Manufacturers
This page provides an overview of many alternative brick manufacturers / brands. Most are based in China, but not all.
The Others page covers manufacturers / brands that only offer a few sets and sets from unknown manufacturers.
There seems to be a level of "fluidity" between China-based manufacturers, with a series of sets being shared between brands (and brands themselves appear to shift between parent companies). Some copycat manufacturers produce the same model. For example, the FA Millennium Falcon is produced by three different KO companies. Replicas of the same sets from Ninjago, Friends, Star Wars. Minecraft, and other lines are also produced by multiple KO makers. It is unclear in many cases if sets are actually manufactured by each company/brand, or if parts/sets are purchased from another manufacturer (such as Wange, Loongon, and ShunLeKang) and repackaged.
Some "company" names are sub-companies of, or a brand name used by, the parent company for their brick-based toy line. Many parent companies manufacture other toys, but some also make/distribute/invest in a very diversified portfolio of goods. In other words, it's difficult to be completely certain of which company owns a given brand as this can seemingly change at the drop of a hat.
We endeavour to be accurate in regard to manufacturer ties, and comments on quality of products and instructions, but info is not always clear-cut, recent, or available. As such, company info is always "to the best of our knowledge" at the time it was added to/updated on the wiki. If you know about the current relationships between KO brick manufacturers and/or have more detailed company info, update the wiki or let the admin staff know.
Finding Stuff
Click the company logo to open a page that shows current sets from the manufacturer.
You can also get to pages by clicking the disclosure triangle beside the Manufacturers link in the Navigation bar to the left.
A further option is to use the wiki search function at the top right to find a set by name (or number). This will return a list of pages that contain your search term.
Some brands/manufacturers with large catalogues have a page that shows the most recently added 50 or so sets.
Get Involved
Set lists are always a work in progress and many sets (or manufacturers) may not be listed.
If you know of a set (or company who produces at least 5 or more sets) that isn't included, feel free to add it. One-off sets from a manufacturer should be added to the Others page.
You are also able to add your comments on the general quality of products from manufacturers on this/the manufacturer page.
See the FAQ for info on how you can contribute to the wiki.
Best known for: Trains. They make a range of buildings that draw from older Lego Creator sets. Their Pirate and Knights lines draw from Lego and Cobi sets. They also do brick-built guns!
Brick Quality: OK, but their "original" set designs aren't fabulous (and the guns are just disturbing).
Instruction Quality: Not too bad.
Other Info: Can be a little pricey, even on AliExpress. A number of Ausini sets can be purchased through Harvey Norman and some other Australian retailers.
Website:
Best known for: Trains, ships (military and commercial), space, buildings, castles. Some buildings draw from older Lego Creator sets. All designs are original, with some of their female-oriented sets being similar to Friends/Disney Princess designs.
Brick Quality: OK - BUT - some pieces have slightly different heights to Lego equivalents, so these are not 100% compatible.
Instruction Quality: Not too bad.
Other Info: Can be a little pricey, even on AliExpress. Can be purchased directly from Australian distributor.
Website:
Best known for: City, Friends, Star Wars, Elves (now called Fairy, by Bela), Disney Princess, Scooby Doo, TMNT, and Ninjago knockoffs. Also do minifigs. Minecraft copies are often listed on AliExpress as Bela/Lele, with most using Lele product numbers. Also see Lele, Sheng Yuan and Lepin pages if you're after Minecraft, Star Wars and Ninjago sets.
Brick Quality: Variable. Can range from average to quite good, depending on the theme. Friends minidolls are noted for having missing/barely there noses. Copies of current or more recent generation sets are better than those from a couple of years ago.
Instruction Quality: OK, but can have weird/unclear colours.
Other Info: Well priced in many ranges, but not in others. Readily available on AliExpress. They call their City KO's "Urban".
Has a sub-brand called Jie Le Bao, Jielebao or most commonly, JLB.
Bela have a further sub-brand called Winner (sometimes shown as "Wei Le") that makes a number of unique sets.
Best known for: Low-priced sets that are original designs. Best Lock hold licenses for Stargate, Jeep, John Deere and other IPs.
Brick Quality: Not fabulous, but not totally unusable rubbish, with some lines being better than others. The plastic can be somewhat soft, leading to warping and inconsistent clutch. Colour consistency is fine between bricks/parts, but is different to TLG colours. Ultimately, it's a bit of a gamble with Best Lock (or house brands made by them). You might strike one of their better lines, or not. Either way, it won't cost you much.
Instruction Quality: OK.
