Ausini and Gaobole (GBL) trains (clone brands from China)

[Hugo]

Hello,

during my last stay in China I bought some train sets from other brands than LEGO. I already have seen, that there have been some discussion according this topic here in the forum, but some detailed pictures of the newer sets I missed. Here they come! (in my flickr album) :-)

One sentence about the prices: You can buy these sets outside China for 60 Dollar or more, but on Taobao.com you'll find them for 25 Dollar...

Best regards

Bernd_Herbert

Edited April 1, 2016 by Hugo

[Whofan88]

Thanks for posting the pictures. I have a couple questions though, how is the clutch power with the other brand bricks? What is the quality of plastic like?

[gotoAndLego]

Its a good thing they say "train" on the front or you might have no idea.

[Dutchiedoughnut]

I suppose you get what you pay for? I'm not impressed by the clone brand designs, although they can be an inspiration to MOC something.

[Redimus]

I've dabbled with one of the other sets from that lot. The clutch power is actually pretty good (sometimes a little too good). The couplings vary in quality from pretty much as reliable as Lego's own to complete waste of time, with the average being not quite as good as the original, and *most* of the wheels were acceptable, although I had at least one set of wheels the made an irritating squealing noise and wobbled.

I bashed two of the same set together to get a pretty decent loco, but to be honest, the set I got was only one with half decent wagons and a locomotive I actually liked the look of.

Here's the original loco:

And here's my heavily modded (but still mostly original off brand pieces) loco:

[bricks n bolts]

For me they're great resource for 'missing pieces', for example, from Ausini you can get the red motor sidings and light grey track

Not sure about that brown track though, I'd try to be careful and only target sets that have 80% corresponding/compatible Lego colours.

Anyone bought the GMB Horizon Express knockoff? That one looks so damn close to the real thing it must be infringing something..., would be interesting to hear from someone who had that and the original next to each other.

[jrathfon]

They don't even pretend like they aren't ripping off lego! You think they got permission to use "Maersk"?!! Sheesh! But ya, looks good if you were looking for motor sides, couplers, doors, etc, in that one color Lego doesn't make. That's almost the same as using BrickArms, Zephyr's parts, BigBenBricks, etc. *with the exception that those guys aren't trying to rip off Lego. From a purist stand point though, getting a rare or unique color piece isn't too different.

[John Hill]

I am not a Lego purist but no matter how good the clones may be I will likely also continue to buy Lego.

One of the clone sets I bought was a Sluban(?) train which I eventually consigned to standing on a siding as a bit of background filler, that set has a one piece steam loco with six wheels which is unable to follow Lego curves but the fix was simple as I took out the middle axle. All in all an OK purchase but not one I will be repeating.

[Lego Dino 500]

For me they're great resource for 'missing pieces', for example, from Ausini you can get the red motor sidings and light grey track

Not sure about that brown track though, I'd try to be careful and only target sets that have 80% corresponding/compatible Lego colours.

Anyone bought the GMB Horizon Express knockoff? That one looks so damn close to the real thing it must be infringing something..., would be interesting to hear from someone who had that and the original next to each other.

Where can you find this loco? I'm kinda curious about it, seems like it'd make a great Kragled display piece.

[bricks n bolts]

Where can you find this loco? I'm kinda curious about it, seems like it'd make a great Kragled display piece.

You can find most Ausini and GBL/Kazi trains at Aliexpress. The Horizon Express one is here at only £49.49. Other GBL/Kazi links I found are here and here.

From the pictures it looks the same apart from the arrows on the side of the train, GBL sticker, the battery/sound pack, motor, extra track and dodgy minifigs.

What I'd want to know is the quality/compatibility of those orange bricks...

Edit: GMB=GBL

Edited March 31, 2016 by bricks n bolts

[xboxtravis7992]

That Maersk Train in tan bricks is really wonky looking...

[bricks n bolts]

That Maersk Train in tan bricks is really wonky looking...

yeah, they don't seem up to copying Maersk blue, Ausini version also bad..

