Yes, It's Not LEGO!

 Every time I happen to acquire a new stash of used LEGO via yard sales, estate sales, etc., the collection invariably includes a certain quantity of 'Not-LEGO' items.

This is usually in the form of the many and varied knock-off versions of LEGO- like elements, as well as random objects and toys not related to brick-building. Think 'President Business' relic collection in "The LEGO Movie".

The recently acquired super-stash was no exception.

As I was cleaning, sorting and doing inventory on all those parts, I ran across a good number of such items.

Most were very easy to differentiate from LEGO.  Any brick with plain surfaces or random indentations atop the studs are a dead giveaway. The vast majority of the real stuff has the LEGO logo on each stud.  Other easy-to-discern indicators are elements that have a slightly different shape or hole configuration compared to the real thing. Surface reflection and color differences are another easy identifier. 

Of course, elements from Mega-Bloks and Knex often have their own logos molded on to them.

Some of the stud-less knock-off parts that have no manufacturer's mark often have a 1 or 2 digit number on them, another give-away, as many similar LEGO parts have 'LEGO' and a 4 to 5 digit part number stamped somewhere on them.

So, what am I going to do with this box of off-parts?

Being a stout LEGO purist, none of these 'fakes' will ever be mixed into any of my MOCs or sets.

Promise.

Against my better judgement, I will, however, hold on to them.  Much of it can be utilized to build up display bases only for real-LEGO MOCs and Mini-figs. 

Here are a couple of Mega-Blok bases from the recent stash that would work splendidly for that:

Another use I came up with is to employ them as support fixtures for display cabinet LED lighting.

I could even talk myself into building small projects out of the knock-off elements, keeping them, of course, in a land far away from the real LEGO.  

Since I have the darn things, I might as well use them.

Cheers!

Odds And Ends

 After completing the final sorting and storage integration, I found I was left with a couple of unfamiliar LEGO pieces.

Thanks to the Brinklinks website, I was ultimately able to identify them.

The trans-orange and gray assembly turns out to be a Ninjago spinner base from LEGO "Weapons Pack' set #9591.  The base is supposed to match up to a 'Kai NRG' minifig that I haven't yet found in the stash. I did run across a few trans-orange snakes with odd attachment holes that I now know came with the base. I'm sure the parts for the trio of weapons assemblies from the set also reside in my minifig accessories storage box. 

I intend to locate the remainder of the elements and re-build this part of the set, just for grins, of course.

The trans-blue disc in the above photo happens to be a LEGO dimensions Toy Tag.

I have no idea as to which mini-fig it goes with. No use to me whatsoever.

The third item in the pic is an old style light brick with built in button battery power.

I definitely will find a good use for this item in a future MOC.

Cheers!

Going Technic

 I have finally reached the end of the sorting and processing of that recently acquired 15,000+ parts windfall.

What a ride that has been! 

I've pretty much had to re-think my storage and access system to accomodate many more parts.

Anyway, after all is said and done, I've found that the stash included a respectable quantity of Technic elements. Being an electro-mechanical nerd, I find this new pile of parts quite intringing, with visions of all sorts of animated MOCs filling my head.

As a result, I sprung some extra cash for this:

Let the building begin.....