Other Info: Based in the UK. They are the OEM of the low-end sets you see in K-Mart and ToysRUs - some sold under the Best Lock name and others under "house" brand names. Mr Toys Toyworld also carry a small number of Best Lock sets.
Website: http://www.best-lock.com/
Best known for: Minifig copies - notably Super Hero (DC & Marvel). Also do a small version of Temple of Airjitzu.
Brick Quality:
Instruction Quality:
Other Info:
Best known for: Military sets. Also do a range of other themes. Original designs.
Brick Quality: High
Instruction Quality: High. COBI often do the previous step in light grey and the current step in colour.
Other Info: COBI are a Polish company and have been making their own designs for years. Although COBI don't have the range of part types offered by Lego, they do have a large number of unique moulds specific to tanks and aircraft. COBI colours are also different to those of Lego.
Website:
Best known for: Original designs that are (sometimes heavily) influenced by older Lego, Enlighten, and Oxford sets. Their "Friends" and "Princess" lines are extremely pink. Also have a couple of themed "8 in 1" sets - a series of mini models that can be reassembled into a single large model.
Brick Quality: Apparently much improved over last 12-18 months. Older sets should be avoided as clutch isn't great, particularly for cylindrical parts.
Instruction Quality: xxxxx
Other Info: Formerly traded as Little White Dragon. Bricks produced by Loongon.
Best known for: Star Wars, Super Heroes, Minecraft, Pokemon, and Nexo minifig copies. Do clones of Disney CMF series 71012.
Brick Quality:
Instruction Quality:
Other Info:
Website:
http://dagaotoys.en.toysgu.com/index.html
Best known for: Super Hero vehicle and minifig knockoffs - particularly Batman. They do the big Tumbler, UCS Batmobile, and other "bat" vehicles. DeCool are the most prolific/proficient of the China-based manufacturers who copy Technic sets.
Brick Quality: High - one of the "top tier" KO manufacturers (along with COBI & Lepin). Some have noted that colour/paint is left on fingers after the build (ink from instructions). Easily washed off. DeCool minifigs are also quite good and are well-regarded by many. The occasional Technic part can be tight or loose in fit, but all are functional and connect without issues.
Instruction Quality: Good, although colours can be difficult to discern.
Other Info:
Website:
http://decool.toysol.com/Index.aspx (Mandarin)
https://www.facebook.com/Decool-1389485491340717/
Best known for: Military minifigs.
Brick Quality:
Instruction Quality:
Other Info:
Best known for: Miinifig copies.
Brick Quality:
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: Commonly abbreviated to DLP on AliExpress.
Best known for: Minifig copies and a number of smaller sets.
Brick Quality:
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: Commonly found under "JX" (an abbreviation of "Jubilux") on AliExpress.
Best known for: Trains and pirate ships. They also do some castle, city, space, etc. sets that are of their own design. Some sets do, however, draw heavily on older Lego designs.
Brick Quality: Variable. 95 of 100 parts will have great clutch, and the other 5 will not. This doesn't mean the model will fall apart, just that the clutch is not as good. Colours such as red and yellow are brighter than Lego.
Instruction Quality: Very good.
Other Info: Enlighten are the highest selling brick-building toy brand in China/South East Asia. Enlighten train wheel assemblies and tracks are 100% compatible with Lego.
Website:
http://www.enlighten-brick.com/
http://enlighten-brick.com/eng.html
Best known for: Original designs using nanoblock-type bricks.
Brick Quality:
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: GEM "Micro Blocks" are really small blocks that are copies of Kawada's nanoblocks. See http://www.diablock.co.jp/kawada/en/nanoblock/about.html
Loz and "Wise Hawk" (formerly Weagle) also make sets using these tiny blocks (called "Diamond Blocks" by Loz/WH).
Best known for: Original designs.
Brick Quality: Quite high.
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: Owned by Xinlexin Electronic Toys, who used to market bricks solely under the Gudi name, but now also sell under the Sheng Yuan and Sembo block brands. Can be more expensive than other KO brands.
Website:
https://gudibrick.en.alibaba.com/
Best known for: Mini modulars based on a rejected Ideas design (https://ideas.lego.com/projects/15229). These micro-scale buildings are based on KFC, McDonalds, 7/11, Apple, Starbucks, Nike etc. stores. Also do a number of Architecture KOs, some Nanoblock sets, and some "original" City-themed sets.
Brick Quality: OK, but a little tough on the fingers as edges are sharper than Lego.
Instruction Quality: Mini modulars have a large, folded sheet, rather than a book. Larger sets have a standard stapled manual. Steps are clear enough and colour reproduction is OK.
