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Jedi Master

Fake LEGO Minifigures and offbrand Parts

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So I don't know if this topic has been done yet but I am just going to do it anyways :tongue:, I hope to start a discussion about fake lego minifigures especially and maybe the quality of their bricks

 

So I probably won't post any pictures simply because I don't have any fake lego, but would like to say a few things that I know about it at least...

 

I purchase most of my LEGO off of eBay, especially the hundreds of clone figures to put into my army, but recently have noticed these wierd Chinese counterpart copy of these clone figures appearing all over when I search for REAL Lego. You can easily tell the difference from the fake just because how bad it looks, but it is sad to see that many companies try to pass these as real Lego figures...

I have not purchased any of these and do not plan on it, just seeing these figures in collections looks off and awkward, and supporting those companies is not something I wish to do when I don't like what they're doing.

The parts is a another story. I have several sets of GOOD QUALITY USA made offbrand that actually works quite well with Lego. These look like Lego, and is more difficult to tell the difference than that of the figures.

 

So does anyone own any of these figures? What are your thoughts on the quality and how they compare with LEGO? Maybe even a side by side figure comparison in a picture would help. Again it will be my look that this gets merged. So please don't merge if you don't have to... thanks, just wanted to potentially hear a couple thoughts.

Edited by Jedi Master

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There's been a large discussion about clone brand products over in Community. There's a good chance this discussion will get moved over there. 

There's already a discussion about clone brand figures although discussion of anything copied from Lego isn't allowed and the same goes for any sets copied from Lego.

As with anything there is good and bad quality. When it's good it's very close to Lego and when it's bad it's very bad.

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On April 9, 2017 at 7:53 PM, Jedi Master said:

So does anyone own any of these figures? What are your thoughts on the quality and how they compare with LEGO? Maybe even a side by side figure comparison in a picture would help. Again it will be my look that this gets merged. So please don't merge if you don't have to... thanks, just wanted to potentially hear a couple thoughts.

I own a couple of these Chinese counterparts... I bought these off of eBay thinking they were real and from a couple feet away they look like the real thing.... but when you get up close, they look awful! For one, their printing is messed up. Also, once you attach their head to their torso, the head won't come off! Over all, I was very disappointed when they arrived but they also aren't the worst they could be... :sceptic:

Edited by JJBricker

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On 9/30/2019 at 4:31 PM, JJBricker said:

I own a couple of these Chinese counterparts... I bought these off of eBay thinking they were real and from a couple feet away they look like the real thing.... but when you get up close, they look awful! For one, their printing is messed up. Also, once you attach their head to their torso, the head won't come off! Over all, I was very disappointed when they arrived but they also aren't the worst they could be... :sceptic:

How much did you pay for it?

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2 hours ago, Jedi Master said:

How much did you pay for it?

I got a fake Series 5 Royal Guard, a fake Series 7 Bunny Suit Guy, a fake Series 8 Santa Claus, and a fake Series 13 Hotdog suit guy. I believe that they each costed around $4 per minifigure. I thought I was getting a deal!

Edited by JJBricker

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I have a few clone brand figures and I don't think they are that bad. I bought 10 roman soldiers for my kids to play with and they have lasted three years with quite heavy play. It is easy to tell the difference between the torsos and legs when compared to a real one due to the colours being slightly off, but for the accessories it is very hard. Same with a Medusa. I actually glued these ones together to make sure we knew they are fake ones. I also have some figures that LEGO do not do, such as the Xenomorph from Alien and that is a great figure. Decent moulding for the head, and excellent print, probably superior to LEGO's printing as they print the torso and legs at the same time, so prints match across the body. I also have a lot of Gondor soldiers' armour. I bought the complete figures but I don't really like using non-LEGO parts when a decent LEGO alternative exists so I sold off the figures and kept the armour and helmets. They are superb parts. I also have genuine brickforge and brickwarriors parts but did also try out fakes of those that are available from China. I cannot really tell the difference between them.

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I think it's abhorrent that there are so many copycat brands out there making money the easy way by ripping off the hard work of another. Just because TLG is a big company doesn't mean they aren't entitled to the same rights and respect as anyone else. 

TLG may be a multibillion kroner company but it is made up of individuals who work hard to research, design, test and create the best possible product that is of a quality and safety standard to last generations. 

There is a reason we are all AFOLs, and the L stands for LEGO, not Lepin or Mega Blocks or any other brand. If LEGO did not adhere to their strict standards over the decades, would there be such a fan community now? And how many other big companies employ entire teams of people solely to engage with their fans? 

Of course TLG is not perfect and, as a company, they make some bad decisions, but no company is perfect. 

Also, TLG is investing serious money in trying to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Then there's all the work done by LEGO Charity and LEGO Foundation. 

My point is that all these factors figure into the price of their products and it really annoys me to see other clone-brand companies piggyback like leeches and get the benefits without having to invest in the innovation and the social responsibility. 

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