Brick Addiction: Attack of the Clones: Why LEGO Copycats Click
- Dec 12, 2015
- 3 min read
The original idea of interlocking bricks made LEGO a most formidable pillar in the toy industry. However, its patent on it expired in 1989 and succeeding attempts to keep it exclusive have failed. While it was bad news for LEGO purists, it was a good one for people who wanted to enjoy the same toy experience without bleeding their pockets dry.
Among the LEGO-like brands that have become successful and popular over time are KRE-O and MEGABLOKS. These brands, as well as the other lesser known LEGO clones, are compatible with LEGO, so you can actually mix and build them together without really noticing the difference at first glance.
KRE-O is worth mentioning as a leading “clone” because it won the rights to franchise the cult classic Transformers from another toy giant, Hasbro. MEGABLOKS, on the other hand, got Sanrio’s popular icon Hello Kitty. These “high-end copycats” have thence penetrated the mainstream brick toy market, and though their prices are expectedly lower than LEGO, there are some brands that are far cheaper and yes, more exciting in terms of theme ideas.
Who would have thought that the famous American TV show “The Walking Dead” would be Legofied? The Elephant brand has brought the popular characters led by Rick Grimes into the toy universe, making your brick toy world more awesome, pop, and timely.
LEGO has curiously avoided crafting modern warfare sets, and so collectors have missed the experience and enjoyment of putting up a World War 2 or even a 90‘s era war diorama sets. Rumor has it that LEGO was reluctant because it wanted to prevent reality-based war from seeping into children’s minds, which compose their primary market. So what LEGO lacks, the clones have made. Star Diamond, a brand whose plastic quality is astonishingly close to LEGO’s but whose price is a fraction of the latter, launched a full battalion of military sets – from Air Force down to ground forces. Its battle tank and rocket launchers are surprisingly stunning.
The list of other LEGO bootlegs, from the high-ends down to the low-end ones, from the popular to the obscure ones, is endless and fast multiplying. There are brands that directly copy LEGO sets, while others, like KRE-O and Star Diamond, opt to create original themes. It’s funny to imagine a pirated LEGO Pirate set, but there is such a thing. It’s even funnier to see brand names such as LELE, and its minifigs based on “The LELE Movie.”
What makes LEGO knockoffs attractive is anchored on two things. One, what LEGO doesn’t have, they have. And two, if you want a certain LEGO set but cannot afford its insanely high price tag, you can still enjoy it in its cloned version. So it’s basically marketable to everybody, regardless of social strata. One would think that with the proliferation of LEGO copycats, LEGO would soon face bankruptcy. Maybe that was also LEGO’s fear in the past, hence its battle to keep the patent exclusive to them. But it only proved otherwise, because the popularity of interlocking brick toys has only surged to high heavens – ironically benefitting LEGO itself in the long run. Today, despite losing its patent fight, LEGO is actually struggling to meet unprecedented high customer demand, copycats notwithstanding. Cheers for the harmonious coexistence between LEGO and the lesser LEGOs!
Comments