Comparitive study of studded construction bricks

 by wittzo
Having kids is a good excuse to buy yourself a bunch of neat toys. When I was a kid, I didn't have near as many Legos as my sons do, so now I get to play with them, too.

Over the years, we've bought mostly Legos because of their quality and variety and number of kits. We have a few Megablocks from Canada, my son is a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean and MegaBlocks got the contract to make constuction kits for the franchise. A few years ago we spotted some Kids Connection bricks at Wal-Mart, they were extremely cheap and in a neat storage case, so we snatched them up. I've recently discovered another company, Best-Lock out of England.

Legos are to found everywhere. Kids Connection is a brand owned by Wal-Mart, so they're exclusive, but they look a lot like MegaBlocks, so I bet MegaBlocks makes them for Wal-Mart and several other retailers. Mega-Blocks are found everywhere. Toys'R'Us has Best-Lock on their shelves and on their amazon.com portal.

I'm sure there are a dozen different companies that copy Legos or come into their own, these are just the name brands that I've come into contact with.

I just found out that K'NEX also makes good quality bricks that are compatible with Legos, but we don't have any K'NEX bricks, just the sticks and connectors. (thanks westfw!)
 
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Step 1: Lego my construction brick!

Comparing construction bricks - Lego.JPG
Comparing construction bricks - Lego Closeup.JPG
Comparing construction bricks - All four bottom -1.JPG
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Legos are the tops. They make all sorts of neat shapes and sizes and custom bricks. They are the standard other companies are measured by.

They are made of relatively dense plastic and very opaque. They usually have very little flash on their pieces. The denser plastic also makes for better adhesion. If the bricks make a sharp click when they stick together, they're going to be harder to seperate. (Thanks for the reminder, LilPunk32!) Legos almost always click, and some times require the use of the Lego Brick Seperator tool. The tool comes in handy when dealing with flat plates that require leverage.

You can order all sorts of bricks on-line at lego.com through their "Pick-A-Brick" program. You can also order any piece from any set over the phone, but it'll cost ya, they have to ship them from their headquarters in Denmark.
legofan1995 says: Jul 6, 2010. 9:21 AM
LEGO IS THE BEST IN M 2GETE OPINIO0N CZ MEGABLOKS DNTG STICK 2GETHER AND IVE NENVER HEARD OF THE OTHRS LOL
theexpert in reply to legofan1995Jul 5, 2011. 1:18 PM
stop playing with legos and learn to spell not trying to be mean but i cant understand your comment
0spore1 in reply to theexpertSep 30, 2012. 9:20 AM
It says
Lego is the best in my opinion because megablocks don't stick together and I've never heard or the others, LOL
papercrafter408 says: Aug 19, 2012. 11:00 AM
hmm... mega blocks... KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!
thematthatter says: May 8, 2008. 11:28 PM
i always wondered if the sets were compatable reminds me of that family guy episode where peter wanted legos but Lois bought him mega blocks and they werent the same thing
theexpert in reply to thematthatterJul 5, 2011. 1:19 PM
i love that episode its so funny
firesketch in reply to thematthatterAug 31, 2008. 4:31 PM
That sounds like such a great episode :/ Lol : D
jaxen90 says: Apr 3, 2011. 5:21 PM
Legos are by far the best building brick on the market. Everything else is just a cheap knock off in my opnion. If i ever get a box at a garage sale or thrift store I toss any and all megablocks I find mixed in right away. They are worthless junk. Btw wittzo, ever hear of brickwars? Its pretty much 40k with legos. But more room for creativity and fun. I've never actually played but it looks like a blast!
theexpert says: Jul 21, 2010. 2:07 PM
id like to point out that mega blocks are much easyer to break and there people look stupied plus they will melt if buried in a pile long enough
Robot Lover says: Mar 4, 2010. 9:40 AM
A few years ago when i played with legos i always complained when i saw a mega block in the bucket. Probably because when you stack a mega block and a lego they don't stay, so if you tipped the stack over then the mega block would fall over.
C0mPuterHaCkErKiD says: Oct 22, 2009. 9:05 AM
Very good instructables 5 stars, but ive used lego to make like the guns and stuff but i found lately using lego tecnic for it because there packs with hydrolics for good and cool things to do with them atm im trying to make a semi auto hand gun with em so do a reveiw on lego technics would be good (:
Gage987 says: Oct 2, 2009. 6:44 PM
wonderful bravo five stars
ftking_83702 says: Sep 23, 2009. 9:04 PM
I just came across this instructable. Wanted to mention-yes there are many other brick systems out there. Historically, there were Tyco Blocks, Tandem Bricks, and Cuboville Blocks. My personal favorite were the ELGO blocks, ;) All were more or less compatable with the LEGO components. Sometimes these other systems are good for alternate colors or details. (Note the rounded edges on the KNEX bricks). I attended BrickFest in Portland 2 years ago and eveyone was talking about the one row of nonLEGO blocks in a building structure. Fun!
Thanks for the instructable!
geodez says: Aug 24, 2009. 6:41 PM
dont forget knex bricks.
munchman says: Sep 14, 2008. 5:07 AM
Unlike most of the other instructables. This doesn't show you how to make or build anything. However, I actually found this to be wonderfully well written and informative. I enjoyed reading this (as much as a person can when reading a comparison of lego style bricks). Good Job!
maker12 says: Jun 11, 2008. 1:09 PM
this is more of a slide show or foum topic! From the "Submit an Instructable" page: What is an Instructable? An Instructable is a step-by-step guide showing how you made or did something. What makes a great Instructable? Start by sharing what you're passionate about. Well taken photos for each step will make it easier to follow. Make sure it's complete and not missing any steps. Use the spell checker. What's acceptable to post? Just about anything that's complete, well documented and you are the author of. If you haven't documented your project, share it as a slideshow or video. Please refrain from posting illegal or illicit content.
maker12 in reply to maker12Jun 11, 2008. 1:09 PM
it is good anyway! ;p
westfw says: Dec 31, 2007. 3:18 AM
We got some "k'nex Bricks" for Christmas; they're lego-compatible but feature special holes and connectors so that lego and k'nex can be used together to build things. I'll have to compare them to lego base on some of your ideas. (while perhaps not quite an instructable, I found this both interesting and useful...)
00beever in reply to westfwFeb 9, 2008. 4:45 PM
lego to knex converter bricks sound intense!
wittzo (author) in reply to westfwDec 31, 2007. 12:18 PM
My son got some K'Nex a few months ago, but there weren't any bricks in it, it was all sticks and elbows and stuff. It did come with several really thick idea books. He spent days building every last one of them.
westfw in reply to wittzoDec 31, 2007. 3:25 PM
I think the k'nex bricks are a special set.
maker12 in reply to westfwFeb 7, 2008. 7:00 PM
yes
maker12 says: Feb 7, 2008. 6:57 PM

