Clone brands, perceived quality, and LEGO loyalty

[jsnweitzel]

Give him a year. I think I was 6 when I realized that my parents were cutting corners and the brick colors didn't match. Then if I ever got Megablocks or the Tyco stuff I'd get angry.

They're not the same!

If it had ever happened to me, my reaction would have been the same.

I don't want to hijack this post or create a heated debate but I disagree. I'm 36 and played with legos when I was a child. I'm not an AFOL, just on the site to save some cash while buying for my son. I come from a poor background and when I was young I was grateful for whatever I got. I think that anyone receiving a donated gift isn't going to complain about the fact that it's not name brand.

I like to think that I'm raising my son the same way. In fact, his x-mas wish list includes Lego and Halo Mega Blocks. He really doesn't care about name brand. He also has a few Knex and Best Lock.

I've also read criticism on sites about megablocks being so much worse than lego. I build with my son and don't notice any difference. TLC sets fall apart when played with just as much as MB. I know parents that refuse to buy legos for their kids because they fall apart and a parent of one of my sons friends glues all the sets together.

Nothing wrong with having a preference for one brand over another but I think loyalty and devotion shouldn't be blind. I like Bud Light over Miller, Marvel over DC and Chevy over Ford, but they all serve a purpose and each has more in common with the other than their differences.

[vynsane]

I liked this post, and thought it worthwhile to continue this discussion as a separate entity from the originating topic. I also don't see a problem with some heated debate as long as it remains civil.

I've been intrigued by clone brands, even the ones that directly copy older LEGO sets nearly brick-for-brick (with some color variations) like the Black Seas Barracuda rip-off that also happens to be a PotC rip-off with the name The Black Pearl!

I never had any clone brands - I'm not sure they even existed when I was a kid - but have always had a love for all things LEGO, even when I was in my dark age.

For those who have staunch views in terms of loyalty to LEGO or believe other brands to be inferior, my questions are:

A: Do you presently own, or have you ever owned, any clone/imitator brand interlocking brick sets?

B: If you have owned them, what do you perceive to be the differences between whatever brand you've owned and true LEGO?

C: If you've not owned any other brand than LEGO, whether out of loyalty or mere disinterest in non-LEGO interlocking brick sets, and have a negative opinion of clone/imitator brands, what is your stance based on?

D: If the quality, in your eyes, of other interlocking brick brands improved, would you consider purchasing them? Would you keep those pieces separate from your LEGO pieces?

[Everybody]

When I was 5 my parents for Christmas got me a large mega blocks set. I think it was from men in black? I didn't now the difference but now looking back I see Lego is much higher quality, the minifigures from the set aren't anywhere near as good, and the pieces are a lot worse to. That is why I now only resort to other brands when forced. If they improved I would definitely reconsider, but until then no thanks.

[sadowsk1]

I prefer Lego if I can afford it. Between different brick clones like Tyco, Megablock, Best Lock, and Superblox I noticed a difference in quality between all of them. I can remember one of these brands I got in a flea market lot looked like they were slowly deteriorating, which I have never seen in Lego. I remember when I was younger that I preferred the Lego Minifigures compared to other series like the Tyco construction worker which really didn't seem to mesh well with any construction. I respect Megablock for their Halo series which seems pretty popular. I think most competitors of Lego will always be following in Lego footsteps and in the shadow of Lego, but I think that's the nature of any clone brand that tries to imitate the leader of the market. I think the same thing when I shop at Aldi's for groceries. They sell the same stuff as name brand items and to me personally the flavor tastes the same and I enjoy the cheaper price, but I know that people have different tastes. I treat clone brands of Lego the same way if I can't tell the difference and I can get it at a cheaper price, why not?

[hatcher]

I own two Megablocks sets. The USS Enterprise (Star Trek the Next Generation version) and an Aircraft carrier (I think its the Nimitz, but I'm not sure.)

