Captain Roger

Fake LEGO pirates : general discussion

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Its funny how they called it 'The Black Pearl', even though it looks nothing like it and has red and white sails. Just cashing in on the whole POTC craze, naming it the black pearl just so kids think its Jack sparrow's ship. Laughable really.

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Even we had already a review of the enlighteen Black Pearl, i have found today some interesting photos about it:

blackpearl_b_800.jpg

blackpearl_c_800.jpg

blackpearl_d_800.jpg

blackpearl_e_800.jpg

blackpearl_f_800.jpg

You can notice about the background is the same that LEGO used in artbox of 1989-1997 pirates sets.

I am trying of find more Enlighten sets to make new reviews, but sometimes is hard to find photos and i won't buy that awful sets, even they have interesting accesiores...if i don't find new enlighten photos, i may talk about other companies that have copied LEGO too

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blackpearl_e_800.jpg

Just look at the beautiful sword. :pirate:

Everything else is garbage. :pir-sick:

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There appears to be more than one "Chrome" cutlass floating around, impersonating LEGO products...

This one even has a pic...

http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Dutchstyle&itemID=17024024

$127!!!!!!! Are they serious!?!?!

http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Legosteen&itemID=15416239

That is disgusting of those sellers! :pir-sick:

Just look at the beautiful sword. :pirate:

Everything else is garbage. :pir-sick:

I agree, get the swords, kill the rest! :pir-grin:

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So all of these sets of from an imitation company! Could LEGO not sue these guys for completely copying they're moulds and designs!?! It just blows me away! :pir-oh3: (Also, those chrome swords are epic!)

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I wonder what the quality of those sails are... probably horrible... But if they were any good it would be interesting to get them as replacement sails for the original BSB.

I agree these sets look pretty bad, but I don't think they're completely useless. After reading this thread I can see myself using it as a intro to MOCing (its hard for me to destroy my existing sets cause I'm pretty sure once I take them apart they'll never be put back together and I don't have an organized surplus of extra bricks)

Basically if I wanted to try my hand at making my own ship I would probably pick up one of these sets and use the hull pieces, and once I had enough practice I'd use actual lego pieces.

The minifigs would be good to experiment with decals also, basically anything custom I could see these sets being used as guinea pigs.

*EDIT*

Well I just did a quick search online to see whats up with this Enlighten thing. Found this on ebay and decided to buy it...(Kinda dissappointed in myself but for less than $4 shipped? Whatever..)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320708256803&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Figured 4 bucks was a small price to pay to get my hands on this Chinese knock off to see what first hand what the quality is like and to compare it to LEGO. Also like everyone else, I wouldn't mind owning that chrome cutlass and the yellow parrot.

Edited by yys4u

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Nice,

If you pay full price for a pair of genuine lego ships I think they

deserve getting a genuine pirated ship to blast to smithereens.

Too bad pirated does not acually mean really cheap, somehow you still get what you pay for.

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My children will never get fake legoes!

I rather pay 10 more than support those Pirate companies

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Also like everyone else' date=' I wouldn't mind owning that chrome cutlass[/quote']

I have loads of them, as well as chrome pistols. Some of them have tendency to grow dim, though. What I like the most about those fake LEGO Pirate sets are the maps - the print is the same as in old LEGO Pirates, but blue is replaced by a nice yellowish colour, making them look like they are made of an old, yellowed paper.

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Okay, an opinion needed here. As a player of Evil Steve's Pirate game, are these ships well enough made to pushing around on the floor, while yelling "ARRRR"?

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Even we had already a review of the enlighteen Black Pearl, i have found today some interesting photos about it:

blackpearl_b_800.jpg

blackpearl_c_800.jpg

blackpearl_d_800.jpg

blackpearl_e_800.jpg

blackpearl_f_800.jpg

You can notice about the background is the same that LEGO used in artbox of 1989-1997 pirates sets.

I am trying of find more Enlighten sets to make new reviews, but sometimes is hard to find photos and i won't buy that awful sets, even they have interesting accesiores...if i don't find new enlighten photos, i may talk about other companies that have copied LEGO too

I bought that set, its not bad quality at all really. I used the hull for a MOC and no one knew any better. It's a brilliant set for the money if you just want a bit of fun but don't want to pay the dumb prices for a original scratched BSB.

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I bought that set, its not bad quality at all really. I used the hull for a MOC and no one knew any better. It's a brilliant set for the money if you just want a bit of fun but don't want to pay the dumb prices for a original scratched BSB.

