

I don't mind the RC base too much either for what it is, but it is very restrictive in the type of loco you can build, and it was definitely a backward step, even 4.5V stuff was far more flexible.

[ZueriHB]

Just googled those Ban Bao guys and found some other train related sets.

Most intriguing is their track. It seems to me that the curves are of a bigger radius. Also are the switch points. But I could be wrong.

[cimddwc]

The switch looks the same shape to me (except for having 1-stud wide sleepers, of course). As for the curves, well, it may be a matter of perspective. If you look at the Lego curve images on a box like the 7939's, they don't look that much bent either. So my guess is they got the same radius.

BanBao's 8228 train doesn't look that bad IMO, actually. Doesn't seem to be a copy of an original Lego set, or did I miss something here?

[lightningtiger]

BanBao's 8228 train doesn't look that bad IMO, actually. Doesn't seem to be a copy of an original Lego set, or did I miss something here?

Your right it doesn't look like any of Lego's recent designs....actually the only things I like in that set is the dog moulds and those sacks.

[President of Brick Town]

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=489471

You've been warned.

[President of Brick Town]

So...

Many Lego Purists has predicted this battle and predicted a win for TLG. Let the competion begin!

[passenger car]

VS

---

Transportation advert round:

VS

and

And compare that plane with

and

---

And Finally:

VS

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Buzzard/Train/BanBao-Trains/BanBao-8221/8221_b.jpg

[extremely oversised photo]

---

Edited November 25, 2011 by President of Brick Town

[WesternOutlaw]

After seeing these additional pictures, I don't think we need a second topic on clone/copy brands. I'm merging this with the Enlighten topic and will do the same for any additional topics. This is a LEGO Train forum, I'd like to keep it that way.

[kyphur]

Many Lego Purists has predicted this battle and predicted a win for TLG. Let the competion begin!

And many don't even see there being any "Battle"...

Seriously the Enlighten & Banbao clones are either original designs (Banbao 8228, Enlighten Heavy Steam Loco) or knock-offs of discontinued TLG Designs there really is no head-to-head competition.

The biggest irony of your one man crusade against the clone brands is that you're actually supplying free advertising for them in a targeted audience that they would never directly reach! I wasn't aware of Enlighten's complete train line until I saw it in one of these "Kill the Clones" threads and that info actually led me to purchase the complete line! Same with Banbao, I'd heard of the brand but didn't know they made trains until you posted your "Hate them" thread. Honestly if I could easily get my hands on their remote trains I just might buy them to see if they're worth anything.

Edited November 25, 2011 by kyphur

[WesternOutlaw]

Let the competion begin!

Not to be rude, but you need to go out and buy a LEGO Train set. No competition (unless LEGO quality continues to diminish).

[lightningtiger]

'The Brickster' is right, not much of a battle, Lego have at up to least a forty year head start on these clones. Some have good original ideas while others are plain rip-off's.

And what this about Lego's quality eh ? My 10219 train is perfect, even if China was written on the box.

[ZueriHB]

And many don't even see there being any "Battle"...

Seriously the Enlighten & Banbao clones are either original designs (Banbao 8228, Enlighten Heavy Steam Loco) or knock-offs of discontinued TLG Designs there really is no head-to-head competition.

The biggest irony of your one man crusade against the clone brands is that you're actually supplying free advertising for them in a targeted audience that they would never directly reach! I wasn't aware of Enlighten's complete train line until I saw it in one of these "Kill the Clones" threads and that info actually led me to purchase the complete line! Same with Banbao, I'd heard of the brand but didn't know they made trains until you posted your "Hate them" thread. Honestly if I could easily get my hands on their remote trains I just might buy them to see if they're worth anything.

Wouldn't buy those Banbao trains. As Ban Bao bricks have a different height than other brands or our trusted Lego bricks.

But the cargo train design is interessting.

[12vretrofan]

Hello, I am 12v retrofan and I was just trying to gather data on the Enlighten trains. How is there quality compared to lego? Does anybody know if the plastic is safe to have in the home? I know the company may not have to abide by regulations, which makes me worry about what chemicals they use. Thanks!

[12vretrofan]

Does anybody know the safety of Enlighten trains? Before anybody gets mad at me, I am not thinking about buying one. I have just seen a lot of talk about them and I wondered if the chemicals used in the plastic, dye, or paint are safe to have especially around young children. I am sorry if I posted this entry in the wrong section. I am new to the forum and I am still getting acquainted with the logistics of the forum. Any help anybody can give me would be appreciated. Thank you!