Many of us aren’t just fans of LEGO – we’re fans of building block experiences, and that means anything which allows us to assemble cool models of unique items. Whilst LEGO cover a wide range of different sets, they don’t create everything. We’ve explored before how LEGO are opposed to things like military sets, and how there are licenses which LEGO simply don’t have. Well, today we’re going to aim to explore that by finding out which is the best LEGO knock off.
Now although we will touch on them briefly, I am not using this article to talk about the companies which are creating lower-quality clones of LEGO sets. You can argue about the ethics of that until the cows come home, but the fact of the matter is it isn’t legal and shouldn’t be done. Instead, we are going to take a look at brands which are doing their own thing and have come on their own journeys. Before we do that, however, I do want to touch on who I believe is probably the most prolific clone out there – and definitely not the best LEGO knock off.
Lepin
Lepin are notorious for how much they rip-off pre-existing LEGO sets. There seems to be no limit as to what they will duplicate, covering everything from the Star Wars license to the Technic license and everything in between. Whilst they do offer their own builds, these are overshadowed by the sheer and blatant copy-catting this company participate in. The irony is that Lepin’s prices are not that much cheaper than LEGO’s prices, but their sets are likely to be worse in quality and part tension. I cannot recommend purchasing these sets. You are much better saving your money and making your own MOC.
With the elephant in the room dealt with, let’s move onto some far more interesting LEGO knock-offs.
Sluban
When it comes to the best LEGO knock off, I think that the Sluban brand are quite high up there. Sluban began with a focus on military figures, and since then have expanded to offer a whole variety of different products and sublines. The most surreal thing with Sluban is that you can find their sets in the wild in the UK, with some of their military sets appearing at museums across the country. This is often quite rare for non-LEGO products so is a cool detail to note.
Sluban’s military sets are a mixture of modern and historical, with lots of sets themed around both World Wars. There is everything from tanks to planes, and whole battlefields. Their minifigures are not LEGO style, but are close enough that things like headgear and bodywear may be interchangeable. I’d definitely recommend taking a look at Sluban’s products. Whilst they are certainly stylized, there are some cool sets and accessories which you will never see The LEGO Group create.
Cobi
Another popular competitor for the crown of ‘best LEGO knock off’ are Cobi, who make similar military sets to Sluban alongside a wealth of city themed sets, and even cars and vehicles in the 1:12 scale bracket. I have to admit I have had my eye on Cobi for a long time. Some of their products look phenomenal. They do not shy away from doing large-scale vehicles and structures as a part of their assortments, things which we often find LEGO not doing in the abundance we would desire. I particularly like their World War 2 sets – with the Church build for their D-Day line being absolutely gorgeous.
Cobi have been on a real journey for authenticity and accuracy in recent years. Their initial builds were blocky and rugged, but in recent years they have moved to a near-stud-less approach, producing gorgeous models which look sleek and slender. Of particular note to me are their planes, which are in a class of their own. They even offer a V-22 Osprey in multiple varieties (looking at you, LEGO). Sure, COBI also have unique minifigures, but if you can get your head passed their somewhat goofy design, then you’ll be rewarded with some of the most authentic builds available in the brick construction space.
Mega Construx
Mega Construx is probably my favourite LEGO competitor. Being a huge fan of the Halo videogame franchise, I have collected MEGA’s products since a young age and have seen their brick tolerances and the overall quality of their products improve significantly over that period of time. MEGA now boast some of the most detailed builds available on the market, but what really makes them stand out is their micro action figure. These possible characters have the same level of detail and pose-ability that you might get in a 1/18th scale action figure. They truly revolutionised the construction space when they were first released.
It is worth noting that MEGA hold some of the most unique licenses out of the competitors on this list, too. They currently have sets available based on the Fall Out franchise, Godzilla X Kong, Pokemon and G.I. Joe. That last one will be particularly relevant when we come onto our honourable mentions. It is fair to say that MEGA are market leaders when it comes to highly detailed collectables, and if I had to make a pick, I think I would easily give them the title of best LEGO knock off. However, we aren’t done quite yet as I have a couple of honourable mentions from my childhood!
Kre-O and Character
My honorable mentions have to be Kre-O and Character Building. Both of these construction brands are sadly extinct now, but I grew up with a couple of their products in my collection. Kre-O, in particular, did some fantastic sets themed around the Battleship film, and also had sets themed around G.I. Joe and Transformers plus a slew of other franchises. Character Building had sets based on the hit BBC show Doctor Who, and also had a line called ‘H.M. Armed Forces’, which accompanied a similar action figure line by character based on the modern-day British armed forces.
Whilst both lines ended some time ago, I do think they brought some interesting elements to the table – and I would have been interested to see them evolve over time. Instead, their sets remain available on the aftermarket and are readily available for relatively affordable price points. It is interesting to consider what might have happened had these competitors managed to survive longer.
I hope you have enjoyed a bit of a different article today as I’ve shared some of my thoughts around the best LEGO knock off. It’s fair to say that we are all big fans of LEGO at the end of the day, but that doesn’t mean that there are no other brands doing unique things particularly well. Whether it is incredibly poseable action figures, licenses which would never get the LEGO treatment, or unique models like military vehicles, LEGO’s ‘knock offs’ have a ton to offer any building block enthusiast.
Have you purchased from any of the brands I referenced in this blog? If you have, I’d be really interested to read your thoughts and experience in the comments below. Equally, are there any brands which you feel were missing from this piece? I’m always keen to discover more creators of building block products! Thanks as always for reading this piece. I hope to see you around for another blog post in the not-too-distant future!