Frankly, I think most of the discussion here is missing this aspect.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS WHOLLY AND COMPLETELY MY OPINION AND I WILL NOT BE OFFENDED IF YOU DISAGREE. :pirate:

Most of the things presented here are based purely on opinion, rather on facts. I.e., "it's an ugly ship," without explaining why it is you think that, or, even, when it's a copy of a ship most would like if it were Lego. Of course, this is all very subjective and sometimes one cannot really offer a reason for not liking something except for not liking it, and that's fine. But I see a whole lot of "those minifigures are :pir-sick: " even when they are virtually identical in design to Lego originals, save maybe some colour or face changes (which are generally not that attractive, but aren't completely horrible or difficult to change either).

Some of the criticisms of rehashing effects/ideas from old sets into new ones or historical inaccuracy are a bit questionable too. Lego's done that too, in the past, make no mistake, but crucifying Enlighten for doing the same thing is a tad disingenuous, to say the least.

In the knock-off of the Armada flagship, I think criticising them for including Comb-Morion helmets with the red-coats is a bit silly. It's not more silly than having them with Shakos, both are pretty inaccurate, as the uniforms are 18th century style but the Shako is a 19th century thing. Not to mention the whole "late 18th/early 19th century style soldiers fighting pirates, even though the piracy had largely died off by 1700" thing is pretty historically inaccurate. Or the "1960s cartoony pirates with hooks and peg-legs and eyepatches" concept at all.

Honestly, the historic accuracy argument loses some credibility in that both these knock-offs and the Lego originals are children's playthings. They were never meant to be 100% accurate, just suggestive and evocative of a different time place and genre. What may be said for Lego is they took the historic accuracy a bit more seriously, but not so seriously that they're above criticism from the harsh-minded if one is really interested in pressing that point.

While I will certainly say that the colours and construction quality of these sets are lower and less desirable than the Lego originals (leaving alone the ethical issues of copying the designs of the originals wholesale), not much else can really be said against them in terms of their design. They're either copies of extant Lego designs or are designs that frankly wouldn't be that out-of-place if Lego themselves had done them. Lego knock-offs aren't gonna stop existing any time soon, but in the greater scheme of things, they aren't that bad. Sure, some kid isn't going to be able to tell the difference, but they probably wouldn't care the same way we would anyway.

But here's the bottom line, as I see it: they're marketed to a) children, and b) people who reeeeaaaaally want to have a BSB or Imperial Flagship or whatever, but don't want to pay the high prices.

If you want a BSB to play with or to sit on a shelf and aren't too concerned with whether or not the bricks are exact color matches for the original or will stand up to the same wear as the original (and aren't interested in paying huge prices for originals either), well, you've probably found some of the best you can get.

I mean, you'd pay maybe, what, $20 for a BSB knock-off of slightly lower quality, or close to $300-$500 for an original example. Unless you're a serious collector or plan on scavenging it for parts, I doubt it would really be a problem in any real way for anyone (though, if you were interested in scavenging it for parts, there are certainly cheaper ways of doing it, lol).

I guess what it boils down to is: if you don't like it or want it, don't buy it. Feel free to flame or disagree. :jollyroger:

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Hey. let's face facts. If we want an accurate rendition of a specific ship, we would grab a model at the store or scratch build it out of wood. We have to accept that these are caricatures at best, no matter who is making them. Some of the models in the forums are gorgeous, but let's get real here. We are playing with toys to relax and have fun. We are looking for different things from our hobby. Let's enjoy that and remember it is very hard to be dignified when you are truly having fun.

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We have to accept that these are caricatures at best, no matter who is making them.

This is it in a nutshell, folks.

It really is a silly thing to get too worked up about, as knock-offs aren't going away any time soon, and frankly they are a decent way for kids and adults who want a decent looking model to do what they like with inexpensively.

Again, if you don't want 'em and you think they're gross, don't buy 'em, but realise that it is really, in a lot of ways, mostly a personal preference.

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Hey. let's face facts. If we want an accurate rendition of a specific ship, we would grab a model at the store or scratch build it out of wood. We have to accept that these are caricatures at best, no matter who is making them. Some of the models in the forums are gorgeous, but let's get real here. We are playing with toys to relax and have fun. We are looking for different things from our hobby. Let's enjoy that and remember it is very hard to be dignified when you are truly having fun.

This is it in a nutshell, folks.

It really is a silly thing to get too worked up about, as knock-offs aren't going away any time soon, and frankly they are a decent way for kids and adults who want a decent looking model to do what they like with inexpensively.

Again, if you don't want 'em and you think they're gross, don't buy 'em, but realise that it is really, in a lot of ways, mostly a personal preference.

