Impressive Non-Lego Block Building stuff?

[BrickG]

Lego is the best. Hands down. But there's been at least one or two times that I've been impressed by something like Mega Blocks (don't burn me!).

I bought several Mega Bloks Star Trek sets for my mom who loves Star Trek. Star Trek will likely never make it to Lego unless the franchise gets somewhere where the merchandise sells really well again (like in the 90s). And as long as Mega Bloks or another brick building company has the license we can't get get one through Ideas.

Anyways I bought this for my Mom:

 

And I was actually kind of impressed. It's a BIG build. The only thing I didn't like about the look was they didn't even try to smooth out the saucer section (it's a smooth build aside from that top section...). But it's still neat. Also none of those graphics are STICKERS. I freakin' hate stickers. I really wish Lego would ditch stickers...

But as it's Mega Bloks it had a variety of different issues. The part quality sucks and some pieces just barely fit together or don't really. How much we had to struggle to get the top bridge section on the saucer section without pieces just POPPING OFF... and we never got it quite right and some of the plates are a bit off. The more plates you stack the more skewed they seem to become, therefore leading to popping off! It's just kind of poor quality, but getting so many pieces for the price and I'm not surprised. 

As for the figures, they're kind of crap too haha. Cheap plastic. One's foot is deformed as the mold messed up. The printing is not near the quality of Lego...

 

But still, I found myself impressed by the model. The sheer size of it and accuracy is pretty spot on.

 

I've also been SUPER tempted to buy the Ninja Turtle Mega Bloks sets just because I'm a sucker for the Ninja Turtles. Luckily Lego did get that franchise for a year, so my needs were filled. :)

 

 

I guess while I find myself disliking the quality of these sets which are obviously poorly made, I find myself a sucker to certain franchises I really wish Lego would explore. Star Trek mainly right now. I also went for some of the old Doctor Who stuff from that company I forget the name of (really wish Lego would do more with Doctor Who...). But I think the Enterprise here is the first build I'm impressed without outside of Lego.

[Brickus]

I've found some of the larger sets from the Mega Bloks Call of Duty line absolutely fantastic. I very recently bought the Apache Helicopter, and the build is fantastic, along with the accuracy of the model, I did have some quality issues, but the company gladly sent out replacements.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Brickus

[Japanbuilder]

I recently tried out MEGA and their brand and actually ended up liking it as much as LEGO (don't bring the pitchforks) but for different reasons. 

I got a bunch of Destiny and CoD sets and have been blown away both by the complexity of the builds and the overall quality of their products. They do have issues such as too much flash remaining on some pieces and outright faulty pieces, but they gladly replace these, no questions asked. In some ways I wish LEGO had some of the pieces they employ, such as studded slopes and marbling for sets that really do benefit from the aesthetic that brings. 

Their micro action figures are fun to pose also but I just like looking at the vehicles on display. They look like proper display models and are eye catching. That they take hours of labor to construct probably also helps up the display factor for them. 

[mocbuild101]

Not that I like non-lego, but that does look good!

[BrickG]

Oh I have to mention this about the Enterprise build... a glaring... error lol which probably wouldn't happen with Lego.

On the nameplate it says it's "Starship class". While I guess that's technically correct... kind of... I mean it's a class of vessel that is a Starship... I guess I could call a boat a "Boat Class"...  I think they meant to put it's actual class name... Constituation-class. But... for some reason didn't. I have no idea why such a glaring thing made it all the way to the production line. But I'm a stickler for canon.

[Andy D]

@BrickG Not a glowing review!

I would like to have a LEGO version of the 1701, but not too large, maybe the saucer no more than 4 inches.

This review is another good reason to stick with LEGO! But thanks for doing this.

Andy D

[BrickG]

Haha I'm making it sound worse than it was. It's still an impressive set. It just doesn't match Lego's quality. I just have a talent of making everything sound terrible. :)

[Trekkie99]

By all means, its a great SET. Why did I emphasize the word set? Because that's what it is. A set. Duh! So what I'm saying is that if you really want to impress your Ma, make your own USS Enterprise! No matter how dang awesome some "set" is, she will love yours more than anything! Unless it looks like this.