[LegoSjaak]

It is pretty sick how they tried to copy the Maersk-train... so sad those Chinese cannot come up with a design by themselves....

[MaxSupercars]

Yes the Maersk train is the only one that looks good and realistic. Other stuff are just play toys for the kids with low amount of realism.

Max

[MaxSupercars]

Sorry for bumping this topic, I have found the Ausini train in local toy store. What for experience do you got with this Ausini train motors? I bought just for test the Ausini military jeep and the motor is too loud and the driven axle slips inside like there would be clutch integrated and the car does not move. Any experience with Ausini train motors?

Thanx.

Max

Edited September 6, 2016 by MaxSupercars

[JopieK]

Well one can at least say: thumbs up for Ausini for providing a different colors for brackets, buffers and wheels :) Most of the sets are bad copies, but some of them are very nice looking (apart from the quality that probably is not that good), the one from Hugo:

[LegoSjaak]

Hmm..Jopie....please warn us next time for these horrible pictures... aargh!!

[Kintobor]

Does that tender actually say "Transport the Coal?" Oh, sometimes these knock off brands crack me up...

[dr_spock]

Does that tender actually say "Transport the Coal?" Oh, sometimes these knock off brands crack me up...

Yes. I guess the set designers watched 1960s Batman where everything was "properly" labeled.

[JopieK]

Hmm..Jopie....please warn us next time for these horrible pictures... aargh!!

Haha, will do. But like with computer brands I hope that a little competition keeps our favorite brand awake ;) So: LEGO, please release motor brackets and buffers in red for us!

Indeed I think the Chinese are unsure that parents see what their builds represent (I mean, probably most children that would be the main target, will not be able to read English anyway ;), so just to make sure for the parents they put "Train" or "Locomotive" on the engines, how thoughtful)

[pirzyk]

I picked up the vintage train as well. Wound up using the O rings from the wheels in my LUG member's Metra train because his were so old. The O rings worked like a champ. I also have used the orange hand rails in my ICG GP-38 MOC.

I will say the skin color on the minifigs is downright creepy. Looks like the ghostly undead. The pictures don't convey the creepy factor enough.

Re track: when I got mine, the switch points were unusable, as they had not included the internal mechanicals (i.e. all the parts that move).

It was an interesting learning experience, I probably won't buy another one any time soon.

[BMW]

I will say the skin color on the minifigs is downright creepy. Looks like the ghostly undead. The pictures don't convey the creepy factor enough.

Zombie trains!

[JopieK]

@pirzyk: Wow that it is really bad indeed, switch points not having the internals at all making them not function. B.t.w. just for the O-rings: for another (non-LEGO) project I needed O-rings and it turns out companies have them in a lot of different varieties.

[crossmr]

On 2016-03-31 at 10:45 AM, John Hill said:

I am not a Lego purist but no matter how good the clones may be I will likely also continue to buy Lego.

One of the clone sets I bought was a Sluban(?) train which I eventually consigned to standing on a siding as a bit of background filler, that set has a one piece steam loco with six wheels which is unable to follow Lego curves but the fix was simple as I took out the middle axle. All in all an OK purchase but not one I will be repeating.

Sluban is a really bad copy of Oxford. Oxford doesn't make trains anymore, but yes they are slightly different and don't work well with Lego track.

As far as the GBL horizon goes. I have that train. They're basically identical from what I've heard. I don't have the original Lego one. It's a decent train. Great clutch, and it has a rechargeable battery in it. Only an on/off function, but for the price. It's very solid. Ausini has a lot of trains/stations and rolling stock. With Enlighten no longer making knock-offs of old lego stuff, Ausini and GBL are basically all that's out there for decent alternative trains. Ausini doesn't come with a full track though.

[Pelzer117]

I know the situation with the copies for LEGO itself is horrible, but this „alternate“ trains are often better then I thought. I used the Ausini 25705 set for my Emerald Night to have a red bumper 

Looks very cool now (but I cant upload a pic)

Edited March 5, 2018 by Pelzer117