Well said :thumbup: , I personally wouldn't buy these but I have to admit the cutlass is cool and the set it is very similar for a lot less money. These sets seem pretty usefull for shipbuilding as you get all the hulls and cannons you do in the BSB, but for a much cheaper price. Without the figs, it's hard to tell the difference (the BSB actually looks the same), with all this :pir-sick: you'd think the hull was purple and the figures were all recoloured Yodas and rock monsters. One person hating them won't make them go away so, since they are here they make a cheap alternative and good parts pack. The figures may not have a good choice of faces and the torsos may be warped and the bicornes may have awesome printing but it all boils down to opinion. If there was a choice between 'fake' and 'real' for the same price I'm sure everyone would head to the LEGO store, but that is never going to happen, so everyone would have to choose between cheaper and higher quality.

In my view nothing beats LEGO nor anything ever will, but just because I believe that doesn't mean I'll get all angry if someone says "Ooh, I think I'll grab me that enlighten eldorado fortress because I'll never afford own the real one and morions are rare these days." I can't really compare the quality as I don't own any enlighten bricks, but I'm sure only a serious LEGO enthusiast could tell the difference. It's pointless campaigning against these brands but as long as children can't tell them apart they'll sell as well as ever. I'm not promoting clone products, but a lot of us hate them before we've even seen them, as though we hope we hate them to prove a point :hmpf_bad: .

From what I can see Mr J. Lock is correct, that rowing boat looks the same as mine, as do the cannons, and anchor and... I could go on forever about how similar this seems. Without owning one myself I doubt I would ever know it wasn't the BSB. I would love to own a BSB and, despite what I said earlier, if the price difference was sufficiently large I might look to enlighten (it's a closer knock-off than m@G4b#C£s will ever be).

This is my opinion on the matter, but as Mr 'Warhorse47' said: who cares about the quality if you're having fun! :pir-sweet:

Edited by Scorpiox

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This is it in a nutshell, folks.

It really is a silly thing to get too worked up about, as knock-offs aren't going away any time soon, and frankly they are a decent way for kids and adults who want a decent looking model to do what they like with inexpensively.

Again, if you don't want 'em and you think they're gross, don't buy 'em, but realise that it is really, in a lot of ways, mostly a personal preference.

I'm going to have to agree with Norrington on this one. While these may be at times blatant copies of Lego or plain look bad to some people, I must admit they are the only clone brand that makes the cut for compatability. I even bought one of the sets to compare Enlighten to Lego, Enlighten's colors are off at times and the molds aren't always the same, but it seems to me they are of the group of clones that try hard to be Lego.

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I have just return from my holidays...i'm glad you are still interested in this thread. But i disagree with Norrington in some points...and i'm going to expose my opinions

Frankly, I think most of the discussion here is missing this aspect.

Most of the things presented here are based purely on opinion, rather on facts. I.e., "it's an ugly ship," without explaining why it is you think that, or, even, when it's a copy of a ship most would like if it were Lego. Of course, this is all very subjective and sometimes one cannot really offer a reason for not liking something except for not liking it, and that's fine. But I see a whole lot of "those minifigures are :pir-sick: " even when they are virtually identical in design to Lego originals, save maybe some colour or face changes (which are generally not that attractive, but aren't completely horrible or difficult to change either).

Some enlighten minifigs are virtually identical(like the Ironhook or Roger/redbeard imitations), but some of them are really awful. Like i have said, the 6th guy's face is really nasty:

Sinttulo-1.jpg

I have said in my reviews that Enlighten minifigs are often interesting with original accesories like hats or torsos that doesn't exist in LEGO. But some minifigs are awful...and i try to judge them with imparciality. And Obviusly LEGO minifigs are better than Enlighten minifigs. if you look a Lego head, and the enlighten pirated head of the same face, the original is better designed. Enlighteen's heads usually seems much worse than original LEGO heads. About torsos...compare a LEGO redcoat with a Enlighten redcoat, a LEGO stripped shirt with and Enlighten stripped shirt. All minifig copies are worse than the original copies. But i must admit there are some Enlighten minifigs with torsos that aren't copied of lego, and they are nice. I suggest you to read the entire thread...you'll see really awful minifigs.

About BSB copies...i must admit they are good copies, but obviously worse than the original BSB

Some of the criticisms of rehashing effects/ideas from old sets into new ones or historical inaccuracy are a bit questionable too. Lego's done that too, in the past, make no mistake, but crucifying Enlighten for doing the same thing is a tad disingenuous, to say the least.

In the knock-off of the Armada flagship, I think criticising them for including Comb-Morion helmets with the red-coats is a bit silly. It's not more silly than having them with Shakos, both are pretty inaccurate, as the uniforms are 18th century style but the Shako is a 19th century thing. Not to mention the whole "late 18th/early 19th century style soldiers fighting pirates, even though the piracy had largely died off by 1700" thing is pretty historically inaccurate. Or the "1960s cartoony pirates with hooks and peg-legs and eyepatches" concept at all.

