Enlighten Ice Cream Truck - Noy Lego, but Not Bootleg either

[dirk]

Got a good deal on this Enlighten brand ice cream truck off ebay. 213 pieces and 2 mini figs. Lots of fun!

more pics here.

http://its-not-lego.blogspot.ca/2015/12/enlighten-ice-cream-truck.html

[Lyichir]

Don't see what you mean by "not bootleg"—Enlighten is one of the prime examples of a bootleg product, especially since they often copy not just parts but entire set designs.

[crossmr]

Don't see what you mean by "not bootleg"—Enlighten is one of the prime examples of a bootleg product, especially since they often copy not just parts but entire set designs.

Is this a copy of a an existing Lego ice cream set? Enlighten recently revamped their product line. While they used to copy set designs those are actually from several years ago. Their recent offerings are all original designs (as far as I know). This is their current city line: http://enlighten-brick.com/city.html and I don't believe any of them are copies of Lego sets.

For some reason that list is missing 1109 which is a pretty awesome tow truck:

[Dopplercb]

Enlighten is an awesome brick product at a low price. Having limited access to actual Lego sets because of low funds, and having a brick obsession that has to be satisfied, enlighten is one of the brands I seek out. I have one pirate ship assembled and one waiting in the wings. It is the highest quality outside of Lego I've seen. Better than mega bloks.

[crossmr]

Enlighten is an awesome brick product at a low price. Having limited access to actual Lego sets because of low funds, and having a brick obsession that has to be satisfied, enlighten is one of the brands I seek out. I have one pirate ship assembled and one waiting in the wings. It is the highest quality outside of Lego I've seen. Better than mega bloks.

Enlighten is up there. In terms of non-bootlegs (so no SY or Decool) I'd rank them as such:

Lego

Oxford

Star Diamond

Enlighten

Megablocks

Also keep in mind Enlighten is very different in terms of quality than it was years ago. Look at the Enlighten logo to know. If it's black lettering, it's their old stuff. The new logo is white and that's their revamped stuff and new bricks. The new bricks have much more of a lego feel to it, the only problem they have is the odd loose joint on an arm. Say out of 5 or 6 figures in a set, I might get one figure with 1 arm there is a little loose. It might pop out easily.

[Dopplercb]

Enlighten is up there. In terms of non-bootlegs (so no SY or Decool) I'd rank them as such:

Lego

Oxford

Star Diamond

Enlighten

Megablocks

Also keep in mind Enlighten is very different in terms of quality than it was years ago. Look at the Enlighten logo to know. If it's black lettering, it's their old stuff. The new logo is white and that's their revamped stuff and new bricks. The new bricks have much more of a lego feel to it, the only problem they have is the odd loose joint on an arm. Say out of 5 or 6 figures in a set, I might get one figure with 1 arm there is a little loose. It might pop out easily.

Where would I find the other two brands you ranked? I find enlighten on Chinese wholesale websites for really reasonable prices though the shipping time is weeks. I don't mind the wait because the price is ridiculous low. Do you know whether enlighten makes modulars? Or any of the cheaper brands that are of decent quality for that matter?

My love of modulars is strong but my funds don't allow for buying them in Lego brand at this time. Even saving up for one would take months.

[crossmr]

Where would I find the other two brands you ranked? I find enlighten on Chinese wholesale websites for really reasonable prices though the shipping time is weeks. I don't mind the wait because the price is ridiculous low. Do you know whether enlighten makes modulars? Or any of the cheaper brands that are of decent quality for that matter?

My love of modulars is strong but my funds don't allow for buying them in Lego brand at this time. Even saving up for one would take months.

Oxford is a Korean brand, You can order them here: http://global.gmarket.co.kr/Home/Main

You can see Oxford's product listings here: http://oxfordtoy.co.kr/pro/oxford.asp?p_code=10&menu_img=1 and just search on Gmarket via their model number.

Star Diamond sometime shows up on aliexpress but because it's higher quality and slightly more expensive, it's often not sold there. I found a set for sale on the streets here in Korea and ordered some directly from China on Taobao.com but to do that you need a way to get it out of China, and I have a Korean reshipping company that accepts packages in Beijing and resends them on to Korea. Neither of them make modulars. That's a lego thing. Even if a chinese company copied that, it'd still be fairly pricey. They don't usually copy things so large there. The biggest clone I've seen was a clone of the Airjitsu (or whatever it's called) ninjago castle, and the GBL clone of the Horizon express (1260 pieces)

I've never seen any of them clone a modular, or even any of the other big sets. A lot of them like to clone the Star Wars line, but mostly smaller sets and figures only. Which is a shame there probably would be a market for clones of the bigger stuff. Especially in China. Most of the stuff you buy on Aliexpress is much much cheaper domestically in China. If you pay $20 on Aliexpress the actual price in china might be $5-10. So actual lego is really expensive in China. You see train sets there for 198 yuan (GBL knock-off Horizon express), while a a real Lego train is like 1400 yuan. About 7x the price. Is it any wonder these kinds of companies are able to flourish there?

