I have a unhealthy fascination with Chinese LEGO knock-offs, and we've published several articles, like this one, about the rubbish that's available in markets across the far east in the past. I think it's because I find it incredible that the stuff, which violates so many intellectual properties, is being made at all. Brickset member woodywood currently resides in Shanghai so sees a lot of the junk first-hand. He's kindly sent me some minifig packs so I can see how bad they are for myself. Warning: this article contains disturbing images and strong language. First under inspection is JLB's (Jai Li Bo toys) Anna from Frozen. The box certainly looks attractive, and very LEGO-like. The contents, the figure and cards, are well packaged in heat-sealed bags. Unfortunately, that's all I have good to say about it. Once you open the packet it's immediately apparent what rubbish this is. Now, when I watched Frozen I'm sure Anna was a fair-skinned girl with what the Disney wiki calls 'long strawberry-blonde hair' in ponytails and a long-flowing blue dress and red cape.

I must assume that a different version was shown in China because this figure has a blue crop-top and an impressive tan... :-) As you can see the figure needs to be assembled from the cheap plastic parts, some of which are still on their sprue. The joints are loose and it's difficult to get the hair to stay on.buy lego breaking bad rv A flower is thrown in for good measure.lego shop braunschweig The best part of it is the trading cards...buy any lego part Next under the microscope is Star Wars Han Solo by Bom Bom. buy lego table canadaAgain, the box, a good rip-off of a real LEGO one, and the packaging is not bad, but it soon becomes apparent that the photo on the front is that of the LEGO version of the figure, not the one in the box.lego shop spb

The arms and hands are not pre-assembled and if I had to guess I'd say the plastic used is polystyrene rather than ABS. The parts are very badly moulded and have sprue marks in prominent places. The hair fits better than on Anna, but once on it's impossible to get it off!. purchase lego taj mahalIt bears a passing resemblance to the image on the box, but the printing is absolutely shockingly bad. Once again, the best part of the set are the cards, which have the appearance that they are part of some sort of game but the numbers and information is all rubbish. Collectors will want the whole set of them, I'm sure... Frankly they are complete and utter rubbish and I would not wish them on any child. Not only are they terrible quality and possibly made from unsafe materials, but in the case of Anna, in particular, the contents of the box bears no resemblance to what you think you're buying which can only result in disappointment.

I know you won't need me to tell you this, but steer well clear! I really don't know why LEGO and Disney tolerates this stuff being made and sold, but as we have discussed before, I guess the legal framework to prevent it is not in place in China. Now, excuse me while I go and disinfect my LEGO room and banish this junk to the bin. Thanks to woodywood for sending them, I think... :)Actually there are a fair number of "knock off" building elements and sets that are compatible with LEGO brand elements. Probably the most well known and largest is Mega Bloks, a product of Mega Brands, Inc., formerly Mega Bloks, Inc., [1].. Tyco also had a line of compatible elements which were believed by many to be of almost the same quality level, but they are no longer made. There are also a large number of Chinese brands of varying, but usually far poorer , quality. One example brand is "Shifty" which many find quite amusing since they tend to blatantly copy LEGO sets directly but wiht far poorer quality.

Truly a shifty brand.Frank Hough's answer talks about patents. Patents are mostly irrelevant to this. The basic brick and most common elements have been off patent for a very long time. Mega Bloks avoids patent trouble by using only elements off patent, or elements they design themselves which THEY patent in as many countries as they can, just as the LEGO company does with new elements. This means that MB and LEGO sets and elements are interoperable but neither company can directly copy the others designs. panies such as Shifty and other Chinese clones really do not care about patents, they copy blatantly and brazen it out if challenged. They are helped by the very weak intellectual property regime in China. If a company loses in court there are plenty of other shell companies to step in., 1 - see Mega Brands on Wikipedia for more info. As a note, at least one designer has left Mega Bloks and come to work for LEGO.genericAs some other people in this thread have mentioned, there ARE a lot of LEGO clones.

LEGO has patents (some of which are up), and have sued or attempted to sue many of the clones.The obvious answer to why LEGO succeeds is that LEGO puts a lot of money into quality assurance. Many people buy LEGO clones and find that they don't fit or hold together as well, and their kids get frustrated and stop wanting to play with them. So, the parents are more obliged to pay the extra money.Some people have mentioned licenses: yes, people are more likely to buy the very recognizable Harry Potter and Star wars LEGO kits. However, other brands have cool licenses too: Kre-O has Transformers and MegaBloks has Halo. It also goes deeper into the marketing and brand recognition that LEGO has spent millions of dollars maintaining. When you think of brick based building toys, you think LEGO.That's due to marketing stunts like this:(to-scale X-Wing LEGO model in Times Square, New York City)and this:(LEGO movie)and even this:Sources:Why are LEGOs so expensive, exactly?andBest LEGO Alternatives - Smart Toys - A guide to the best developmental toys for kidsMost of these types of designs are patented.