Welcome to the very first installment of Knockoff Nation. This will be a (semi)regular article on HiddenLevel where I will review toys that come from the Far East, typically China, that are off-brand versions of more popular brands. In the past this usually indicated poorly made toys; cheap plastic, castings from lousy molds, sloppy paint, mismatched parts, etc., this is no longer always the case. If you know where to look, you can find some really nice toys at a great price.
Today's review is of Lego knockoffs that are of some (as of now) unavailable characters, the Fantastic Four. There are no Lego sets that currently include these four characters. I do believe, however, that they make an appearance in the Lego Marvel Super Heroes video game. The price on this set was very reasonable. I bought them on Ebay for just under $6. I've seen them go for as much as $8, but if you do some searching, $7 should be that maximum you will pay. At that price it's less than $2 per figure compared to $3 to $4 for the Lego blind pack mini figures. I have also seen this set bundled with other knockoff sets where you can get that down to less that $1 per figure.
Right out of the box, these look and feel like real Lego. Comparing a real Lego minifigure along side one of these, you still get the feeling you are holding the genuine article. After testing their connection to an official Lego block, you get a nice tight fit, as you should. You don't really see a difference until you pull the legs apart from the torso. Then, you see a very different peg setup. Each half is still compatible with Lego, it's just a very different sculpt.
First up is the Invisible Woman, Susan "Sue" Storm Richards, the matriarch of the FF family. She is wearing the classic team uniform of blue and black with some white in the 4 logo. Her head is printed on two sides with a different expression on each side. One is a slight smile and the other is a smile with teeth showing. Her long light blond hair hides whichever expression is facing the back. The torso piece is printed on both sides, which is nice considering the manufacturers could have easily cut costs be eliminating the print on the back. The figure also comes with some handheld lightning bolt pieces in transparent blue that I assume are meant to represent her using her invisibility powers. Some clear pieces would probably make more sense, but these are still nice parts to have. As with all four figures, she comes with a black, four stud base identical to the ones that come with Lego blind pack minifigures minus the Lego logo on each stud.
Next up is the Thing, Benjamin "Ben" Grimm, the team's muscle. He is wearing team uniform pants, with the "4" logo printed on one leg. The front and back of his torso along with the back of his head has a rocky texture print. This is the one figure in the set that does not have a face printed on both sides of his head because he has no hair to hide the unused side. The one face we do get has the appropriate amount of attitude for the character. He also comes with a black base and a black hammer which is unnecessary, but nice to have.
It should be noted that in most Lego promotional material, along with the instructions and the card that come with this figure, show the Thing as being a nontraditional minifigure. More like the larger Hulk figures that were released in the Lego Avengers sets. A larger sized Thing would be great but it doesn't make this one any less nice to have. (I could rewrite that last sentence to be less emasculating, but I'll just let it stand.)
Now we have Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Reed Richards, the team's leader. Mush like Sue, he is wearing the classic team uniform of blue and black with some white in the 4 logo. His head is printed on two sides with a different expression on each side. One is a slight smile and the other looks like he is shouting out an order. His his brown hair has some gray on the temples to show his age. Other than a black base piece, Reed also comes with a black buzz saw tool that he can use will working on an invention, doing an alien autopsy, or what every you want.
Last but not least we have the Human Torch, Jonathan "Johnny" Storm, resident hot head. His body is the same as Mr. Fantastic's and like Reed, his head is printed on two sides. The expressions are entirely unique, one is a fairly stern look and the other has a big, almost fiendish, grin. His hair piece is light blond. He also comes with a black base and one single transparent orange flame piece that he can hold in his hand. It would have nice to get two and possibly a alternate hair piece that looks like flames, but this will have to do for now.
The accessories are all fairly nice, but none really stand out as being all that wonderful or necessary for these figures other than maybe the fire for Johnny. They all work well with real Lego parts and figures. Really, any extra pieces are always welcome, especially when they are pieces that are new or in a color I haven't seen before, such as the blue lightning. As you can see in the picture, they fade from a dark blue to a light blue which you don't usually see with Lego pieces.
The additional material doesn't stop there. You also get some game cards that feature each character. My set was missing the Mr. Fantastic card. There are no instructions for the game, so I have no ideas how to play with them, but I'm sure you'd be able to find something online.
Finally, there are also instruction booklets that show you how to put the figures together, not that you really need them. Nowhere in any of the printed material is there any company or brand name, just a logo that says Super Heroes. Inside the instructions there is a list including pictures of other figures that are available in this line, but I won't spoil it here, you'll just have to come back and see reviews of them in the future.
