LEGO vs. Competitor Building Toys (Mega Bloks, Kre-O, etc.)

MB sets can be rebuilt into some interesting stuff. I once tore apart a warthog to create a war torn base ceiling, and it came out pretty well!

Also, just because the mini figs have always been like this does not excuse them for articulation not much better than a Star Wars action figure from over 40 years ago.

Pics?

Again, LEGO can’t really change their minifigures. If they did, the backlash from it would cause their inevitable return.

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This was primarily constructed from a warthog, combined with a battlescape (super useful) and maybe part of a mongoose.

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I have a friend who has some sort of japanese brick system thing and he calls them"Japanese legos" despite everything about them being different.

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Let’s look at how they sell figure packs:

25 dollars for 16 figures

64 dollars for 16 figures and no giant stand

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LEGO sadly sells at a premium price, where you’re guaranteed a functional product, even if their competitors sell their items at a lesser price.

TLG also has to create a ton of new molds for their CMFs, which does raise the price quite a bit.

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I think you’re overestimating how often there are issues with MB products.

I used to own the Lego Death Star, it was missing over a dozen parts.

Also, MB almost never reuses molds when it doesn’t make sense for the product. MB has countless amounts of different armor pieces for their collectors lines. Usually only the “skeleton” is reused. I also wouldn’t consider minifigures “premium.” I know the controversy in changing them and honestly I’d be upset too if that happened, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that they are sub par when compared to MB figures. Quality is good, functionality is lacking. I also think MF are more expensive (not sure, I just know they are $4 on lego.com and Halo blind packs are $3 on Mega Bloks’ website).

I also want to compare more than figures.

This is a “medium” base set for Mega Bloks at $65:

https://s1.megabrandsmedia.com/catalog/styles/large/public/products/megabloks-unsc-firebase-cng69-11763.jpg

This is a “medium” base set for Lego at $60:

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That’s a very rare and very unlikely predicament. Thankfully, LEGO is very aware of these sorts of issues and will give the consumer the new pieces.

That’s not exactly the smartest move on their part. If you’re not going to reuse a mold, than you’re wasting time and money for its development.

LEGO as a brand comes at a Premium. :confused:

Okay. I understand your whole thing about the articulation when it comes to the MB minifigures, but LEGO Minifigures aren’t supposed to be Action Figures, but little representations of characters in a rather cartoony appearance, with their inverted eyes and missing noses. Besides, articulation doesn’t really matter, with the figs conveying a specific look or attitude through the movement that they show. The best examples of this comes from The LEGO Movie.

Okay. The LEGO Set comes with a variety of Play Features, the exact same amount of figs, and a rather complex build that can challenge a portion of their aimed demographic.

The Mega Bloks set, with five extra dollars, gives a rather bland and modular product, with giant, bricks to make it seem bigger.

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  1. Mega also will give you missing parts.

  2. Mega NEEDS to make new molds in order to be accurate to the complex armor designs in games such as Halo. Otherwise fans will complain that they have a Spartan Enforcer with Locke’s torso armor.

  3. Since when is calling Lego a “premium” an argument? That’s subjective.

  4. My point is that MB figures are OBJECTIVELY superior to minifigures. You can like the style, so do I, but MB figures have MUCH higher functionality with amazing articulation and armor swapping similar to that of McFarlane action figure (not the building toys). Also, the Lego Movie uses CGI, not everything in it is possible in real life.

  5. The Lego set contains the same amount figures, but are they better figures? For one, the MB set contains a figure that’s huge and all figures have the aforementioned objective superiority.

Also, the Lego set has three functions: a very simple ball dropping function and two missile launchers that are fixed in one position and can only be used if a figure is stand right in front of the sides of the staircase.

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Not really, Lego has some of the best quality pieces as far as I’m concerned.

