[theshrike79]

Haven't tried those specific brands (and they tend to change brand every time they get sued), but I had a bunch of Lepin and whatever else.

You can tell the difference if you start mixing pieces. The official ones SNAP together, the cheapo copies just smush and don't really stick. They tend to get loose way faster too.

They're good if you want to get that 5000 piece car, build it and put it on a shelf. But if you're looking for something you can give to your kids and grandkids, get the real deal. I still have the same lego sets I got when I was a kid and now they're with my kids.

[cardanome]

Competition has made huge quality leaps in recent years. They can not be compared to Lepin anymore.

Cobi, a Polish Company, has actually better quality than Lego and is the only one producing in the European Union.

The Chinese brands are already at 95% percent there, especially as modern Lego is actually getting worse (and probably producing in the same factories anyway). Sadly the remaining 5% can make all the difference and can be a bit frustrating at times but we should hopefully see parity soon especially a those brands try to go into the quality segment more and more.

As an adult, I don't see a reason to pay Lego prices when I can have nicer and bigger sets for much cheaper. I can cope with a little bit of frustration and some pieces not being perfect.

For children though, yeah Cobi or Lego any day.

[em-bee]

quality of alternative bricks has improved remarkably over the last few years. and the reputable importers of chinese brands pay attention to not import cloned sets and make sure that the MOC sets they get are properly licensed from the MOC designers. so what you get is much better than what it used to be.

bluebrixx is a german brand btw. they import many chinese brands but also design and produce their own sets. they recently started producing officially licensed star trek sets.