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!
No comments:
Post a Comment