Megablocks....

[adm_matthew]

I hate 'em but I have always wondered, when were they released? It seems most modern kid's collections are mainly megablocks, but I have never seen any old MB sets..

[lemon_squeezer2]

Hmmm. I used to have a bucket of them. I got it around 1993. The earliest sets were akin to lego sets of the 1960s. My guess is that they were relesed late 80s' early 90s' The reason that they are so popular is that they are so darn cheap! About a month ago, I was walking through Wal-Mart, and by the Legos there was an 8 year old wanting to buy a $40 Lego set. His Mom look at the set and then glanced to a MegaBlocks set which was the same size and only for $15. You can geuss the discision made. It's almost sickening to see this happening.

[Troy T. Moore]

...on the other hand, the other day in our local Walmart (yes they are almost everywhere) a lady was checking out the Lego selection. I told her that Superstore had their Lego on for 20% off that week if she was looking to buy much. I pointed to the Megablocks and said" There are these but they are no where near as good." She agreed, her experience is that they do not stay together the same. So some people have to buy the junk to know what true value is...

[dannyscastle]

arrrrrrrr i hate megablocks i just think they are a ripoff version of lego.

[wlister]

I have only ever purchased one Megablock set and that was the Viking boat quite a few years ago. I ended up tossing out the ship after about two weeks. That said, I have come across quite a bit of Megablock product through garage sales and Internet auctions. I have also been observing Megablock set design for years. That said, here is my two cents:

Megablocks have several reasons for being inferior.

1) They are not Lego
2) They were originally created as a "rip" off brand of Lego
3) The plastic used to make Megablocks is more brittle and does not hold up as well over time.
4) Manufacturing error allowances are greater for Megablocks than Lego; this means the bricks do not always stay together when built.
5) Megablocks set design sways very strongly towards juniorization.

Definitely glaring reasons to avoid Megablocks like the plague. That being said, Megablocks as a brand has recently made some vast improvements in set design, at a time when it seems Lego has forgotten our favorite little theme.

The Dragon Line or whatever its name is; towers above all the Lego castle designs we have seen in the last 6 years or so. Minifig packs, exciting packaging and fantastical elements have paved the way for throngs of castle fans to renew their interest in the hobby sans Lego. I personally know several people who have stopped buying Lego altogether in order to focus on building Megablock armies.

This is appalling, I know, and it is indicative of how Lego has consistently dropped the ball in recent years. Even I have been tempted away from my favored brick by the fantastic potential in these new castle themed sets. Now I haven't gone as far as some, I have yet to purchase any, but the temptation is there.

I can say without question that if Lego takes the castle theme down the rumored Bionical-like path, I will jump ship. I will stop buying Lego at all and I will start purchasing the Megablock dragon line.

I have decided that the only way to affect change in the way Lego treats its castle fans will be to pump up the sales figures for the Megablocks dragon line.

Now will I keep any blocks etc... from the dragon line? No, that won't change, but I will keep the dragons, minifigs and weapons from these sets. I will soil my collection with off-brand product. For the first time in 10 years, I will buy building sets without the little red Lego logo. Pity the rest of my collection that will have to adjust to the influx of off-brand figures. Pity the Lego dragons that will be decimated by the bigger flashier Megablocks dragons. Most of all follow me into oblivion and join me in protest if this Bionical/Castle rumor is true.

Gee my two cents is long winded.

WL

[Dragon Master]

I've never agreed with someone as much in my life Will. Your totally right. If Castlonicle (Hee I made that up, rember that when everyone is saying it) comes out, then something has to be done. A protest of the products would be great, even supporting Mega Blokcs (out that hurt) would be just. Time for a coup d etat in TLC ownership. To hell with Castlonice . I'm tired of waiting for castle!

Don't give up the ship!

A Very Angry and Battle-Ready Dragon Master

[LEGOFREAK]

hey hold on - that's just crazy talk.
with being able to buy bulk brick and make your own stickers, and a great support group (look around guys...) we shouldn't just jump ship, and buy NO MORE lego.
If you don't like the Castlonicle (thanks DM) then don't buy 'em. Any product that doesn't sell well will eventually be phased out. How many bellville sets you see around these days?
And as Ben pointed out in anothe post - it's a rumor (ok, a strong one, but still a rumor).


keep strong men (and women of lego too) - keep strong.

The freak

[Dragon Master]

Your right, LF. But if the Castlonicals might be popular. Little kids like action. The Bionicals give them immediate action in little building time. Most are too impatient to sit there and build and creat. I only fear that they will become too popular, and Lego will phase out the castles we are used to forever. But untill it happens, I'll be loyal. I'm just mad at Lego.

