Dustybug Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Anyone used these? My DS's b-day is on the 29th and he's been having a good time playing with my oldest DD's Lego set (which only has 216pc. but is a girl set, so it's pink,white, etc). We were thinking about getting him his own more neutral Legos and I was looking at this((http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NO9GT4/ref=gno_cart_title_1)) but then I saw these and they have 600 more pieces for the same price and are compatible with Legos http://www.amazon.com/Mega-Bloks-Micro-Tub/dp/B0038BK67A/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top We have MegaBloks that are compatible with Duplos and they are fine, but I've never used these. I'm wondering if it will be worth it to get this one instead so he has more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Nothing like Legos. They don't stay together well at all. Most of the pieces in the set ds bought himself are not compatible with his Legos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 They don't hold together nearly as well, and break more easily. We have a couple of Mega-Block sets that DD has gotten as gifts or that we've purchased on deep discount, and the only things that actually get used from them are the character mini-figs (Hello Kitty, mostly) and some of the specialty pieces like flowers.The bricks themselves, she dislikes and actively removes from her lego bins. We have tried several different "compatible with legos" sets, and in all cases, they've been discarded quite quickly except for anything specialized. In actual building, they just plain don't work. As far as "girl" legos, if you have a 216 piece set that's mostly pink and white, I want to know which it is, because even the pink brick box and Friends tend to come with only a handful of "pretty" bricks-which is frustrating to my DD, who loves pastels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 There is nothing that compares to Lego. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 They might work with the legos but the quality is not nearly as good as the REAL legos. If possible, I would stick with the real legos and just buy the best/most you can afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 I looked and couldn't find it... maybe it was in a book? But I once saw a photo of how Megablocks wear vs. how Legos wear over time. The Megablock looked like carp and the Lego was is perfect shape. They simply don't compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 Megablocks might say they're compatible with Lego but they really aren't. They will never fit quite right. My advice, if you're just now starting a collection, is to pick one and stick with it. As you add to the collection, only buy the same brand. If you ask me which one to pick, I'll say Lego. The quality is just so much better that it's worth the higher prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 we've had some of the better lego competitors sets received as gifts. My son finally went through the lego and removed all the "fakes" because they really aren't as good and they were driving him batty. (they were sent to goodwill.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted December 15, 2012 Share Posted December 15, 2012 My boys were given a bunch of really cool looking Megablok sets several years ago--dragons and castles, I think. They were awful. They didn't stay together at all. We gave those to goodwill and have never looked at them since. I was shocked at the poor quality. It's kind of like comparing RoseArt with Crayola. Crayola is just much better and worth the extra cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 It's kind of like comparing RoseArt with Crayola. Crayola is just much better and worth the extra cost. Oh, it's worse! It's like comparing RoseArt to Prismacolor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 They don't hold together nearly as well, and break more easily. We have a couple of Mega-Block sets that DD has gotten as gifts or that we've purchased on deep discount, and the only things that actually get used from them are the character mini-figs (Hello Kitty, mostly) and some of the specialty pieces like flowers.The bricks themselves, she dislikes and actively removes from her lego bins. We have tried several different "compatible with legos" sets, and in all cases, they've been discarded quite quickly except for anything specialized. In actual building, they just plain don't work. As far as "girl" legos, if you have a 216 piece set that's mostly pink and white, I want to know which it is, because even the pink brick box and Friends tend to come with only a handful of "pretty" bricks-which is frustrating to my DD, who loves pastels. This is the one she has. It does have quite a few other colors, but it seems to have a ton of pink/hot pink ones and white too. My DS complains about it when he plays with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 I just counted through her bin and realized that over 50pcs are missing, so maybe that's why it seems like there are so many pink ones...the rest are gone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I am a lego snob (which is why i only have 3 sets!). Nothing compares. If you ever come across the extremely rare deformed lego piece, the phone call to customer service will take a max of 5 minutes, and your piece will be in your mailbox in just a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Stick with Lego's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaS Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I just read this last night, oddly enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 DS6 was just saying tonight that even though sometimes megabloks have a character/theme he is interested in, he just doesn't like them as much as lego. They aren't as well made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I just read this last night, oddly enough. Obviously, the license agreements are helping a lot, but I would add a few things to that - Lego started making their own lines, such as the wildly popular Ninjago, which are doing incredibly well. If you go to Target, sometimes Ninjago is cleaned off the shelves and Star Wars is still there. Also the Lego robotics, motors, and education products are also a driving Lego force. And finally, Lego has the fan base with all the websites, conventions and collectors to go with it - I think in this age of Geeks, that makes a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violamama Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 We love lego, and had never tried megablocks until a friend gifted us a huge bin of legos/megablocks mixed. They had been in their attic for ages. The legos looked great, the megablocks had faded and looked weird. The boys instantly sorted them out, ditching all the megablocks to Goodwill without a single complaint. You can also buy big lots of legos on Ebay, Craigslist, etc. If I were just starting out and trying to be frugal, we'd probably buy the biggest lot of used Legos we could swing and supplement with a couple of specific-interest new sets. (Check out reviews of the sets on YouTube to see what fans think is good/bad about it and whether the particular sets have a fair value.) You can resell Lego: it's our long-term plan if the boys later want to get into other expensive toys or start upgrading to lego mindstorm. For us, Lego is totally worth it. My kids play creatively with their sets just about every day. They build worlds, even races of beings and play out complex dramas with repeating themes. I love the open-endedness of Lego, and that it gets them to work together to make stuff "cooler". They bring a box each when we bring them along to rehearsals and they have to play quietly within sight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 They didn't stay together at all.... I was shocked at the poor quality. My youngest got a set of Megablocks as a gift several years ago. It was a cool looking set that sort of looked like Star Wars stuff. Bu the pieces didn't stay together well, and he got frustrated. I convinced him to chuck the Megablocks when we moved recently. We managed to keep his separately from the Legos, which wasn't really that hard, because he pretty much didn't play with them after initially building. His Legos -- he plays with them every. single. day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Another thing I'd suggest (and do, frequently for legos). Don't look at sets as sets/characters. You can often buy the less popular/out of vogue sets on discount, and if they have interesting elements, it's worth it to do so. DD has most of the "Prince of Persia" sets, and the pieces get a lot of use because they let her build some great buildings with a Moroccan/Middle Eastern feel. I think that series was an example of lego missing the mark-I don't think the Lego fan base really got into the movie much, because those sets were dirt cheap about a year after release. So, DD makes her version of the Taj Mahal to put the characters from her "Fantasy and Historical figures" mini-fig set in, and she's pretty happy. She's getting Cars II Big Bentley for Christmas-again, we were able to buy the set cheap. She's never seen Cars II, wasn't all that interested in Cars I, and isn't interested in the characters, but as a Dr. Who fan, I'm pretty sure that she'll find a use for Big Ben :). (And I will say this-the Dr. Who fake lego Mini-figs really do work quite well with legos, if you can find them. We've picked up a few at conventions-even at 100% lego events, that's one imitator that the fan base seems willing to accept :) ). There's usually an impulse set or two in each line which is pretty cheap and comes with a character mini-fig, and using those with just plain a large number of generic pieces/bricks/interesting elements gives much the benefit of the bigger sets, without the cost, especially for younger DC. And if you go to a convention with a lego room, even MOCs that fit into existing lines won't be made from those sets except for maybe mini-figs. They'll be 100% custom, built from various elements, at a level of detail that puts the commercial lego sets to shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted December 16, 2012 Author Share Posted December 16, 2012 Thanks everyone! Guess I'll be ordering Legos. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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