Other Info:
Best known for: Minifig copies. They do some copies of Scooby Doo, Simpsons, Mickey/Donald etc. themes, but also do a bunch of Anime-style figs.
Brick Quality: Variable. Can range from average to quite good, depending on the theme. More recent sets are improving in quality.
Instruction Quality: OK, with the usual "not quite right" colours that plague many KO manufacturers.
Other Info: Also known as Jie Le Bao or Jielebao. Associated with Bela in some fashion (parent company, parts/model sharing etc.).
Website:
https://www.facebook.com/JLB-Toys-860557647317226/
Best known for: Military themes, trains (GBL), Snow White/Princess. Original designs.
Brick Quality: Lower than Enlighten, Sluban, Ausini, and others. 80-85% of the bricks will be completely fine, the rest will be pretty loose with poor clutch. To avoid frustration, gluing is recommended for weak parts. Handful of missing parts is expected. Good designs do make up for brick quality though. If their bricks could improve and equal the designs, Kazi would be a VERY good company.
Note that Kazi's latest sets such as the M1A2 Abrams tank are excellent with part quality on-par with COBI and Oxford.
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: Owned by KaiYu Industrial Co., Ltd. Some people have complained about the strong odour of paints used in some Kazi sets.
Kazi sets are identical to GBL (Gao Bo Le - a sub-brand) sets.
Website:
http://www.kaiyutoys.com/eng/about.php
Best known for: Transformers and Battleship series. Also do Trolls mini-dolls.
Brick Quality:
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: Kre-o Transformers are designed/built by Oxford (a South Korean brick manufacturer) and marketed by Hasbro.
Kre-o are currently not doing much of anything apart from Trolls figs and a few Transformers models. The Battleship series are being run out in early 2017. If you're interested in some of their older lines, you may be able to pick them up in discount stores and through e-Bay, Gumtree etc. This external wiki link shows most Kre-o back catalogue:
http://www.blokcity.com/kreosite/index.php?title=Main_Page
Website:
http://www.hasbro.com/en-us/brands/kreo
Best known for: Knockoffs of Minecraft, Disney Princess, Star Wars and Jurassic World sets. Lele also make a range of minifigs including some transparent and fluourescent versions. Minecraft copies are often listed on AliExpress as Bela/Lele, with most using Lele product numbers. Also see Bela and Lepin pages if you're after Minecraft , the DeCool or Lepin pages for Technic sets, and Bela, Sheng Yuan and Lepin pages if you're after Star Wars (inc. UCS), Friends, and Ninjago sets.
Brick Quality: Pretty good. Not quite as good as COBI, Lepin or DeCool, but close. The bricks feel slightly "softer" but are precisely engineered and lock together well. Trans-clear wedges have weaker clutch, but other trans parts seem OK. Colours are consistent, but some do not exactly match equivalent Lego colours (tend to be a shade lighter). Technic parts can be tight, but fit well and won't come apart easily.
The UCS Star Wars and Modular/large Creator clones appear to have stepped it up a notch. It is suspected (but unconfirmed) that a manufacturing arrangement for (most) parts used in these models and the Lepin equivalents exists between the two brands.
Instruction Quality: OK. As with other clones, colour reproduction can be variable. Lele do, however, show colours for the current step, with the previous step shown in light grey.
Other Info: Lele make a number of sets also made by other manufacturers such as Lepin, Bela etc. Lele replicas of the modular buildings and Star Wars UCS sets - among others - are 100% copies. Lepin are known to make part substitutions, so if accuracy is important to you, Lele may be the better choice. That said, Lele also make a number of part-for-part identical Creator buildings but include Minecraft figures, rather than the generic minifigs normally found in these sets.
Note: Some sellers may list a product (particularly UCS Star Wars and modular buildings) as Lele/Lepin - and may send either brand, depending on stock levels.
Best known for: Copies of high-value retired (and many current) Lego sets. Notably the modular buildings, Creator landmarks, vehicles and other sets, a number of Exclusive sets, Star Wars UCS and mainstream sets, Nexo Knights, Ninjago, Angry Birds, Super Heroes and more.
Brick Quality: High, with excellent colour uniformity and generally very good clutch of "system" bricks, plates, etc. Some parts may have a very slight oily residue from the manufacturing process. Some users have found clear (window/door) panels can be scratched and/or milky, but this is variable. Lepin minifigures are not as good as those from companies who specialise in minifigs.