WTF? watch how it,s made!

lilpunk1302 says: Dec 31, 2007. 1:38 AM
Personally, I'm just gonna stick to my lego's, but good instructible anyways, + from me. Although, you forgot to mention the sticking power of each one, I;ve noticed that legos stay together when attached, and I mean like REALLY stay together, MEga blocks tend to come apart quite easily. Also, what does the flash of the sprew have to do with anything?
wittzo (author) in reply to lilpunk1302Dec 31, 2007. 12:22 PM
Legos probably stick together better because of their denser plastic. Cleaner flash just makes the brick look cleaner. I paint wargaming miniatures and build a lot of plastic models, too, so I just notice flash. I'm also used to reading reviews of miniatures and they always mention the amount of flash. I'll amend my review about the sticking power. I know what you're talking about, sometimes I have to take a knife to separate some pieces, even though I have a Lego tool. I had to use a knife last night to take a plate off of some Best-Lock bricks, they're that good.
Vertigo666 in reply to wittzoJan 1, 2008. 1:57 PM
Flash is ridiculously anoying. You play 40K?
wittzo (author) in reply to Vertigo666Jan 1, 2008. 4:27 PM
Yeah, I've mostly been collecting 40K miniatures since '89 and got spanked a lot on the battlefield. I've got the "new" 4th edition rules, but I haven't played them yet. I have more than 3000 points (3rd edition) of Dark Angels (painted) and about the same in Orks (unpainted). I still have some Marines and Orks from '89 still on the sprue!
wittzo (author) in reply to wittzoJan 14, 2008. 12:57 PM
I just redid my points with the new Dark Angels codex and built some stuff I had in the closet. I now have about 4990 pts of Dark Angels and I still have some characters in the blisters and more vehicles I want to build....
Vertigo666 in reply to wittzoJan 14, 2008. 4:40 PM
Fear the wrath of the Deathwing!
Vertigo666 in reply to wittzoJan 1, 2008. 8:01 PM
That's impressive. You could still use them, though, in Apocalypse battles. I've got around 2000 pts of Armoured Company.
jdege says: Jan 14, 2008. 8:20 AM
Nothing about Fischer Technik?
wittzo (author) in reply to jdegeJan 14, 2008. 12:55 PM
I had never heard of them before I did this review, I was just covering the bricks I had mixed in with my Legos. If I didn't have a brick to take a pic of, I didn't review it.
ELVISWMD says: Dec 31, 2007. 12:51 PM
About a month ago I went through my son's Lego collection and threw out the megaBlocks. My experience has been that the non Lego brand don't fit with the Legos very well. You can stick a Megablock on top of a lego but you cannot stick a Lego on top of a megablock. SO it though you can use the building sets together, the interchangeability is frustratingly limited. So don't count on using the two together to build a bigger castle.
wittzo (author) in reply to ELVISWMDDec 31, 2007. 12:58 PM
What I don't like is the colors don't match when you mix MegaBlocks with Legos, except for black and a few other colors for some reason. The MegaBlocks are so light, they practically glow, so if you can't find a Lego brick to add to a piece you're working on and use a MegaBlock, it sticks out like a sore thumb. That's what got my attention when got the idea to write this. I had a tub with a thousand Legos in it and the one MegaBlock was right there. It was a pale yellow brick in the middle of some sunshine yellow Legos.
GorillazMiko says: Dec 31, 2007. 12:10 AM
This is not really an Instructable, it just shows the types of bricks that have been made.. But still, good idea of showing this and telling about how 4 types or bricks that have been made are different.
wittzo (author) in reply to GorillazMikoDec 31, 2007. 1:24 AM
I knoooow, but I was digging through my Lego boxes and noticed just how different the Lego clones were from the real deal. I'm happy that Best-Lock is just like Lego, except for that dimple on one of the studs..
jkm says: Dec 31, 2007. 12:46 AM
@ GorrilazMiko: this instructs how to save money! V useful. Wouldn't even have thought about trying non-original "Lego". Save a few $ on staple bricks. Bigger castles.
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