Nah, BTR's gimimck was the godawful "Trans-Skeleton" upon which both modes were built, but worked well for neither. Kre-O was just straight-up build and rebuild, which is what these look like.
except for the heads and maybe some parts that don\'t officially exist in those colours you could literally build all four of these out of actual lego
These look awesome. As for the Lego copying, I'm not at all bothered because: 1) The Lego Group has almost a billion USD in net revenue annually 2) They based their original idea on Kidicraft's (then patented) design (though, in fairness, this is not a direct comparison to this situation, as they later acquired the rights and received the surviving family members' blessing much later. And the inventor never personally knew about said "borrowing" during his lifetime.) 3) Most courts in most countries have repeatedly found that copying Lego brick designs, due to their functional rather than distinctive aesthetic nature, is a patent issue rather than a trademark one... and all the relevant patents have expired long since. 4) Hasbro's lawyers, given that it's an officially licensed product, don't seem concerned either so presumably this isn't a big deal to any of the relevant parties. So that only leaves corporate loyalty as a reason for me to care and I am afraid I am all out of that particular psychological resource these days. TL;DR version: Lego isn't legally or ethically sacrosanct. Bring on the fun robot not-Lego kits.
aaah BTR, my beutiful gijoe hobby days. They used to sell like hotcakes at Burlington back in the days. I used to play with them all the time when "K.N.D. Operation: Z.E.R.O." aired on CN.
I will admit though, that other than Bumblebee (proportions look off in robot mode and car mode looks awkward), these all look pretty good even if they\'re not lego
That only applies to the "studs and tube" bricks. In this case, it looks like every piece (save the heads) is a direct copy of existing Lego pieces, right down to the Exo-Force robot arms being used as fingers.
I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way or as dismissive or argumentative as that's not at all my intent but... *shrugs* I really can't bring myself to care in this instance and evidently neither can Hasbro.
"And the inventor never personally knew about said "borrowing" during his lifetime.)" I think that particular point is shaky reasoning at best.
I think this is a hoax. These look too much like straight-up Lego with particular pieces (the ratcheted Exo-Force joints) being ripped-off verbatim. These are probably just MOCs with custom heads.
For everyone crying over these being knock offs of LEGO, Kiddicraft, The Company Lego Ripped Off To Make Plastic Bricks I have no sympathy.
It's like saying it's okay to steal something from someone if they never find out about it. That one particular bit just doesn't make any sense.