So as of late I have been on a real Star Wars Lego kick. When SW: Episode 1 came out way back in 1999 Lego launched their Star Wars line I was all in, I had every set Lego made from 1999 to 2004.
But with space constraints and the overload Lego was going through with new sets, I just had to call it quits with the playsets and stick with just UCS sets as it was getting way to financially demanding.
I then stopped collecting in 2013 completely and actually sold almost my whole UCS collection.
But recently my old obsession came bag like gangbusters.
It all began anew when Lego announced they would be re-releasing, or I should say rebooting the amazing UCS Millennium Falcon. A ship I had sold many moons ago (and regret still to this day) as I was moving and no longer had the space to put it. I fully intend to snag the new one (when Lego finally has stock again)
When the new Falcon was released, and I could not get one from Lego due to supply shortages, I stumbled upon a forum post about something I had never seen before. Chinese Lego knock-offs from a company called Lepin.
Now I was skeptical as hell, China has not been know for making stellar products, especially those knicked from other companies.
So I headed over to AliExpress and checked out what was available and I was blown away. All the ships I had sold, that were now in the thousands to purchase again used, were here in block-off form for 1/10th the cost.
How could this be? How could I get a Lepin replica of my old 10179 USC Falcon for only $175 instead of over $3000.
The more I looked the most I was floored, all my beloved ships were here, for $50 to $200.
Yet still I was skeptical, “This cannot be good quality bricks” I thought. So, in the name of science, I decided to take a small gamble and pick up a couple smaller sets (UCS R2-D2 and a MOC of the Medical Frigate, a set Lego never released) first and if it worked out well, start to snag a pile of old faves.
After about a week wait (which is insanely fast for China to Canada mail) I received my sets.
I was stunned to find the quality was 98% indistinguishable from Lego. Short of a couple brick that were a little loose, these sets were damn near perfect.
Sitting side by side on a shelf you would never know these sets are not the real deal.
I will be posting reviews of all these recent acquisitions (Lepin and true Lego) in the next few week as I have just finished assembling them all.
But I can tell you all this, do not hesitate to buy Lepin to back fill your collection, this stuff is well worth the price they charge, and a very welcome to a life long Lego collectors collection.
So stay tuned!
The Compulsive Canadian Gamer 