Depends on what you’re looking for, poses? Sure. Quality? Debateable. Texturing? Yes. Paint job? No.

yes, still more features than most MB sets have, most of them only have the open door or basic stuff like that. Very few MB sets have destruction (blow up car etc) functions, and while some do have firing functions, not nearly as much as an average lego set. Heck, even the smallest batman v superman set has more functions than that warthog above.

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Look at some of the new Nickolodeon TMNT sets.

Anyways, what an individual person is looking for isn’t objective. By the definition of objective, they are superior. Quality is rarely an issue besides the occasional mold flash and the lack of paint is a result of texturing. Lego gives the illusion of textures through prints, MB actually has textures. Paint isn’t usually required because MB is taking the extra mile to give us a new piece.

I also want to clarify I’m mostly looking at the “Collectors” sublines.

It’s a lame excuse, but it’s true. The Price of LEGO is somewhat increased for being a Premium Product. Is this a bad thing? Kind of, but eh.

I’m getting sick of this. TLG’s Minifigures don’t have wild articulation. That is the biggest fault of the figs, but they do have vibrant colors, debatable better printing IMO, and a more unique style. Mega Bloks’ figures are highly articulated and look similar to their “real life” counterpart. That’s one of their major selling points.

It, again, comes down to what you want, so saying one is better than the other is completely subjective.

LEGO’s minifigures are, again, subjectively better. Not only do they counter act Mega Bloks’ huge figure with their snake, but they also come with some rather interesting weapons and well-molded add-ons. This is all in personal taste, of course.

Also, LEGO might’ve added some rather simplistic play features, but it’s a heck of a lot more than what MB added.


I’m going to stop here.

I’ve layer down my personal thoughts and they’re not going to change. Why? Because I truly believe The LEGO Group is the superior company.
And because I’m arrogant and have very strong, biased, unintelligible, and not-so-easy to change opinions.

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By the actual definition of objective, something with more functionality (articulation, more armor bits) would be superior.

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With the same definition, you can say LEGO is superior for the better printing. It can go either way.

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Not what I meant, my argument pointed out what objectively the MB figures are btter at and in what areas they aren’t. They do not have as good paint job as Minifigs, the do have better poseabilty and more texturing detail. Now customization on most of them are good, however some (specially most of the halo figures, except elites) lack the ability to switch from helmet to normal face without replacing the whole head piece entirely.

Now while the minifigs do not have as much poseability as a standard MB one they do have better quality plastic on them.

Again each are good objectively in their own ways, but not really superior to each other in some areas.

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Mega Bloks and the like are more for complexity of parts than complexity of build, IMO. Lego is more for the creative types who want to make their own stuff, and MB is mostly for collectors.

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MB figures are still objectively superior, let’s do a list of what we’ve said:

Lego

  • Printing instead of textures
  • Brighter colors
  • “Charming” (I guess?)
  • Slightly better plastic

Mega Bloks

  • Textures with realistic depth
  • swappable armor on a good chunk of their figures
  • The occasional paint wash
  • Greater accuracy to the source material in MOST cases for licensed brands
  • Articulation better than that of many modern action figures
  • Usually a bit cheaper (not by much, but enough to record here)
  • Absolutely insane variety of colors (while Lego has many, MB will create new shades just to avoid repetition)
  • Metallic colors are shinier (admittedly this is a little subjective)
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This also aplies to even a greater extent on minifigs. There are hundreds of accesories that have been made throughout the decaeds while megabloks is barely even starting that with their new figure style, and even then I haven’t seen a single one that allows you to change the hair (again HAIR) while keeping the same head.

So does lego, there are hundreds of colors for just regular legs, not to mention the prining those may have or the dual molding.

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https://s2.megabrandsmedia.com/catalog/products/megabloks-borgia-guard-pack-94306-8774.jpg

https://s1.megabrandsmedia.com/catalog/products/megabloks-pirate-crew-pack-94305-8769.jpg

Look at the heads and which ones are reused.

Now that does count, I hadn’t seen that mold, however, this is still limited to a select ammount of them, not every figure has them.

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