Bricklink and Tyco Super Blocks

[rodiziorobs]

I went to Bricklink tonight (apparently the new Bricklink, because it looked like it was made this century) when the site was under maintenance. Here was the image shown:

Kind of cute, not as funny as it was trying to be, but whatever. As I scanned the image though, I immediately noticed something amiss: the white hinge pieces at the top aren't LEGO--they are Tyco Super Blocks.

I know this because I have two of the same piece, but in black. Compared to the white plate they attach to, their slightly increased thickness is obvious: Tyco plates were 1/2 the thickness of a brick, whereas LEGO plates, as we all know, are 1/3.

(As a side note, they are in amazing shape, considering how yellowed they aren't for how old they must be.)

Personally I don't mind Tyco blocks; I think they are the only off-brand that stacks up (see what I did there) against LEGO in terms of durability, clutch power, and color. I don't mind using them in MOCs unless for contests, and sometimes that extra 1/6 of a brick is perfect for adding some extra stability to a fragile SNOT build.

However, despite my own acceptance of Tyco, I know that many FOLs have no tolerance for off-brands, so I was surprised to see them used this way, especially on Bricklink, a resource so widely used in the community (and since you can't buy them on the site), so I couldn't resist pointing it out.

[B-Lister]

I have had Tyco mixed into my big bucket for years. The figures really didn't last, but the blocks are indeed durable. Except for those gray ones. They were molded differently (no three tube configuration underneath) so they tended to warp. Though I did like the way the windshield pieces were designed to clutch.

I got two of the military sets one year for X-Mas, unfortunately, the buckets, and most of the pieces scattered to the wind through the years.

[Cult_Of_Skaro]

Why does bricklink keep teasing the new version in this way? It's back to normal again now.

[LEGO Historian]

Sigh.... even I... the "keeper of the LEGO Orthodoxy".... have strayed from the true path... and had purchased some Tyco bricks back in the late 1980s. At the time I was very annoyed with the TLG folks in Enfield (I had wanted to buy thousands of parts that they were willing to sell me, but changed their mind on). So I bought 2 of the large Tyco red castles... still have the parts, which had 98% of the quality that LEGO had (back then).

There were a few Tyco parts that I thought were absolutely wonderful, which I treasure greatly... namely equlateral triangle bricks... and bricks that were triangle bricks with a 1x2 brick attached to 2 sides of the triangle. You would be surprised what awesome builds you can do (in Castle) with walls that don't require a 90 degree angle!!

[Peppermint_M]

I so very badly want the phone. I couldn't care less that it will not work with current networks or technology and I never use the landline. I just really really want it.

Also, it has been my experience that Tyco bricks, even when treated the same as the LEGO, come out looking better. I have had a number mixed in with a bucket handed down from a family friend a few years older and the Tyco were better looking than the LEGO but they had the same age and "care".

[weavil]

Also, it has been my experience that Tyco bricks, even when treated the same as the LEGO, come out looking better. I have had a number mixed in with a bucket handed down from a family friend a few years older and the Tyco were better looking than the LEGO but they had the same age and "care".

Same here too. I got a few (kind of) big construction sets. They had 1X4X5 wall pieces. I like to use them instead of two 1X2X5. But that's just me.

[B-Lister]

Tyco had a 2x2 plate with studs on both sides, and a 2x2 that was the exact opposite. You could even combine the two to make a standard 2x2 (standard by Tyco standards, meaning half the height of a standard brick, as opposed to Lego's 1/3rd height plates)

[Laura Beinbrech]

Back in 1988, when my brother and I were really getting into LEGO (and the basis of the world that I've currently posted bits and pieces of here with my MOCs got its start), my parents got us a big red bucket of Tyco Super Blocks, which actually enabled us to do some building/additons onto our LEGO sets (due to the relative lack of LEGO brick buckets at the time).

For years, Tyco was the only clone brand I would swear by, since they were the only one I encountered who could stand up to LEGO quality (although the figures were a bit disappointing, as has been said earlier... We kept ours 'alive' by gluing them back together with model glue whenever they split at the seams... We decided that they would be a lost tribe of Neanderthals in our setting). The only other brand that could equal them in coming close to LEGO standards is Oxford (the people who make the bricks for Kre-O).

[ZORK64]

I suppose it's because I'm a bit too young to know these (I was born in the 1987), but I haven't heard of thos Tyco Super Blocks before. But those castle bricks do look cool.

Anyway, it sure is a funny coincidence that BL actually used some non-LEGO in that picture. Makes me wonder if this was a genuine mistake, or if the builder did that on purpose.

[Artanis I]

We had a big bucket of Tyco, and the bricks were all in good condition when I gave away all of my non-Lego 4 or 5 years ago. Couldn't say the same for the other brands.