[Dopplercb]

Aliexpress has the mini modulars but I'm not sure on the brand's quality.

Do you have a link to what you're calling star diamond on aliexpress because it is overrun with Loz blocks and those have a diamond line and they are micro blocks. Unless that is what you're referring to. I do love Loz blocks. Have you ever had those?

[crossmr]

Aliexpress has the mini modulars but I'm not sure on the brand's quality.

Do you have a link to what you're calling star diamond on aliexpress because it is overrun with Loz blocks and those have a diamond line and they are micro blocks. Unless that is what you're referring to. I do love Loz blocks. Have you ever had those?

This is star diamond: http://lhtoys.com/en/

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2015-new-Breaker-puzzle-assembling-building-model-toy-breaker-building-express-car-series/32285137294.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_7%2Csearchweb201644_2_79_78_77_82_80_62_81%2Csearchweb201560_4&spm=2114.031010208.3.102.fSslNZ

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Breaker-assembling-building-blocks-deformation-robot-building-blocks/1591260985.html?spm=2114.031010208.3.44.fSslNZ&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_7,searchweb201644_2_79_78_77_82_80_62_81,searchweb201560_4

Searching "breaker blocks" turns up a few, but none of their dino stuff is there that I can find. Which is decent.

The city stuff is some of their older stuff.

[Heppeng]

That GBL rendition of the Horizon express seems surprisingly accurate. Just a few minor differences, eg the arrows are stickers rather than brick built, and no printing on the windscreen. It would not surprise me if their orange bricks were more consistent in colour than Legos. On my Horizon Express I had to swap around some of the orange slopes to avoid having an orange striped nose!

[crossmr]

That GBL rendition of the Horizon express seems surprisingly accurate. Just a few minor differences, eg the arrows are stickers rather than brick built, and no printing on the windscreen. It would not surprise me if their orange bricks were more consistent in colour than Legos. On my Horizon Express I had to swap around some of the orange slopes to avoid having an orange striped nose!

There were some minor inconsistencies in the orange colors, but the front part are two large brick pieces. not individual slopes. They all match color wise. It was the flats that had color inconsistencies. The windscreen has printing on it, The arrows are stickers, the numbers on the windows are printed. The console inside is printed as well. About the only issue I noted was the sliding wall in the first car. There is a tab on it that prevents it from sliding all the way closed. Other than that, It's a very solid and well made train. Sure you can only turn it on or off, but $30 vs $200, it's fine.

[Dopplercb]

What is GBL?

[crossmr]

What is GBL?

GBL is another brand made by the same company that makes Kazi, but the quality is much improved. The bricks feel like "old" lego. The lego I had back in the 80s. Great clutch. Nice feel. They have some original stuff, and some bootleg stuff.

[Dopplercb]

Does the GBL stand for anything?

BTW, everyone stay away from cogo. That brand is trash. The aircraft carrier I'm working on right now is going to require superglue.

And that may not even save it.

[fred67]

That Star Diamond Christmas stuff looks really neat - those anime style cats are really cool. I would not call them a clone company at all, except they do use the minifigure. That's about the only part(s) left that, if they copy it, it should be considered a clone since it's a protected trademark of TLG.

But OMG, Anime fans NEED to take a look. I'm not big on that style myself, but some of those sets with the anime style minidolls are really neat.

Back to the OP, I really like the ice cream swirl piece. Again, the only thing I think is "wrong" with these products is when they copy the trademarked LEGO minifigure.

Other than that, I see not only no blatant copying of sets in any of these, but sets and themes TLG won't do that could very well appeal to a lot of people.

While I might buy a competitor set every so often, I'm still a LEGO segregationist. I find it hard to put the two together, and usually keep them separated. Accessories go into a baggie marked "not LEGO."

But I like some of these. Thanks for the pointers.

EDIT: Star Diamond Fairies on aliexpress link.

EDIT2: An educational toy indeed, showing the scene where Walter stole the chemicals from the train on Breaking Bad.

Edited December 29, 2015 by fred67

[crossmr]

Back to the OP, I really like the ice cream swirl piece. Again, the only thing I think is "wrong" with these products is when they copy the trademarked LEGO minifigure.

