Lepin
Best known for: Copies of high-value retired (and many current) Lego sets. Notably the modular buildings, Creator landmarks, Technic vehicles, a number of Exclusive sets, and Star Wars UCS models. They also make replicas of mainstream sets from Star Wars, Nexo Knights, Ninjago, Angry Birds, DC/Marvel Superheroes and other lines. Also see Bela and Lele page if you're after Minecraft or Technic sets, and Bela, Sheng Yuan and Lele pages if you're after Friends, Star Wars (inc. some UCS sets from Lele), Superheroes, and Ninjago sets.
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 generally 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. Some newer manuals (Nov 2016 onwards) have pieces outlined in red in each step.
Other Info: Apparently MZ model (sometimes shown as Meizi, Mei Zi, Mei Zhi) are the company behind Lepin. Based in the Chenghai sub-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.
23 September 2016 - TLG takes legal action against Lepin
So far, all that is known of this legal action is that TLG are pursuing Lepin for use of similar box art and their logo, which (used to) resemble that of TLG. The other key points to note are that no ruling is expected for 12 months (September 2017), and that Lepin can keep trading and distributing until the court decision is handed down.
Click the set number to launch an AliExpress search. All sellers of the set are shown.
Click Sort below any column header to sort in Ascending/Descending order.
Sets with (PF) or (RC) after set name indicate Power Function motors or Remote Control (and PF motors) are included.
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.