The main difference I noticed was in the colours, which were slightly off from the lego bricks of the same size and shape. For example, the aircraft carrier had a ton of red 2x4 bricks and some yello 2x4 bricks that were used a temporary supports while building sections, and were then removed when the sections were attached. The yellow in particular were very noticable when held up against a yellow LEGO block, also, I found that light tended to shine through them. The attach to regular LEGO bricks well enough to not be an issue for my kids.

My wife, not knowing the difference, bough something (a yellow humvee I think it was) that was a clear substandard knock off, probably chinese. The parts didn't fit together well, the mini figure locked like poo, and it was very frustrating building it.

Now, I only bought the two Megablocks sets because I was just coming out of my dark age and really had no idea as to the relative difference between the two brands (also they were on clearance at Winners for an awesome price). They looked the same, and worked together well enough at the time that I didn't care. I still have them assembled on my shelf because they look nice and I spent considerable time assembling them. Now that I've been back in lego for over a decade, I have no desire to by Megablocks, mostly due to the colour differences.

If Megablocks were closer in colour to LEGO, and the quality was near to that of LEGO, I might consider buying them, especially if the price of LEGO continues to go up and up and up.

[vynsane]

You say the colors are 'off', but that doesn't necessarily mean MB tried to copy the colors used by LEGO and failed. Thus it can't be construed as a quality issue. If the plastic seems in any way inferior, be it softer or thinner, somehow, then that could be.

[BobaFett2]

The colors on Megabloks tend to be shinier and are lighter than LEGO's colors, which look more solid. The parts themselves are not made as well, and Megabloks figures are bad.

[vynsane]

The parts themselves are not made as well,

So you see a definitive downgrade in quality from LEGO to MB?

and Megabloks figures are bad.

See, I'm trying to get past the subjective terms like 'bad' and get to the objective reasons behind that subjective reaction - what makes the MB figs 'bad'? Is it that you don't like the aesthetics/design of MB figures? Are the joint connections, the engineering of the pieces themselves, unreliable? Is the printing/detailing sloppy? What is it about the MB figures that makes you decide they are 'bad'?

[BobaFett2]

The parts themselves are not made as well,

So you see a definitive downgrade in quality from LEGO to MB?

and Megabloks figures are bad.

See, I'm trying to get past the subjective terms like 'bad' and get to the objective reasons behind that subjective reaction - what makes the MB figs 'bad'? Is it that you don't like the aesthetics/design of MB figures? Are the joint connections, the engineering of the pieces themselves, unreliable? Is the printing/detailing sloppy? What is it about the MB figures that makes you decide they are 'bad'?

The parts are made of cheaper plastic.

[jsnweitzel]

I typed a long winded post about my thoughts on this but got timed out because I was watching football.
To summarize my post that didn't get posted:

My son & I like TLC. He's getting a ridiculous amount for x-mas thanks to this site.

It seems as though MegaBlock has some more realistic looking sculpted pieces, fire looks more like real fire etc. Basing this opinion on the Knights/Spiderman sets my son has and the Pirate sets I saw in the store.

TLC is more artistic and very creative but it seems like they only create new molds when absolutely necessary. I know it costs money to create new items but it seems like they are often stingy with regards to this. I don't think many other manufacturing companies would get away with releasing the same product over and over with new colors for decades.

The current MB mini figs are very articulated compared to TLC. I think the articulation is a great plus but Lego mini figs are interchangeable and I guess that's better. MB figs have sculpted features.

At a glance Best Lock mini figs appear similar to lego but are not interchangeable with them and if someone is familiar with TLC they would notice a cheaper plastic feel. (weight or composition maybe?)

I would like to emphasize that if someone is trying to do good by donating toys to needy children, it is not a sin to buy MB or BL over TLC in order to stretch dollars. A needy child is unlikely to have enough Legos to compare one to the other and notice or care about quality of plastic or color differences. One needy child can have a really great Lego set or two needy children can have average MB sets. What's the greater good?

Thanks.

