Earlier this year, I heard a rumour that Lepin would be copying the original Lego modular building sets. Certainly that was an ambitious plan, even for a bootleg company. Then, around the end of April 2016, images of the Lego Brick Bank set 10251 surfaced, but with Lepin logo in place of Lego.
Then, in May, Asian brick forums started to buzz with actual Lepin set pictures and reviews.
For the most part, the Lepin set is about 98% accurate with some minor changes on a few bricks and minifigure hair. There have been some reports about missing pieces.
The Lepin Creators set 15001 Brick Bank, 2413 pieces
The Lego Brick Bank set currently retails for $219.99 CDN, $169.99 USD. On Aliexpress, you can find the clone set for under $70 USD or $90 CDN. That price includes shipping via DHL. That's about one third of the Lego retail price. Use the Search function on Aliexpress and look for "Lepin 15001" to check availability and pricing.
Update Jan 24, 2017: I've made a list of the cheapest Lepin Modular building sets on my blog post
here.
Here are the Lego modular sets that have been copied by Lepin that are currently for sale on Aliexpress. So far, there are 14 sets that have been made or scheduled to be released. In terms of pricing, the following Lepin sets can be bought for under $100 CDN shipped: Brick Bank, Cafe Corner, Fire Brigade, Market Street, and Green Grocer. The rest of the sets are about $120 CDN and above.
| Lepin # |
Name |
Lego # and Status |
|
|
|
| 15001 |
Brick Bank |
10251 |
| 15002 |
Cafe Corner |
10182 - Retired |
| 15003 |
Town Hall |
10224 - Retired |
| 15004 |
Fire Brigade |
10197 - Retired |
| 15005 |
Grand Emporium |
10211 - Retired |
| 15006 |
Palace Cinema |
10232 |
| 15007 |
Market Street |
10190 - Retired |
| 15008 |
Green Grocer |
10185 - Retired |
| 15009 |
Pet Shop |
10218 |
| 15010 |
Parisian Restaurant |
10243 |
| 15011 |
Detective's Office |
10246 |
| 15012 |
Ferris Wheel |
10247 |
| 15013 |
Grand Carousel |
10196 - Retired |
| 15019 |
Assembly Square |
10255 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I probably won't be getting the Lepin 15007 Market Street, just because it doesn't look like that interesting a build. If the price of this set drops below $50 CDN, I might pick it up for it's parts.
I'm also not that into the 15012 Ferris Wheel or the 15013 Grand Carousel.
That makes ten modulars that I want. I only want to pay on average $80 CDN for each, so I'm looking to shell out about $800 CDN. Wow, I guess I will have to live on instant noodles, TV dinners and Mac and Cheese for awhile.
*** http://its-not-lego.blogspot.com ***
Here are some of the pictures I found on Aliexpress.
Lepin 15002 Cafe Corner, 2133 pieces
Lepin 15003 Town Hall, 2859 pieces
Lepin 15004 Fire Brigade, 2313 pieces
Lepin 15005 Grand Emporium, 2182 pieces
Lepin 15006 Palace Cinema, 2354 pieces
Lepin 15007 Market Street, 1275 pieces
Lepin 15008 Green Grocer, 2462 pieces
Lepin 15009 Pet Shop, 2082 pieces
Lepin 15010 Parisian Restaurant, 2418 pieces
Lepin 15011 Detective's Office, 2262 pieces
Lepin 15012 Ferris Wheel, 2478 pieces
Lepin 15013 Grand Carousel, 3263 pieces
Lepin 15019 Assembly Square, 4002 pieces
I decided to order a couple of the sets to review their quality. Look for a future post in which I review one of the modular sets by Lepin.
Aug 20th Update:
My Lepin modular build reviews can be found here:
15002 Cafe Corner, built June 2016
15003 Town Hall , built July 2016
15004 Fire Brigade, built August 2016
15010 Parisian Restaurant, built September 2016
15011 Detective's Office, built October 2016
Nov 28 Update:
I created a new set
list of Lepin Movie themed building sets and have moved the Ghostbusters and Simpsons buildings there.
More set reviews to come! As always, thanks for visiting Its Not Lego and See you next time!