I understand both LEgo and Enlighten sets are toys, to entertain, to play, etc...so historical accuracy is not very important. But i think pirate play sets, castle play sets, or any play set based in past times must have some historical accuracy...not strictly rigurous, but some mistakes are unforgivables, like this:

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss65/burrito-breath/enlighten/311/311-02.jpg

About Imperial Flagship soldiers...the Original LEGO spaniards are much better than the enlighten minifigs...and i am not talking about historical accuracy, i am talking about appearance. Just look the photos

They're either copies of extant Lego designs or are designs that frankly wouldn't be that out-of-place if Lego themselves had done them.

If LEGO would make something similar to "King of the seas", i'll think is an awful set, don't think i'd jugde it better if it would be a LEGO set

Personally i don't like Enlighten sets, but i find they have nice and interesting accesories like chromed swords or guns, some hats and torsos, etc...but i think they are a bad copy of LEGO and i like to compare them with imparciality.

Nice to argue with you in a friendly way :pir-classic:

Edited by Erdbeereis
Please resize the second picture. Thanks!

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I have just return from my holidays...i'm glad you are still interested in this thread. But i disagree with Norrington in some points...and i'm going to expose my opinions

Some enlighten minifigs are virtually identical(like the Ironhook or Roger/redbeard imitations), but some of them are really awful. Like i have said, the 6th guy's face is really nasty:

http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/xx167/GoeElAutentico/Sinttulo-1.jpg

I have said in my reviews that Enlighten minifigs are often interesting with original accesories like hats or torsos that doesn't exist in LEGO. But some minifigs are awful...and i try to judge them with imparciality. And Obviusly LEGO minifigs are better than Enlighten minifigs. if you look a Lego head, and the enlighten pirated head of the same face, the original is better designed. Enlighteen's heads usually seems much worse than original LEGO heads. About torsos...compare a LEGO redcoat with a Enlighten redcoat, a LEGO stripped shirt with and Enlighten stripped shirt. All minifig copies are worse than the original copies. But i must admit there are some Enlighten minifigs with torsos that aren't copied of lego, and they are nice. I suggest you to read the entire thread...you'll see really awful minifigs.

About BSB copies...i must admit they are good copies, but obviously worse than the original BSB

I understand both LEgo and Enlighten sets are toys, to entertain, to play, etc...so historical accuracy is not very important. But i think pirate play sets, castle play sets, or any play set based in past times must have some historical accuracy...not strictly rigurous, but some mistakes are unforgivables, like this:

]http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss65/burrito-breath/enlighten/311/311-02.jpg

About Imperial Flagship soldiers...the Original LEGO spaniards are much better than the enlighten minifigs...and i am not talking about historical accuracy, i am talking about appearance. Just look the photos

If LEGO would make something similar to "King of the seas", i'll think is an awful set, don't think i'd jugde it better if it would be a LEGO set

Personally i don't like Enlighten sets, but i find they have nice and interesting accesories like chromed swords or guns, some hats and torsos, etc...but i think they are a bad copy of LEGO and i like to compare them with imparciality.

Nice to argue with you in a friendly way :pir-classic:

Do you mind resizing that picture to a maximum of 800 x 600 please? Thanks!

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by the way i bring you new reviews:

9821 Black Coat Pirate Building Block Set

9821_800.jpg

Obviously is a copy of this original Lego set of 1996:

pc020702.jpg

and the torso of the pirate is copied of a member of the Aquasharks, the evil guys of Lego Aquazone in 1995-1997:

Aquashark_22.jpg

Pirate Building Block Set (raft)

Just compare:

9603_800.jpg

Sintitulo-1copia.jpg

You can notice plastic quality is much better in the LEGO set...the Enlighten set has much worse quality(Color looks better in the LEGO set) The serigraphy of minifig's face look much better in the Lego minifig. Same about the torso

Finally compare a fake islander set with the original:

0156_800.jpg

t203a4t2740344n5j4o5l2x264p2p21334w2.jpg

This time Enlighten did a good imitation...but again, the plastic looks much worse in the fake set...look at the crocodile...the LEGO crocodile looks much better than the enlighten one. And shield's serigraphy looks better in the LEGO set too.

Edited by Captain Roger

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Just looking at these make me want to :pir-sick: . I understand that there will always be companies trying to imitate the lego product, but these are just hideous. The only thing good about these imitations are that there cheap, for maybe someone that doesn't have much money.

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