[BobaFett2]

I typed a long winded post about my thoughts on this but got timed out because I was watching football.
To summarize my post that didn't get posted:

My son & I like TLC. He's getting a ridiculous amount for x-mas thanks to this site.

It seems as though MegaBlock has some more realistic looking sculpted pieces, fire looks more like real fire etc. Basing this opinion on the Knights/Spiderman sets my son has and the Pirate sets I saw in the store.

TLC is more artistic and very creative but it seems like they only create new molds when absolutely necessary. I know it costs money to create new items but it seems like they are often stingy with regards to this. I don't think many other manufacturing companies would get away with releasing the same product over and over with new colors for decades.

The current MB mini figs are very articulated compared to TLC. I think the articulation is a great plus but Lego mini figs are interchangeable and I guess that's better. MB figs have sculpted features.

At a glance Best Lock mini figs appear similar to lego but are not interchangeable with them and if someone is familiar with TLC they would notice a cheaper plastic feel. (weight or composition maybe?)

I would like to emphasize that if someone is trying to do good by donating toys to needy children, it is not a sin to buy MB or BL over TLC in order to stretch dollars. A needy child is unlikely to have enough Legos to compare one to the other and notice or care about quality of plastic or color differences. One needy child can have a really great Lego set or two needy children can have average MB sets. What's the greater good?

Thanks.

Megabloks figures aren't awful, but the shape is just unaesthetic-don't get me wrong, the LEGO Minifigure is far from perfect, but they add curves and shape that just isn't necessary. They may make new pieces, but they make up for that with the plastic quality. LEGO, on the other hand, doesn't-for now, at least. They used to make a lot of new molds, and they still make a number of them every year, just not as many.

[vynsane]

I typed a long winded post about my thoughts on this but got timed out because I was watching football.

Just FYI - if you get that 'submitted form is invalid' error message, just click 'submit' again and it will post. Sorry you had to rewrite the gist of your more elaborate message!

[jsnweitzel]

I typed a long winded post about my thoughts on this but got timed out because I was watching football.

Just FYI - if you get that 'submitted form is invalid' error message, just click 'submit' again and it will post. Sorry you had to rewrite the gist of your more elaborate message!

Thanks! Didn't know that. I don't think anyone wanted to read my paragraphs of rambling comparisons anyway. :D

[hatcher]

You say the colors are 'off', but that doesn't necessarily mean MB tried to copy the colors used by LEGO and failed. Thus it can't be construed as a quality issue. If the plastic seems in any way inferior, be it softer or thinner, somehow, then that could be.

True, the colours being different slightly doesn't make the MegaBlocks inferior, but it does make me less likely to buy them since I wouldn't be able to use them in my MOCS.

[vynsane]

True, the colours being different slightly doesn't make the MegaBlocks inferior, but it does make me less likely to buy them since I wouldn't be able to use them in my MOCS.

Okay, so the color difference is enough for you to find them less appealing to augment your brick reserves - THAT I can get behind.

[NIGELTTF]

10 years ago, the difference was pretty vast. Knock offs had poor color consistency, and either gripped too well, or not well at all. The major thing was that pirates, military, and castle were readily available in the clones, but not so for Lego. However Lego quality has slipped a bit, and the knock offs have gotten quality control to a higher level.

I maintain brand loyalty part because of the AFOL community, and part because, well when the point of the product is about putting things together, there's really no point in buying something that isn't 100% compatable.

[legitimatealex]

I liked this post, and thought it worthwhile to continue this discussion as a separate entity from the originating topic. I also don't see a problem with some heated debate as long as it remains civil.

I've been intrigued by clone brands, even the ones that directly copy older LEGO sets nearly brick-for-brick (with some color variations) like the Black Seas Barracuda rip-off that also happens to be a PotC rip-off with the name The Black Pearl!

I never had any clone brands - I'm not sure they even existed when I was a kid - but have always had a love for all things LEGO, even when I was in my dark age.

For those who have staunch views in terms of loyalty to LEGO or believe other brands to be inferior, my questions are:

A: Do you presently own, or have you ever owned, any clone/imitator brand interlocking brick sets?

