Monday, May 18, 2015

Bootleg Bricks

Loongon
First time try out this brand bought last week. Got the engineering (~ Technics) crane set, but most of the 300 pcs inside are normal bricks. Only 20% is of Technics parts. Color is bright bootleg orange yellow. Although piece count is quite in number, but most of pieces are hidden from view, hence it's a bit redundant. They should make some sliding door or opening hatch for interior viewing if they want to invest in so many parts. Fitting is quite tight. Maybe due to it is a Technic set, my son kind of lost interest halfway, also because the instruction is not very clear. It does not illustrate the 1:1 scale view of "almost identical" parts hence sometimes a wrong part is used and need reassembling.

COGO
This brand is quiet famous, even have their own "creator" like box set. Bought this brand earlier way back in 2013 (F1 racing car) but find the fitting a bit too loose. Due to the need to clear off some gift vouchers, hence bought another small COGO Army set for my younger son, a small Army ship. Piece count is 190+pcs, but turns out this piece count includes the chain links which need to be assemble link by link. Somehow the fitting for this set is good, not Lego quality fitting, but at least not easily loose. The minifig is mediocre, my son says the legs look like horse legs.
See the chain link in the front, we need to link each ring individually
STAR DIAMOND
Initially I did not plan to get this brand, but due to the store runs out of Enlighten sets, I got another brand named Weida. Whether unlucky or lucky, the Weida parts inside has some error, hence I exchanged for this Star Diamond set (only one design left) which is more expensive. To my surprise this brand is very good. The fitting and feel is really 99.9% Lego. The bricks even have the imprint of the word Star on the studs. I do not know if this set construction design is solid, but the finished model is sure sturdy. Mini figures follow Lego design but with simple printing. The only quite loose part is the two Big Wind Blower, but Lego too have some similar problem with "protruding" parts. If only SY is this good. I should say the only cons for this brand is their design, they should find some good designers.
Ausini
Previously I did publish a post on Ausini Armored Heroes set. The brick fitting is loose. This instrument set bought at the same time is similarly loose, especially on the Violin handle and the Bow (the violin stick - no way will hold together without glue). There's a big sticker for the violin body to make it looks "wooden" finishing, but I did not used it. I like the violin stand (yes, made from similar bricks), can use to display other things. It came with strings, but I only fit it to the bow, but not the violin due to it gives one string short. Nice?

Enlighten
This brand is quite good, mostly come in a 3 in 1 design, meaning one can made 3 design from one box, but they only provide one design's instruction.  Previously I did post a Fire Rescue set which I find it good. I did bought another Army set for my kid, but some of the parts in this Army set do easily fall off. Maybe the design is not good, where some portion which is quite heavy is just hold by 4 studs (that big turret). Still a decent build, ugly minifigs though.

2 comments:

  1. Star Diamond bricks is top 3 at least among China clones. Clutch is slightly stronger than Lego.

    Other brands with good bricks ... Gudi, Lepin, and some say Xipoo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi
      Experienced once with GUDI, brick quality is god, but maybe due to the design (a Bumblebee robot), hence the bricks don't hold well, but in Car mode it is strong.
      LEPIN - the all out Star Wars TFA brick clones, the force is really awake with Lepin. They are in my list due to their Star Wars releases.
      Have not heard of Xipoo till now. Thanks for the sharing,

      Delete