Subject:
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Re: GREY & WHITE BRICKS? (or a brief Mega Blok experience report)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Thu, 2 Nov 2000 22:06:55 GMT
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Viewed:
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662 times
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In lugnet.loc.au, Kerry Raymond writes:
> Having now opened my Mega Bloks aircraft carrier box (but only partway
> through building it), I can tell you that I have counted (roughly) that 600
> out of the 1700+ pieces are grey 2x4 bricks. Just about each step in the
> instructions demands 20+ of these, so you need a lot. At a rough estimate,
> about 80% of all pieces are grey, the rest being predominantly black, a few
> transparent, and a few decorative odds and ends in a couple of other
> colours.
Chris Gray from Canada has a nice site, part of which inventories and details
his building experiences with the Pro-builder range. His inventory states
that there is 619 grey 2 x 4's in the aircraft carrier. He has photos of the
building process, so Kerry, maybe wait until your finished before looking.
> If you like grey pieces, this is the set for you! But note it is not exactly
> the same shade of grey as Lego light grey, but then why should it be?
> Indeed, if you are thinking of building castles etc, having a mix of Lego
> and Mega Blok grey colours might give a more realistic effect than having
> only a single shade.
The MB surface finish is duller/flatter, which seems to suit the grey bricks.
> I'm sure if Lego built an aircraft carrier, it would be one of those funky
> style ones with lots of random splashes of colour with a few cheeky minifig
> sailors on the deck wearing ear muffs with a Bucket-Mouth petty officer
> doing a spot of fishing on the approach side of the runway. There would be a
> launchable set of lifeboats, motorisable rotating radar, crane and
> propellers. There would be chrome macaroni somewhere. There would be a winch
> driving the raising/lowering of the anchor chain. Technics cannons with
> their rubber-headed projectiles would be used for torpedo launchers below
> the water line. The base would be hinged to allow a minisubmarine with a
> flexible grabber arm to be launched. There would be lattice sections on the
> main flight deck for no discernable reason. Through a window you could look
> into the galley where a long-eyelashed stewardess cooks a fish with a black
> cat (tail erect) looking on. There would be a small pod of whales splashing
> about in the water nearby and a bird roosting on the radar. Of course, the
> catapults and the arresting wires (i.e. the essential mechanisms of
> launching/landing planes off a carrier) would be omitted.
>
> I guess I'm saying that Mega Bloks give you a lot of bricks, but they don't
> have the same whimsical approach to design as Lego does.
>
> Re: the quality of the bricks. Undeniably they are different to Lego. They
> look very similar but nonetheless you will easily tell them apart by look or
> by feel (I tried an experiment of sorting them blindfolded). The Megablok
> bricks feel a little lighter and a bit more brittle. You notice the
> brittleness with the large plates; they don't seem to have that little bit
> of bend-ability that a Lego plate does; you think "ooh, I'd better be
> careful or I might snap it" with the Megablok plate.
We might have to play that blindfold game at the next 'fest.
> Although I have heard people saying the clone bricks do not connect
> securely, this is not my experience with this Mega Blok aircraft carrier.
> The bricks do require a bit more pressure than Lego, and more often make a
> "snapping" sound as they join, but once joined, they are rock solid, and
> probably require a touch more pressure to pull (or snap) apart. Of course,
> this is a new set; maybe with age, this will not be true. However, there is
> one exception to this tight-connecting. That is the 1x1 brick. The top stud
> of the 1x1 brick is hopeless at connecting. If these bricks are surrounded
> by other bricks, then they are held in place firmly by the tight couplings
> all around them, but if you had to use them on their own, they would just
> fall off. Very poor.
>
> It is also an unusual set in that it is built upside-down (at least for the
> two sections: bow and stern that I have built so far). By that, I mean
> stud-side down. I don't know if this is normal for Mega Bloks, but I suspect
> that it is because of the peculiar shape of an aircraft carrier (narrow at
> the water level and then rapidly widening to form the flight deck) with
> relatively little superstructure. With this set, you start by building
> sections of the flight deck and then proceed to build down to the waterline,
> sloping inwards as you go. I think that working up from the waterline
> sloping outwards would be harder to build because there would be more
> cantilevering (especially at the corners) during construction. I assume
> (without bothering to look ahead in the instructions) that the
> superstructure and decorative details will be done right-side-up.
>
> My reaction so far to Megabloks is that, while Lego undeniably have a better
> brick and have better designs, the Megabloks are still adequate for the
> task, and I bet many cash-conscious parents will be willing to accept second
> best in return for much lower prices. If Lego won't sell us the famous Blue
> Bucket here in Australia and won't establish Lego Direct, then anyone
> interested in bulk bricks should seriously consider the alternatives. While
> I can't imagine that any of us would stop buying Lego completely, I think
> clones like Mega Bloks do appear to be a good source of bulk bricks for
> people wanting to build larger structures.
This is the key point. Parents aren't going to be too concerned about how
well the bricks connect/come apart. What's more MB are quite happy to put the
number of bricks in the set on the box, I guess that's their claim to fame.
I know Lego do in the US but they do not put it on the box for their ex-Euro
stock. Lego don't even do it for their basic brick boxes, unless you want to
spend 15 minutes adding up all the 2x, 3x, 6x on the side of the box.
> Anyhow I'll do a fuller report when I finish the set. This has not been a
> good week for building, as I have been babysitting for a friend most nights.
> Admittedly I did spend a certain amount of that babysitting time building
> Duplo boats, planes, and trains with the kids, thanks to the years I have
> spent building up their Duplo collection over many birthdays and Christmases
> :-) Virtue has its own rewards!
Hmmm...seems a quite well thought out purchasing plan.
Keep up the great reviews by the way.
pw
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