LEGO Vs. LEPIN VS. LELE / Others???

[Sir Vincent]

Always been a hardcore LEGO fanatic but have the knock-offs gotten that good? The prices that LEGO wants is crazy for some of the bigger sets where the LEPIN and LELE sets are so much less. Thoughts??? Comments? Anyone have any experience with these knockoffs lately?

[Bluesecrets]

Personally I am not exactly happy with any knock off brands. Yes, I am a loyal LEGO fan. And I am going to predict that anyone who replies to this thread is going to say the same.

My problem with those brands are they are working illegally, with inferior product, and not good customer service. Inferior product that quite frankly I would be worried about safety.

[AK_Brickster]

I don't support companies that blatantly steal other companies' intellectual property.

[Wilfred of Ivanhoe]

The only knockoffs that I have ever found to come close in quality to LEGO products were the old TY-CO bricks and BTR (Built To Rule) bricks. All others seem to have lower quality plastic (brittle, soft, break easily), poor mold designs (stress points that break easily & low quality figures/animals), poor connectability/playability, and highly inconsistent colors. These are the main reasons I stay away from other brands. more simply put, and to quote others, inferior product.

That being said, the old TY-CO bricks were much better quality plastic, with almost identical colors to that of LEGO. They mainly just came in basic bricks with a few slopes and wheel assemblies, akin to the older metal axle LEGO variants. These TY-CO bricks came from the late 80's to early 90's I believe. Like LEGO from that time, the color options were very limited. I do not come across these very often, so I do not know if it would make sense to pursue them instead of LEGO product. I have no idea if there were ever any lawsuits or patent infringements. That just isn't something I care about.

The BTR bricks were produced by Hasbro around 2000 I believe. If memory serves me, I believe they had GI Joe themes. Feel free to research these if you want to correct me. As with TY-CO, I felt that their plastic was of good quality, and that SOME, but not all, of their colors matched the corresponding LEGO shades well. Again, I have no idea if there were ever any lawsuits or patent infringements. I'm not into legal stuff.

On occasion, I find random knockoff parts that are "good enough" for me to use in builds. Often times, I use blocks from other brands as structural components in areas that will not be seen. It allows me to save the better bricks for the seen areas. Anytime I do get these knockoff bricks, it is from a garage sale, thrift shop, or similar place. I do not by any other brands new. Anyway, that's my $0.02.

[Elephant Knight]

I don't even bother looking at any of the other brands, if I can help it. Often when I get used Lego there is some Megabloks or something mixed in, and I have noticed the quality of that stuff getting better, but it's still a far cry from what Lego is.

I am loyal to Lego, and would never spend anything on the other brands, even if they are a lot cheaper.

EKnight

[rogue27]

I don't support thieves, so I won't even touch that stuff. However, some of the knockoff minifigures do look pretty real these days. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody on eBay or Bricklink is using them to scam people. Perhaps I've even bought some without realizing.