Hasbro's Kre-o! Is Lego seriously going to let this happen?

[surrideo]

Ok, I come clean, I also play with Character Building Doctor Who stuff .....I couldn't resist it when I found out it was coming! The quality of the bricks is really good and it connects with LEGO very well!

Not a fan of the figs from that line, the sets look alright from what I can tell from the box. As for Kre-o my kids hated it apart from the Kreons who appear to have made friends with Batman from what I can see from their rooms

[Javert]

Not a fan of the figs from that line, the sets look alright from what I can tell from the box. As for Kre-o my kids hated it apart from the Kreons who appear to have made friends with Batman from what I can see from their rooms

haha! well I love the figures, they are so dinky! Who couldn't love the mini 11 Doctors? :wub:

The sets are brilliant, I bought the TARDIS interior today, not built it yet but I cannot wait to, and I have the TARDIS exterior set, the Dalek Progenitor and the Time of Angels, they are all brilliant!

[Aanchir]

There's already a discussion on Kre-O here.

Anyway, Kre-O isn't a clone brand I'm especially fond of. Some of their parts are near-identical to even specialized LEGO parts like this, with only slight modifications. Their figures (Kreons) are unique, which sets them apart from some clone brands who have figures very much like LEGO's minifigs, but they are also fairly ugly-looking.

At the same time, I'm not opposed to the existence of Kre-O or any clone brand; I just think that their current products are somewhat embarrassing, and I think they could use improvement before they're a competitor on a level playing field with TLG. As it is, I doubt any of the Kre-O sets would be successful if they weren't tied to Hasbro's already-successful product lines like Transformers, unlike other brands like Mega Bloks which have created their own unique product lines that aim to be a low-cost alternative to LEGO products.

[Vindice]

I think the only thing to slightly worry about from TLGs perspective is that I have heard several people in several different shops refer to 'LEGO's Kre-O range' and how disappointed they were with them when bought for their son/daughter. It would appear that many people for whatever reason do actually think that Kre-O is made by TLG, whereas I have not heard that so much of other clone brands.

I think this is an excellent point! I have heard people refer to "thos lego kre-os or lego transformers" too. Be a shame if they get TLG a bad rep when it's not even their product.

Another problem I have with Kre-O is that it could've been so good. I'm not expecting LEGO quality, but with lines like Transformers there could've been some creative, functional designs. Instead the sets only "transform" by taking them apart and rebuilding them differently. And neither the robot or vehicle modes come out looking all that good, anyway.

TLG have had a go at LEGO transformers. I don't think the results were very good or marketable.

I don't think it will ever get too bad, remember Hasbro and TLG need to co-exist peacefully. With the issue over TLG cutting into Hasbros SW profits both companies are probably just doing a bit of saber rattling from time to time.

[paanjang16]

I think the only thing to slightly worry about from TLGs perspective is that I have heard several people in several different shops refer to 'LEGO's Kre-O range' and how disappointed they were with them when bought for their son/daughter. It would appear that many people for whatever reason do actually think that Kre-O is made by TLG, whereas I have not heard that so much of other clone brands.

I am not surprised if people mistook Kre-O as Lego since both are using identical bricks as Lego. Also both have minifigures which from a distance look like each other. To the untrained eye an Optimus Prime Kre-O looks almost like a Lego minifigure. It does not help Hasbro markets their stuff aggressively with huge displays at strategic positions that show the Kre-O transformers built in robot or vehicle mode. To be frank, the assembled sets look as good as Lego.

I think the misunderstanding is quite apparent in a TRU I went to last week. For some unknown reason the Kre-O sets was sharing one corner of the Lego aisle. I think it is a big mistake on TRU's part though. Hope the new Lego stock come in to kick this Kre-O stuff off the Lego aisle. Our Lego arrives much later than the rest of the world so the empty shelf must have looked like a good spot for something

At the same time, I'm not opposed to the existence of Kre-O or any clone brand; I just think that their current products are somewhat embarrassing, and I think they could use improvement before they're a competitor on a level playing field with TLG. As it is, I doubt any of the Kre-O sets would be successful if they weren't tied to Hasbro's already-successful product lines like Transformers, unlike other brands like Mega Bloks which have created their own unique product lines that aim to be a low-cost alternative to LEGO products.

I do agree on the embarrassing part. Kre-O is made by Oxford of South Korea as shown on the box. It so happen Oxford has an entire line-up of awesome sets which rivals Lego or even surpass Lego. Oxford also makes military sets which Lego does not such as a naval destroyer, main battle tank, attack helicopter, missile launcher, troops etc. Right now Hasbro has barely used Oxford to their maximum potential.

I don't mind if Hasbro challenges Lego by bringing more Kre-O sets as this would force Lego to be more competitive. The only reason why the Kre-O sets in my area is not moving so fast is because it is as or in some cases more expensive than Lego.

As for Lego working with Hasbro, I think it would only happen if either one buys each other out

[vexorian]

Please note that TLG had to pay for the kiddy craft patents. Paying for patents is an effort that is unknown for clone brands.

Also, although the standard brick patents have expired, TLG probably has not stopped getting patents for specific elements, and if you look at the pieces, it seems like every mold is copyrighted. I am not sure what amount of protection copyright can give to molds. But I think that MegaBloks are doing a much more honest and less risky work than Kre-O, as Kre-O are downright copying some elements that are very recent.

I think too many people on here have blind hate towards any plastic brick toy that isn't LEGO. In the past I bought an MB set, I don't ever remember a problem with staying together.

I have encountered a large amount of clone brand bricks, from BTR (now called Kre-O in an attempt to save themselves from negative image), megabloks and cobi. Some megabloks years are better than others and cobi are always near the top, but the clutch power is never the same. Plastic color is most of the time so bad that you can spot them easily too. In my experience, [[TLG have much better quality than clone brands]] is not the worst generalization you can make.

Edited February 22, 2012 by vexorian

[weltall1028]

I thought about buying Bumblebee for my son this past X-mas, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The fact that is is imitation Lego doesn't really bother me, its that the darn things do not transform. I also don't care for the minifig version of the Transformer included in each set, doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I would much rather take a pile of Lego, and try to create a functioning Transformer myself.