Their Technic parts have slightly sharper edges and may be a tight or loose fit, but connect without problems. These inconsistencies may be OK for less technical models or when used as superstructure/support elements, but can be problematic for mechanically complex Technic sets. In such cases, mechanized and/or hydraulic (pneumatic) functions may not work well or may not work at all without modifications to/replacement of parts.
Instruction Quality: Generally sharply printed, but colours are difficult to discern in some cases or can vary between pages, and step inventories are often incomplete. Instructions are reduced in size and compressed into fewer pages which can be problematic for steps that show 1:1 part sizes. Lepin do not include a full parts inventory at the back of their manuals.
Other Info: Apparently MZ model (sometimes shown as Meizi, Mei Zi, Mei Zhi) are the company behind Lepin. Based in the Chenghai sub-district district in GuangDong province (ICP No. 16,108,084). In addition to many 100% copies, Lepin make a number of "very close" replicas of Lego sets with a handful of substituted parts.
Their sets are often short of a small piece or two (very rarely, a whole bag), but this is variable. See Set Differences and Set Reviews pages.
From early 2017, some Lepin sets are shown with gold "V" shaped logo that indicates numbered bags and instructions, and a guarantee of no missing parts. Thus far, this seems to be true for people who have received these sets. The "R" seems to indicate Replica or Recreation - and presumably a 100% copy, but this is a little unclear.
A sub-brand called Xingbao specialise in user MOCs and pay the designers for their work. The same level of part/instruction quality as Lepin is expected.
Best known for: Knockoffs of the Japanese Nanoblock models, called "Diamond Blocks" by Loz. They also do their own range of brick-built minifigs and things like fairground attractions.
Loz manufacture a range of 3/4 scale "Mini Block" models. These are essentially like TLG bricks, but smaller - and have a wider variety of part types than Diamond Blocks.
Brick Quality: Loz Diamond Blocks are similar to the Kawada product, but not quite as precisely engineered. They do, however, have rods underneath, so the interlock between bricks is stronger. Their 3/4 scale Mini Blocks are apparently very good.
Instruction Quality: As with Kawada sets, instructions are shown from above (an aerial view), and you build the model layer by layer. Instructions are on a folded sheet (except for very large sets) and are small - like the blocks themselves. Use a bright light, tweezers, and a magnifying glass if your vision isn't good. Their Mini Block sets are not built in layers like the Diamond Blocks, so are similar to most brick building set instructions - and only show the current step in colour.
Other Info: GuangDong ZhenFeng Science and Educational Toys is the manufacturer/parent company.
Loz "Diamond Blocks" / Nanoblocks are really small blocks. See http://www.diablock.co.jp/kawada/en/nanoblock/about.html
Their "Mini Blocks" are similar to TLG's Modulex products (although larger than the TLG product). See http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Modulex.
While not "bricks" per-se, Loz also do knockoffs of K-Nex style building toys.
Note: There is another brand - "Wise Hawk" (formerly Weagle) that makes sets identical to those offered by Loz - although with different set numbers. Wise Hawk/Weagle appear to be a Loz sub-brand so sets from both brands are shown on the linked page.
Where Loz/Weagle/Wise Hawk sets are identical, it may be worthwhile searching for Wise Hawk/Weagle or by set name on AliExpress as set pricing is variable between "brands".
GEM Micro Blocks offer different designs to Loz/WH/Weagle.
Website:
https://www.facebook.com/weagleblock/
Best known for: Sets based on Call of Duty, Halo, Star Trek, Destiny, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants, Despicable Me and Monster High IPs.
Brick Quality: OK - with many specialised pieces for particular models. Lots of unique colours not found in Lego parts.
Instruction Quality: Quite good.
Other Info: Mega Brands (formerly Mega Bloks - which is now only used for brick toys) are a Canadian company, owned by Mattel. In Australia, sold through Toys R Us, Mr Toys Toyworld, BigW, Target, Myer, and other retailers. Larger sets are more likely to be found in specialist toy shops, rather than department stores.
This external wiki shows all previously released Mega Bloks lines:
http://www.blokcity.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mega_Bloks_Wiki
Website:
Best known for: A range of original designs that cover a wide variety of themes.
Brick Quality:. High
Instruction Quality: Quite good.
Other Info: Oxford are a Korean company, founded in 1961. They started to produce standard Lego-sized bricks in 1995 (larger blocks in 1992). Oxford manufacture toys sold under the Kre-O brand.
Website:
http://www.oxfordtoy.co.kr/eng/pro/oxford.asp
http://www.oxfordtoy.co.kr/index.asp
Look at both URLs. The Korean language part of the site shows sets not available on the English site. Adobe Flash required.