B: If you have owned them, what do you perceive to be the differences between whatever brand you've owned and true LEGO?

C: If you've not owned any other brand than LEGO, whether out of loyalty or mere disinterest in non-LEGO interlocking brick sets, and have a negative opinion of clone/imitator brands, what is your stance based on?

D: If the quality, in your eyes, of other interlocking brick brands improved, would you consider purchasing them? Would you keep those pieces separate from your LEGO pieces?

A. Yes, yes and yes. My parents bought me Megablocks as a child and the last time someone gave them to me I think I was still 14.

B. The colors are usually off, the plastic is usually softer and gel like, and the minifigures are always slightly off putting rip offs of LEGO.

C. I'm not usually one for brand loyalty but some companies just go out of their way sometimes to maintain it and LEGO is one of those companies. They lose trademark case after trademark case and lose their patents on bricks and other plastic techniques. They work really hard to maintain their customers over other companies.

What do other companies do to get business? Make themselves look EXACTLY like LEGO! LEGO's no longer trademarked trademark? 2x4 Red Brick. What do the imitator companies use? 2x4 Red Brick. They make the minifigures look the same rather than trying to make anything new or make a competing brick set. They advertise that they are 'compatible' with other brick toys that basically tells you that they're just trying to undercut other people.

There's no originality here. Imitator brands are the crappy knockoffs trying to cash off on a craze that they can never truly be apart of.

D. Nope. If they ever improved to be like LEGO I think LEGO would have a trademark/copyright case they could win.

[Zithy]

I do not have any non-lego brand bricks. Never bought them and just stayed away from them.

It does seem that the majority are 100% against another non-Lego brick getting into their tubs of genuine Lego parts. What I'm curious about how they feel about other items like Brickarms accessories? They're not Lego, but they sure seem to sell well. Are they an exception, and if so, why?

Or in other words, if you're 100% against Mega Blox and the like, but have Brickarms items with your collections/MoCs, why is there a different standard?

Not meaning to derail the thread by any means, but thought it might be wiser to add to this thread instead of creating another which might deal (albeit indirectly) with the same topic.

[BobaFett2]

I do not have any non-lego brand bricks. Never bought them and just stayed away from them.

It does seem that the majority are 100% against another non-Lego brick getting into their tubs of genuine Lego parts. What I'm curious about how they feel about other items like Brickarms accessories? They're not Lego, but they sure seem to sell well. Are they an exception, and if so, why?

Or in other words, if you're 100% against Mega Blox and the like, but have Brickarms items with your collections/MoCs, why is there a different standard?

Not meaning to derail the thread by any means, but thought it might be wiser to add to this thread instead of creating another which might deal (albeit indirectly) with the same topic.

Brickarms, Brickforge, and other similar groups are not large companies trying to steal from LEGO, they are only trying to supplement it. They support LEGO, and are of good quality (however, I think they either have too much detail-which is out of place on blocky Minifigures, or too little-which makes them look a bit out of place in a detailed scene).

[vynsane]

Brickarms, Brickforge, and other similar groups are not large companies trying to steal from LEGO, they are only trying to supplement it.

There is a distinction to make here - not all companies are "trying to steal from LEGO". For example, MegaBloks, while they make an imitation styled interlocking brick, have their own build designs and original and licensed themes. There ARE, however, companies that truly steal from LEGO, right down to brick-by-brick copies of past LEGO sets - Enlighten Bricks is one such company, they literally copy LEGO sets step by step via the instructions. Here's their version of the original Pirates themes Black Seas Barracuda - named, incredibly enough, the Black Pearl of all things!

I'm all for healthy competition - I don't think there should be ANY monopolies. LEGO has profited off their IP for a LONG time and, especially with their brand loyalty, the profits won't be going away any time soon. The Star Wars license alone will keep them afloat for a LONG time to come. Frankly, I welcome MegaBloks to increase their quality, improve and augment their themes, and give LEGO a run for their money.