The only point of order there is that that has not been decided in the US and while it's done at a certain level in Europe (or the UK wherever exactly it was) they did say they were going to appeal. Until it hits the highest level and is supported they aren't out of the water on that.

I like the slightly different Oxford figures, but I think very few people could genuinely be confused by bootleg figure. They all have something off about them. Chinese companies seem to have trouble with one color or another, or the quality is poor or whatever. I think That unless they are straight out copying a print from a lego figure, they should probably lay off on that. Don't allow them to copy sets, or 1:1 copies of minifigures, but their blocks are fair game, and I don't think Lego really has anything to worry about from a random chinese company creating unique minifigs that have the same basic shape as lego. It's almost anti-competitive They should welcome a little competition. It might push them to evolve a bit. Oxford could certainly give them a run for their money IF they'd get their act together.

[dirk]

Here's another Enlighten set you might like, it's the Locomotive based loosely on the Hogwart's Express.

http://its-not-lego.blogspot.ca/2015/08/enlighten-brand-locomotive-627.html

[crossmr]

Here's another Enlighten set you might like, it's the Locomotive based loosely on the Hogwart's Express.

http://its-not-lego....motive-627.html

It's a shame that Enlighten is moving away from the trains. Those are all very old sets. Most of the trains aren't available anymore. This is one that is, there are about 3 engines and 1 car (the log car) that are still pretty easy to find, even in china. I'd like to see them do a new train line with their new idea of being an original company. GBL is good, but a limited range. About all we have these days for selection is Lego, GBL and Ausini and Ausini doesn't give a full set. There are a couple of other trains out ther (banbao, sluban) but sluban isn't compatible, banbao isn't great quality and their figures are stupid, and really that's about it. Enlighten at least gave people some choices on cars and things like that.

Edited December 31, 2015 by crossmr

[Dopplercb]

Just found that set on aliexpress. Added it to my wish list. It would be nice to have at least one train.

[ilikeboomerang1]

Oxford is a Korean brand, You can order them here: http://global.gmarket.co.kr/Home/Main

You can see Oxford's product listings here: http://oxfordtoy.co....e=10&menu_img=1 and just search on Gmarket via their model number.

Star Diamond sometime shows up on aliexpress but because it's higher quality and slightly more expensive, it's often not sold there. I found a set for sale on the streets here in Korea and ordered some directly from China on Taobao.com but to do that you need a way to get it out of China, and I have a Korean reshipping company that accepts packages in Beijing and resends them on to Korea. Neither of them make modulars. That's a lego thing. Even if a chinese company copied that, it'd still be fairly pricey. They don't usually copy things so large there. The biggest clone I've seen was a clone of the Airjitsu (or whatever it's called) ninjago castle, and the GBL clone of the Horizon express (1260 pieces)

I've never seen any of them clone a modular, or even any of the other big sets. A lot of them like to clone the Star Wars line, but mostly smaller sets and figures only. Which is a shame there probably would be a market for clones of the bigger stuff. Especially in China. Most of the stuff you buy on Aliexpress is much much cheaper domestically in China. If you pay $20 on Aliexpress the actual price in china might be $5-10. So actual lego is really expensive in China. You see train sets there for 198 yuan (GBL knock-off Horizon express), while a a real Lego train is like 1400 yuan. About 7x the price. Is it any wonder these kinds of companies are able to flourish there?

That Toys R' Us store in the Oxford website looks good. I hope that that set has instructions and no Oxford-specific pieces so I could try to build it in LDD.

[Dopplercb]

I picked up two small enlighten pirate ships and an enlighten crocodile today on aliexpress. I'm hitting up the Lego store on Tuesday. Woo.

[crossmr]

That Toys R' Us store in the Oxford website looks good. I hope that that set has instructions and no Oxford-specific pieces so I could try to build it in LDD.

I'll see if I can find a copy of the instructions. It's a big set, on the scale of the Lego Modulars I believe.

[wilson3a10]

The ice cream car is nice but I don't want pink colour

[Dopplercb]

Have any of you ever put together a Eurasian brand Bionicle knock off? I ask because I'm putting together my first official Lego Bionicle model and I want to know if any of the knockoffs have the normal Bionicle pieces in them. I'm having a lot of trouble with the Bionicle model that I'm putting together right now. I wanted to know if I could get some practice in on a knock off or clone brand if they use similar pieces.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Dopplercb

[WashingtonDistrictRailfan]

Looks like a copy of the LEGO Movie set