Best known for: Minifigs and Bigfigs.
Brick Quality: Not as good as Lepin. See the Set Differences page BEFORE buying. SOME Pogo minifigs are quite highly regarded and are often very similar to/indistinguishable from the originals they are based on. Other Pogo minifigs, however, can be poor. Check reviews/forums before making a purchase.
Instruction Quality: OK, but can have weird/unclear colours.
Other Info: Pogo have promised 100% accurate replicas of the Lego modulars, unlike the Lepin copies which can/do use some substitute parts.
Best known for: Minifig copies and copies of various Lego (and some Ideas) IPs. Sheng Yuan often copy parts of larger Lego sets and package them separately. As examples, they'll replicate a dragon from a set, or a boat or airship from another, but not the whole set. In some cases, you can assemble the complete original set by buying these mini-sets, but not always. Sheng Yuan also have a history of "mods" to original Lego designs. Their Helicarrier knockoff is significantly larger and more detailed than the model it is based on.
A sub-brand "Sembo Block" has product lines similar to Hsanhe and Loz - although made with full-size, rather than "nano" bricks. Sembo make a lot of mini and mid-scale buildings, similar to TLG's mini modulars. Some of their designs are copies of / based on Ideas submissions, and others are unique.
Brick Quality: Markedly better in last year or so (since GUDI's parent company took over). Not quite at the level of COBI, Lepin, and DeCool, but close. Their minifigs are often highly accurate and difficult to distinguish from the originals they are based on.
Instruction Quality: OK, with the usual colour inconsistencies associated with many KO manufacturers.
Other Info: Owned by Xinlexin Electronic Toys, who used to market bricks solely under the GUDI name, but now also sell under the Sembo Block and Sheng Yuan brands - typically listed as SY or SZ or sometimes Shen Yuan.
Best known for: Original designs that include miltary, city, friends, pirate etc. themes. Some of their sets are influenced by older Lego designs. Some of the designs, Pirate ships especially, are very poor compared to most.
Brick Quality: OK, but a little more "brittle" and rigid feeling than Lego bricks. Sluban bricks have a VERY strong clutch. This makes them hard to separate, but a Sluban model is unlikely to fall apart easily. To balance this out, some folks have suggested the reverse is true, with poor clutch - but such opinions are very much in the minority.
Instruction Quality: xxxxx
Other Info: A division of Century Youyi Toys Ltd., established in 2004. Century Youyi Toys has a sub-brand known as Jie Star.
Website:
http://www.sluban.com.cn/en/Main.aspx
Best known for: Large scale architecture models. These fall between the Lego architecture models and the huge Lego Creator and Landmark sets. These sets are original designs and cover many buildings that have not been made by TLG. Wange also do a line of military aircraft (JX series) that are sold under both the Wange and Dr. Luck sub-brand.
Wange (and Loongon and ShunLeKang) make bricks for (some) other brands.
Brick Quality: Apparently very good. Not quite as good as COBI, Lepin or DeCool, but close.
Instruction Quality: Quite good. As many of their models only use a handful of colours, this aspect is rarely a problem.
Other Info: Some sets once marketed under the Ligao brand name are now sold under the Wange banner.
The Dr. Luck sub-brand also has a couple of Mindstorms Education knockoff sets. Some sets are simply clone technic parts, but the "brain" brick uses a card system - with pre-programmed routines, rather than being fully programmable like the Lego set. There seem to be a couple of motors, but no sensors at this stage. These sets have only appeared on taobao as of early August 2016.
Website:
Best known for: A range of original designs.
Brick Quality:.
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: Seems to be a business relationship of some kind with Enlighten and Sluban (based on very similar designs and marketing).
Website:
http://womatoys.company.weiku.com/about/
Best known for: User MOCs. The designers of these sets are actually paid for ther work.
Brick Quality: Identical to Lepin, so very high quality.
Other Info: Xingbao (Xing Bao) are a sub-brand from Lepin's parent company MZ Model. See Lepin page for details.
Best known for: Copies of Star Wars constraction figures, Bionicles, some minifigs. Also do some "original" minifigs based on Transformers and some Super Heroes.
Brick Quality:.Not great. The ball joints of constraction figs (Star Wars and Bionicles) can be tight and prone to cracking if forced too much. Only recommended as display models as these problems make them unsuitable for play.
Instruction Quality:
Other Info: Sometimes listed as KSZ, but more commonly as XSZ on AliExpress, so that's why it is used here.
Best known for: Creator, Racing, and Technic vehicle knockoffs.
Brick Quality: Apparently OK.
Other Info:
