idlemarvel Posted January 10 No that is not a misspelling, read on! Even before I started building Lego trains in earnest, I always fancied The Lego Maersk Train set #10219. That was released in 2011 and has long been out of production / retired. Most opinions list this SD-40 as the prototype: You can still buy new sets although very pricy, £400-£650, or second hand from £200 upwards. Still too much for me for a whim, but I happened to see this on AliExpress for £60 including postage: It was ordered as 2023 New 91006 1234Pcs Expert Ultimate Series Train from a reseller on AliExpress called MC PP Store who I can't find any more! The set number in the listing 91006 indicates the manufacturer was Ace KING (according to brick4.com) which is one of the brand names spawned from the closure of Lepin. What I actually got was a set numbered 40013 which I believe is the set Lepin used to produce. Hence the Moersk - presumably they didn't want to bother with the licensing! It arrived well within the promised delivery date. As described it was unboxed and just arrived in a plastic bag with no other packaging. To my surprise it came with an instruction book. The instructions are identical to the official Lego instructions for the set, except they have been condensed into fewer pages in one booklet and the parts inventory and Lego ads have been omitted. It is hard to distinguish black parts from dark grey in the instructions but other than that they were satisfactory. The set did not include a motor but the instructions, like the Lego version, had a section showing how a PF motor and IR receiver could be fitted. The bricks were in 32 sealed plastic bags. They were numbered 40013-1 to 40013-29 and the remaining three just 40013. The numbering did not seem to relate to the construction sequence so I guess it was just for the reseller to make sure all the parts were shipped. The clear plastic lorry windscreen was broken unfortunately - doubtless the result of the poor packaging. The quality of the bricks in terms of finish and clutch power was fine. One or two bricks had some oil residue, and a few had some minor defects, see below: The colour of the bricks was consistent and matched equivalent Lego bricks well. Whether the Maersk blue parts were a true match I don't know as I have nothing to compare them to. They were certainly different from any other Lego blue I have. Picture shows the provided colour between medium and dark azure. The white parts were consistent and LGB and DBG matched the Lego pieces in my collection. The stickers are frankly awful. Leaving aside the "Moersk", the printing is poor (see the O in Moersk) and the colour match to the Maersk blue of the bricks is terrible. As a result I haven't used them. I enjoyed building the lorry, wagons and loco. All the pieces were there and a few spare. The wagons rolled quite freely with the metal axle rods but the loco with four technic axles does not free-wheel at all. I fitted a Powered Up hub and train motor, adapting the instructions for Power Functions. I had to move the hub along a stud so as not to put stress on the cable. Here is the finished loco which looks as good as I hoped it would. although I can see a few areas for improvement. In summary. Pros: - complete part inventory, identical to Lego #10219 - printed instructions provided - brick quality satisfactory but not quite Lego standard - delivered within promised timescale - cheap! Cons: - no box / poor packaging --> damaged part - stickers useless - not exactly as ordered but equivalent model shipped - seller has disappeared, luckily no post-sales service required! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoch17 Posted January 10 (edited) *looks at name sticker* If this is Moe's train, where are Curly and Larry? Anyway, nice model... even though it's not LEGO. Edited January 10 by Murdoch17 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Karle Posted January 10 The Maersk sticker sheet is available from Bricklink #10219stk01. You will, however, pay dearly for them. Calling an SD-40 the prototype for a Lego GP-something or other seems to be a bit of a stretch but okey. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murdoch17 Posted January 10 (edited) 36 minutes ago, Karle said: The Maersk sticker sheet is available from Bricklink #10219stk01. You will, however, pay dearly for them. Calling an SD-40 the prototype for a Lego GP-something or other seems to be a bit of a stretch but okey. They can't do a three wheel motor with PF, so they turned the SD loco seen in the first picture into a GP by simply removing two axles from the loco. Also, I think somebody out there makes 3rd party replacement Maersk stickers... but I can't recall who. Edited January 10 by Murdoch17 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dtomsen Posted January 11 (edited) I have nothing against competing brands and will always avocate for a unbiased multifaceted view in our hobby but this is a blatantly illegally pirated 10219 Maersk Train and shouldn't be allowed here on Eurobricks even as a curiosity review. Edited January 11 by dtomsen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
idlemarvel Posted January 11 4 hours ago, dtomsen said: I have nothing against competing brands and will always avocate for a unbiased multifaceted view in our hobby but this is a blatantly illegally pirated 10219 Maersk Train and shouldn't be allowed here on Eurobricks even as a curiosity review. You raise a fair point. In some ways my experience reinforces the lesson we all learn, usually the hard way, that you get what you pay for. If I want the stickers and replacement lorry cab window, as the supplier is nowhere to be seen, I could order them on Bricklink (stickers are £38!). Probably need to replace the technic axles and loco wheels as having run the loco for a while, the ones supplied are a bit wobbly. So another £60 with P&P to fix the quality issues. I was lucky in that the goods turned up on time, not so that the seller has disappeared, but you take these chances on the edges of e-commerce. As to whether this posting should be on Eurobricks, we have to acknowledge that such offerings exist - even the latest Orient Express has been cloned and that's on eBay. But if I have breached some code on Eurobricks postings I apologise and I will remove the thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JopieK Posted January 11 7 hours ago, dtomsen said: I have nothing against competing brands and will always avocate for a unbiased multifaceted view in our hobby but this is a blatantly illegally pirated 10219 Maersk Train and shouldn't be allowed here on Eurobricks even as a curiosity review. That is also the main reason it is not in Train Tech anymore :) (I didn't move it b.t.w. but it was a good decision). @idlemarvel have you ever seen prices of 12V train stickers? That is why I used to reproduce them. But the problem is more that such a sellers are blatantly copying everything from LEGO, not as a way to extend or improve LEGO but basically to undermine it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