DM

[wlister]

I had only meant I would jump ship for set purchases, I do frequent Bricklink quite often for parts etc... I would return my retail spending to Lego once the castle line was restored to some semblance of the castle lines of old. Even a Fright Knights-like line would return me to the Lego fold, but as long as castle was the rumored Castlonicle,
retail purchases would be Mega. I wouldn't leave the castle community or stop building with my Lego collection, it would only be a retail protest until Lego learns not to ignore a large portion of their audience.

And when I say audience, I don't mean the AFOL's. Aside from trains and Spider-man, the only retail set my Six-Year old son has asked for was the Dragon Fortress. He is a builder and so are most of his friends, they marvel at the Buildings he builds and are always asking me where to by sets with houses and castles. I have to tell them that most of my sons stuff came from the Internet. You should see their faces drop. It is sad to see, kids don't need just flashy juniorized stuff, they want to build. I have spoken in passing with a few parents of these kids and many of them wish Lego would return to some of its older set design practices. They remember the sets from when they were kids and do not see that reflected on the shelves today. I think world city is a step in the right direction, but other themes also need that kind of attention.

This tells me that is not just the AFOL community that is looking for better sets, kids and their parents also want more out of the sets they buy.

Will

[Glencaer]

wlister -

I can't agree more.. I spoke with lots of people this past weekend. They said, these castles are awesome! where can i buy some? and I had to tell them only three sets were for sale - great sets, but only three. They agreed with me that castle is something that would do well if it was released again, and given their fascination with the larger, detailed creations like mine and KK's - i'm sure more sets like 3739 Blacksmith Shop would do well too.

-lenny

[spidereater]

Wlister,

You are absolutely right on all points. I hate to admit it, but I myself have purchased alot of these 'Dragons' sets for my son, he loves 'em. I personally hated MegaBlocks quality, and for the most part I still do, but the longer these sets sit on the shelf the more tempting they become.

The Crystal Wars dragons are really cool. I hate to say it, they make the Lego dragons look really silly. I am personnally building an army of orcs to fight my Lego Castle mini-figs. I am sure that many of you are shocked at this. I have seen the MOC orcs that others have created and they just dont look as good. I have built an Isengard MOC out of my Megablocks. I will probably purchase the Vorgan Stronghold in the next few months. I think other people are doing this as well. At the stores that I go to the vorgan three pack tins are always the first to sell out.

I believe that Lego is facing its greatest challenge ever. Here's Why:

1. Lego shelf space is decreasing. I see the offbrands getting more shelf space every year.
2. Megablocks is filling the void that Lego has abandoned or never addressed - Castle and Military.
3. Megablocks has new licenses that kids absolutely love, namely - TMNT and Power Rangers.
4. From what I have seen and heard, Moms look at both Lego and Megablocks, and they do not see the difference so they go with the least expensive. The reason why this is important is mom's do most of the shopping. Lego is a boys brand, which means mom's do not have the nostalgia that most dad's have from their childhood.
5. HP lego sets did not sell as well as they thought they would. Also, without a movie to support it HP Lego sets are sitting.

I will continue to buy the Vorgan sets to build an army. I will not build any more structures, because the blocks suck.

Just some thoughts,

Spidereater

[wlister]

You are right about HP sets sitting, in my local TRU I marked four HP sets with a dot close to the UPC three weeks ago, 3 of those sets were still there. This dot would not have discouraged any buyers as it was the size of a pin. Just a red dot, so I could test my theory. With the lack of competition in my area, these sets are never discounted and the fact they are sitting around reflects on how much intrest has dropped in HP. Neither of my kids will even watch the movies anymore.

I picked up my first tin of Vorgans today. Not bad... ...not bad at all. Makes me sad to think about it, but they aren't that bad. I will probably buy more.

[JPinoy]

*declares Holy Brikwar on MegaBlocks*

[TheMightyTwoAxe]

I made a point about megablocks around two months ago, but it was a negative point, maybe I should take it back.
I got a few megablocks back in the day because some of my relatives thought they were legos and got them for me for Christmas. The blocks do suck (and back then so did the minifigs) but megablocks has been one-upping lego in the accesorry department for a long time. Megablocks came out with 'shiny swords' some four years before lego did. Also megablocks makes better (or maybe just cooler) shields, lances, and axes than lego.
I have yet to check out the megablocks dragon sets for myself but I've seen some of their commercials, and they piqued my interest. Maybe I'll go pick a few up for figs.

[lemon_squeezer2]

Do NOT buy Megablocks

read my post here

classic-castle.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=218