What Do You Consider The Best Non-LEGO Building Block Brand?

mranderson978 on 03/10/2022 - 14:24

Recently I purchased a LOZ Mini Treehouse which is a > 4500 piece lego-style building block set, but about 20% smaller than standard Lego bricks, and also has a greater variety of pieces.

We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the plastic, and the pieces interlock nicely. And the smaller size makes the whole set look more detailed, and also take up less space.

This has inspired me to delve deeper into the non-lego building blocks.

Was wondering if anyone else has tried non-lego branded blocks and if there are particular brands which are high quality, and which are low quality.

Toys & Kids Building Blocks

Comments

  • Clear on 03/10/2022 - 14:42
    +1

    Lepin before the crackdown by Chinese authorities. They were a proper Lego clone and their quality was about 90% as good as Lego. Obviously supporting a brand that does clones (as opposed to Mega Bloks) is bad, but Lepin were releasing old sets like Fort Legoredo which is something I think Lego should do.

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 03/10/2022 - 15:12

      Not to mention there are some awesome custom mini figs and sets.

    • coffeeinmyveins on 03/10/2022 - 15:21

      They were a proper Lego clone

      "Clone" is a pretty nice way of saying "copyright infringement" tbh.

      • Clear on 03/10/2022 - 15:23

        You're right. When I said proper I meant it's an actual clone that infringes on copyright. Many people will deem sets like this to be Lego clones when they're not.

        • mranderson978 on 04/10/2022 - 15:07

          Yeah, I'm not so much interested in a clone, but a decent quality building block which might bear some resembalance to lego. Mega Blocks would fit this broad definition except it's hot garbage.

          I was thinking of something like Nifeliz which is obviously inspired by Lego, but it's also obviously not lego.

          I've never seen Nifeliz on display, but these types of sets look good on a computer screen.

          https://www.amazon.com/Nifeliz-Medieval-Stables-Building-Imp…

          • Clear on 04/10/2022 - 15:41

            @mranderson978: The Lepin subreddit is a good place to discuss alternative brick brands and they have recommended sellers if you're wanting to import from China.

            Mould King, XingBao, Yeshin and Sluban are good brands with even some Technic sets too.

    • Kenb0 on 03/10/2022 - 19:36

      Their technic(or should I say Technician) line was horrible. When there's lots of moving parts, gears, etc, the differences in tolerances and stuff are magnified and their stuff just wasn't up to scratch. I got a lepin 42009 crane just to see what it was like, and was so frustrated with the build, I just chucked it into the bin because I wanted to make sure none of the knockoff pieces got mixed in with my proper stuff. Pins were too loose or too tight, gears didn't mesh properly, etc. Waste of money.

  • 87percent on 03/10/2022 - 14:59
    +2

    Mould king

  • CyberMurning on 03/10/2022 - 15:06

    can you post link to buy that LOZ Mini Treehouse? everything the same as the original ? not too hard to setup with the tiny size blocks ?

  • garetz on 03/10/2022 - 15:14

    Dna

  • pegaxs on 03/10/2022 - 16:18

    Lepin was really good. Also had some MOC kits and they seem to be ok quality.

  • tebbybabes on 03/10/2022 - 21:09
    +1

    I have no personal opinions because I've never had them, but the COBI ones have some incredible looking models.

  • macfudd on 03/10/2022 - 21:55
    +1

    Mould King is ok (2 sets tried). Jie Star seems pretty good (2 MOC sets tried). Loz mini was interesting, had a couple of architecture style builds that weren't Lego ripoffs.

    Lepin was good but you can't find it anymore really.

    I stick with Lego for anything Technic, I've never bought an alternate version myself but I've seen nothing but complaints.

    With any alternative brand it's worth finding reviews or searching on /r/lepin/. There's often known issues with sets that might see you needing to make some tweaks or use glue. Lego does have a robust design and testing process which none of the alternate brands or rebrickable creations comes close to.

    Other thing to be aware of, the sets are valueless with pretty much no resale. I only buy them for Ideas sets that didn't go into production or for interesting designs that Lego would never make e.g. https://www.barweer.com/products/mould-king-26004-moc-techni… (that's an authorised design).

  • SF3 on 03/10/2022 - 23:55

    nanoblocks

  • nephilim on 03/10/2022 - 23:58

    Lot of the Xingbao kits have light kits which is a bonus, Yellow Crane Tower is massive and only like 100 bucks posted.

  • omguleh on 04/10/2022 - 00:57

    Bought 3 sets of MouldKing, still en route so will see how good it is.

  • sparkles on 04/10/2022 - 07:26

    The only other non Lego sets I've been tempted by are JEKCA.

    • tallkid123 on 04/10/2022 - 09:54

      JEKCA is awful.

      It's not fun and honestly kind of stressful to build. You have to individually screw in every layer of a set with tiny screws and a screwdriver.

      I assume it's so they can get around LEGO patents but it just makes the building process extremely tiresome.

  • Oswine on 23/12/2023 - 14:46

    As for cars, my most recommended one is Rastar. All its vehicles are officially authorized. The quality of its bricks is even better than that of Cada, and the price is also better. Almost all of them have versions equipped with motors.

  • kcyw on 30/05/2024 - 17:42

    Cada bricks' Japanese buildings look really nice. Good quality too and cheaper than Lego of course.

    https://decadastore.com/collections/cada-buildings

  • KiwiBargainHunter on 11/06/2024 - 13:21

    This image loaded by Mattel MEGA is amusing "Compatible with other named brands"
    https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qMrQH7q0L.AC_SX679.jpg

    From this Amazon listing: MEGA Pokemon Jumbo Pikachu Construction Set
    https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B079KNH886/ref=syn_sd_onsite_de…

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