But don't be discouraged, look at me! (I know you can't its just a saying) I made one once and it sucked! But, you gotta try or you'll never find out! Cheers.

LMF

Edited May 3, 2017 by LegoMonorailFan

[FishW]

I've bought/received a couple Mega blocks sets. Well actually Mega Construx(Halo, Destiny, COD). Apparently there is a difference where Construxs are suppose to be more durable and better, while Mega bloks are of lesser quality(again I can't confirm that's just what I read in an article). That being said I've only ever the Halo brand. The set builds them self are decent. Occasionally I've had a reluctant piece or two that refuses to fit easily, but overall it is decent. The figures are actually really nice. They look awesome and those weapons are great, and compatible with Legos. I don't think I'd ever spend more than $30 on a set or get a set with just a build, but with a few figures I recommend picking up a mystery pack or a troop builder. Personally I think human figures look strange but aliens/robots(masterchief etc.) look really good. If you take them as another thing and don't compare them head on with Lego I see no problems. Plus I feel the sets are a bit cheaper, though you may lose a bit of quality. I feel Mega Bloks/Construx bring something different to table. Different blocks, weapons, etc. I honestly like them.

[Vindicare]

I haven't checked on it lately, but the Starcraft sets had me enticed when I initially heard about them. If i were caught up on my LEGO purchases, I'd very likely buy that Battlecruiser set. 

[Space Police XVIII]

Thanks for the review!  I'd been curious about Megablocks and now I know to stay away!

[icm]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but recently a friend and I built the Mega Bloks P-51 fighter plane, Harrier fighter jet, Apache attack helicopter, Bradley tank, Humvee, and a few other armored cars.  They're actually very good sets.  Mega Bloks is clearly doing everything it can to be a legitimate competitor to Lego rather than a clone brand, so it's been investing a lot of money in its own range of SNOT bricks, jumper plates, and curved slopes that are distinct from those used by Lego, but quite useful and versatile.  It's also developed a system of versatile little parts for building rod-and-bar constructions on the 3.18 mm standard.  The P-51 and Harrier are everything I wanted to build as a little kid, but couldn't. They're almost entirely brick-built; they have retractable landing gear (three-point on the P-51, four-point on the Harrier - with landing gear doors, too); they have hinged control surfaces and hidden storage compartments; the surfaces are very smoothly finished; and they're quite solid and swooshable.  The same goes for the tank, Humvee, and armored cars, though they're at a larger scale than I prefer.  The closest analogy in Lego's product line is Star Wars, which has some very detailed quasi-military models based on precisely-defined 3D source material.  However, I still think Lego does it better, because Lego's products have cool Technic mechanisms for play features and they don't rely on highly specialized parts for the cockpit glass.  I prefer the more abstracted, but more versatile, Lego cockpit glass to the perfectly-shaped, but single-use, Mega Bloks cockpit glass.

[Elysiumfountain]

Not sure that it qualifies, but I still have this old Playmobil (gasp!) victorian house that I've had for years. In high school I dabbled in stop motion videos and only recently started up again three years later. Only because they (Playmobil) are easier and larger to work with, and films made with them are a lot easier for my big clumsy hands than LEGO. But I'm still an all-in LEGO fan! :) 

[BrickG]

Bumping because I bought a small Pokemon set. It was pretty fun. I really wish Lego would do Pokemon now. Just bought a small Magikarp. 

 

 

It's a pretty fun little thing. I think Mega Bloks isn't very good at figures. Their brick's quality is much better than it was years ago, but still not as good at Lego, especially on larger builds where things won't stick together perfectly! But this is a small set and it's pretty fun. I was tempted to get the sets with Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. I'm kind of a sucker for Pokemon.

In terms of design I think they're kind of hit and miss. Some of them like Majikarp and Charizard and Gyrados are cool. Some of them are ugly as sin. Heck Pikachu is one of the uglier ones. Bricks just don't seem to fit some of them. But still, Magikarp was a fun little set. I probably won't be buying any more. This one was only like $7 and an impulse buy.