WTF @ TFW - 193 - March 30 2012

Reasons for Lego's high prices:
1) brand name, pure and simple
2) quality - the tolerances for your standard lego brick are significantly higher than the materials that go into building your house.

I find the image selected for this podcast pleasing.

The funny thing is this isn't the first time I've been mentioned on the podcast, but it's the first time they actually remembered my name. I'll take what I can get LOL

Ok on lego, I won't deny that they are expensive, and back when they started changing everything back to yellow skin like 3 years ago rather than have the skin be caucasian i did wonder why they did that but then I figured it out, only star wars and licensed stuff get caucasian skin and everything else that is Lego's property has yellow skin, I guess because it's tradition, but putting a Mega Blocks brick on a Lego brick bothers me personally, since they are different types of plastic, and I like consistency in my lego sets, then again I did put some spare Lego pieces on me Kre-o Sideswipe, so that it will look better, but yeah that will make a ton of people furious if you do that. My opinion on Mega Blocks is I don't like it, I got one TMNT set a while back, and I had nothing but problems, the bricks would not hold together, and when I was trying to get the last brick to stay on, the entire set just broke apart, and I have never bought a Mega Blacks set since, I don't know if they have improved or not, and I probably won't buy any since the majority of it is Halo, and Halo just really isn't my thing, but if they have improved, I might give it another try

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast We're just not British enough to understand.

Originally Posted by Aaron BLASPHEMER!!! May you burn in a pile of molten ABS plastic!!!

Simple answer to the poster above: yes, Mega Bloks has improved greatly. The Halo license has brought them ALOT of money, and all of their brands are top notch quality wise now. I've got a figure from every brand they produce in front of me now, and they're all great.

All of my Megablocks are mixed in with my Lego, and some of my favorite pieces actually came from my Megablocks shuttle.

- Wants - Feedback - Midnight TCG - Twitter -

Originally Posted by eyeballkid, on alternative compliments like what? she's a nurse.

I'm gonna have to give Megablocks a try ...

Ok then, I guess I'll give them another try

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast We're just not British enough to understand.

Originally Posted by Aaron BLASPHEMER!!! May you burn in a pile of molten ABS plastic!!!

Hey thanks for the tip about Ratchet's eyes. I hadn't even noticed. Luckily I already had my paints out and quickly did his. It really makes his eyes look good.

I took a look and the only other figure I noticed that had this was PRID Megatron. Did I miss any others?

Hopefully this will be some good advertising for your great review channel.

Hey Vangelus, regarding your Kreo/Lego/Mega comparison, you might want to know that the new Battleship kreo (and presumable the upcoming Transformers) sets show a marked improvement in quality over the early Transformers sets.

Firstly, stickers are now transparent plastic as opposed to the paper stickers used with Transformers. In addition to looking better, they are more forgiving in allowing you to pull them off and reapply them, and presumably are less prone to peeling.

The sets also seem to have been built with more play value in mind. Even the smallest sets have missile launchers and apparently the helicopter set has a rotor gimmick!

Most significant however is the fact that the Kreons are massively improved. Their tolerances are much more consistent, allowing them to interact much more freely with their accessories as well as those made by Lego and Mega. Similarly, other brands can use their weapons and accessories much better now. Furthermore, joint tolerances are much more consistent with fewer loose limbs. Finally, weapons and accessories are now much better made than the sprue-connected ones from the Transformers sets.

In the interest of fairness, you might want to consider getting a Battleship set for comparison. Personally, I would suggest the Alien Strike. It's a lovely looking set, makes a cool counterpoint to the Lego Alien theme and it's even got a claw to grab unsuspecting minifigs!

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In regard to the differences between the three brands, as someone who buys all three, I find they have their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Lego is the standard maker; they have great designs and have the best QC in the industry. They are however ungodly expensive, and in my opinion, the licensed sets are so stupidly overpriced as to make them not worth the money.

Kreo is my favourite alternative brand. While the set designs are not up to par with Lego yet, the plastic quality and clutch/declutch consistency of the bricks are on equal footing with Lego. Because of the quality, I keep my Kreo bricks with my Lego, and use them interchangeably. Before, I used to say that the Kreons were the weakest link of the brand, but in light of what I've gotten from the Battleship sets that I've bought, they're fast catching up. All in all, a solid brand that looks like they're striving to improve with each new wave.

Mega Bloks is the weakest of the three in terms of brick quality. The plastic is not as good, and the clutch/declutch can be all over the place, which can make building an unpleasant experience at times. That said, between their unique 'camo bricks', the top notch set designs and their trademark articulated minifigs, the brand manages to carve its own identity. However, the weaknesses in plastic quality mean that I buy Mega Bloks purely for the sets, without ever using the bricks in my own builds.