Day 27/28- Toy v. Toy I: LEGO vs Mega Bloks

January 27th and 28th, 2015. Days 27 and 28 of 365.

Build Week comes to an end.

Two Rivals. Two Similar Lines. Exact Same Retail Cost.

This is Toy v. Toy.

Hello and welcome to the first entry in the series we'll be closing every month off of for One Toy, One Day. 

This is Toy v. Toy. The concept is simple: We take lines or releases of similar style and cost and slam them against each other in various categories until we can determine a winner depending on which of our contenders win the most amount of categories. 

A bit of a warning: When Toy v. Toy covers two toys that have not yet been covered by various earlier reviews, a Toy v. Toy entry will count as two separate days of entries. If one of the toys has previously been covered in an earlier post, Toy v. Toy will only count as a single day of entries (For an example of this, please keep an eye on February's Toy v. Toy.)

Ding ding ding. Let's do this.

LEGO versus Mega Bloks- A rivalry and competition that's always been there during my entire collecting life. There has to be a clear winner here, right? Let's find out.

For team LEGO, hailing from the Star Wars LEGO Microfighters Subline: The AT-AT!

For team Mega Bloks, hailing from the Halo subline: The Wombat Recon Drone! 

For this showdown, we'll be taking look at five categories: Price Per Pieces, Minifigure Quality, The Build, Kit Playability, and Durability. Let the showdown begin!

PRICE PER PIECE: Draw

AT-AT, Price per Piece: 88 pieces, Around 11 Cents per piece

Wombat Recon Drone, Price per Piece: 89 pieces, Around 11 Cents per piece.

The competition here is starting off at a stalemate, with each set costing relatively the same for the exact price, with the extra piece of the Wombat Recon Drone only being a fraction of a fraction of percent. While the set does contain one extra piece, the entire contribution of said piece is a non-factor.

MINIFIGURE QUALITY: WINNER- Mega Bloks

I love LEGO's minifigures. They have the level of charm and unified aesthetic that makes them super endearing and loveable.  

In terms of paint, both minifigs hit all the necessary notes, giving the Rookie and the AT-AT driver all the necessary and accurate details they can with the size and cost. But that's where the stalemate ends:

Ever since the Call of Duty line launched, Mega Bloks bared their massive fangs and created a small and fantastic subline of miniature action figures by giving their minifigures increased articulation: Ball jointed heads, universal shoulders and elbows (allowing most figures to properly hold their weapons), wrist swivels, ball jointed hips, and swivel knees. Given the diminutive size and complexity of the minifigs, what Mega Bloks pulled off is something that deserves to be praised. Secondly, The Rookie is also part of the highly customizable armor system the Halo Mega Bloks line has added in the last year, allowing his chest, shoulder armor and various other add-on bits to be swapped out and customized with other humanoid releases in the line.

And while LEGO minifigs are normally decently articulated in their own right, the design of the AT-AT driver is one with a major flaw: Thanks to the sculpt of the helmet, the pilot can't turn his head left or right, removing one of the key points of articulation the minifig had to begin with. 

BUILD CONSTRUCTION: WINNER- LEGO

The entire time I was building the LEGO AT-AT, questions kept popping up in my head: Am I too old for LEGO? Why are all of the neat new little pieces for potential unique builds and new uses for older blocks blowing my mind? How are these tricks and uses for blocks that are 15-20+ years old being used in ways I've never seen before? The entire build, as quick as it may have been, was ultimately fun and unique and reminded me that after all of these years, LEGO still knows what they are doing.

As for the Wombat Recon Drone: A lot of the pieces AREN'T the basic building blocks as the LEGO Build had. The core structure of the entire recon drone is focused around unique pieces that are specifically designed to emulate pieces of the Wombat Drone, and as such the pieces have virtually zero re-purposing use and no other draw except "Hey this really does look like the drone."

To make matters worse, whereas the entire build for the AT-AT was fluid and simple? The Wombat Drone entirely screws up the entire process with a concept that still boggles my mind: Temporary Parts. Halfway during the build, the instructions ask you to place two bricks down to help hold in a few pieces in place until an essential brick later joins the build near the end. The entire idea of having to put in parts that won't actually matter in the build only to take them out later on is something that still bothers me this long after the build, when in reality the entire build could have been done without even needing those pieces to begin with. It's just poor planning and poor instructional design.

And speaking of instructional design: Hey Mega Bloks, maybe in the instructions you could try actually showing off the various bricks in their proper colors instead of me having to guess "Hey... could this green actually be this light gray piece or is it this blackish piece?" every time a new color pops up?

KIT PLAY FACTOR: WINNER- LEGO

The Mega Bloks Wombat does nothing. 

I'm not even speaking in hyperbole there. The Wombat does nothing. There is no way to have the Wombat interact with the minifig aside from "It stands on top" or "The Rookie maybe stands somewhere nearby". There's nothing.

Meanwhile, over in LEGO City (Not that one.) the AT-AT has 1) A customized spot perfectly sized for the AT-AT pilot to sit in, 2) Firing missiles, and 3) An articulated head and set of legs that can actually have the vehicle itself pose a bit and give off a pseudo-giant puppy level of personality.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW

DURABILITY: WINNER- LEGO 

During the photo session for this entry, this portion wasn't even a factor. LEGO was already winning by one, and I haven't even considered this portion. That was, however, until I started taking photos of the Wombat. The set crumbled to the various building blocks around 12 times while trying to take a SINGLE PHOTO, with the wings popping off and the set splitting in half every single time I tried to re-position the set inside of my lightbox. While Mega Bloks has improved their build quality in the last five years, it's disappointing to see that their sets still struggle to hold together through basic movement.  

OVERALL WINNER- LEGO!

No matter what Mega Bloks may do to make the minifigure their bread and butter, as long as their sets remain in such shoddy condition, LEGO will always remain on top. Unless you're looking specifically for a well-made small action figure line, Mega Bloks will leave you wanting for them to do more.

There's a reason whenever people think of building block lines, people instantly think of "LEGO": No matter the price and competition, the style of the LEGO kits continue to remain on top and continue to amaze via charm, aesthetic, and overall design innovation. 

You win this round, LEGO. Congratulations. 

Day 27 and 28 Complete. 337 Days Remain. 

Build Week Complete.