Author Topic: K'NEX MARIO KART (Read 12268 times)

Luigison · « **on:** August 03, 2011, 09:50:10 AM »

I was just at Target to get another bookshelf and saw these. I've wanted a LEGO Mario set for a long time, but these K'NEX sets are nearly as good. I bought the Mario kart and Luigi bike, but they also had Mario bikes, Luigi and Yoshi karts. In addition there were several tracks and add-ons that I couldn't find on the K'NEX site and are sold out on Target.com.

JazzyLuv · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2011, 01:39:42 PM »

@_@ That's awesome! I'd get them all if I could...

Weegee · « **Reply #2 on:** August 03, 2011, 04:48:06 PM »

Since when have K'NEX been such a blatant ripoff of Lego?

I've always wished Lego would release Mario-themed sets as well.

Luigison · « **Reply #3 on:** August 03, 2011, 05:23:13 PM »

It's LEGO, not Lego. There was a case I read about recently in which a judge said that LEGO could no longer stop others from making similar LEGO bricks. Also, K'NEX are American made and to my knowledge didn't make the block type pieces until recently. There have been LEGO copies out of China for a long time now though. (BTW, LEGOs is not acceptable either. Instead say something like LEGO blocks, LEGO parts, or LEGO pieces.)

* Luigison gets off his soapbox.

Weegee · « **Reply #4 on:** August 03, 2011, 06:13:45 PM »

Both 'LEGO' and 'Lego' are correct.

However, I'll agree that anyone who calls them 'Legos' deserves to be slaughtered like cattle.

Turtlekid1 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 03, 2011, 06:14:26 PM »

Mooooooooo

Weegee · « **Reply #6 on:** August 03, 2011, 06:18:49 PM »

You're almost as despicable as the scum who pronounce Mario as 'May-ree-oh'.

Turtlekid1 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 03, 2011, 06:20:27 PM »

Hey, now, I wouldn't go that far.

Luigison · « **Reply #8 on:** August 03, 2011, 07:23:57 PM »

In the sources of the Wiki article you linked you'll find http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/AboutUsFactsAndFiguresContent/otherfiles/download98E142631E71927FDD52304C1C0F1685.pdf
Read the last page of this official document from LEGO themselves.

Weegee · « **Reply #9 on:** August 03, 2011, 07:54:54 PM »

That's merely the company's branding preference, much like how Square Enix insists retailers spell 'FINAL FANTASY' in all-caps. Writing 'Lego' in upper-case letters is like following its first mention with a Registered (®) symbol: Preferred by the company, but not essential.

Lizard Dude · « **Reply #10 on:** August 03, 2011, 09:13:47 PM »

I always specifically lower-case "LEGO" (and other companies' similar tactics) for game titles in the Weekly Releases. Unless you're an acronym or have a reeaally good reason for non-standard capitalization, you're not getting special treatment compared to other proper nouns, buddy.

Mussolini similarly demanded that the Italian press always write his name in all-caps. If you write "LEGO", you're basically supporting corporate fascism.

CrossEyed7 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 03, 2011, 09:53:36 PM »

Does Luigison play SOULCALIBUR on his PLAYSTATION 3?

Weegee · « **Reply #12 on:** August 04, 2011, 02:19:29 AM »

Quote from: Luigison on August 03, 2011, 05:23:13 PM

There have been LEGO copies out of China for a long time now though.

It's true. Many kids in China play with such brands of bootlego called "Enlighten" and "Best-Lock", whose sets act as depictions of everyday Chinese life:

The terrifying part is that the above images are completely authentic.

billy chilly · « **Reply #13 on:** August 05, 2011, 10:50:30 AM »

Yep, totally grabbing one of these. I'd rather they be Lego, but this knock-off is better than nothing! Any chance of non-vehicle sets? Peach's Castle, Bowser's Keep, stuff like that would ruuuuuuuuuuuuule. To anyone that's bought one, how are K'Nex's blocks? Are they kind of cheap and crappy feeling like Mega Blocks? I'd expect better from K'Nex, but you never know...

nintendoclassic · « **Reply #14 on:** August 05, 2011, 11:19:42 AM »

I remember Byggis having there own sort of Mario-themed lego set. But it looked awful.

Luigison · « **Reply #15 on:** August 05, 2011, 01:05:16 PM »

Quote from: billy chilly on August 05, 2011, 10:50:30 AM

To anyone that's bought one, how are K'Nex's blocks?

Not bad, but I'd expected better. The bike falls apart if you put too much downward pressure on Luigi, but the kart stays together rather well. The jets/mufflers on the back of the kart might fall off, but the kart itself stays together better then the official LEGO Toy Story kart that has a similar pull back function. The K'NEX kart seems to sit at a strange angle, Mario has to lose his legs to ride it, and the stickers don't cover as well as the picture, but over all I like the sets.

The instructions, stickers, and design choices are inferior to LEGO. For example, K'NEX uses two 1x2 pieces instead of a single 2x2 piece that would have been easier to build with and resulted in a stronger structure. LEGO has always had better instructions in my opinion and with there recent more modular instructions my four-year-old girl can build 100+ piece sets, but she couldn't follow the K'NEX instructions and I must admit that I had a little trouble with them.

On the plus side, the K'NEX Mario and Luigi figures are in the correct proportions to their characters which would never be possible with LEGO minifigs.

If I had to rate them I'd give the kart a 4/5 and the bike a 3/5.

billy chilly · « **Reply #16 on:** August 05, 2011, 01:22:03 PM »

Thanks for the review! It's good to know that:

A. You DO get the character's legs with the karts. I was worried that since they aren't "needed" for the model they wouldn't be included"
B. The bikes aren't super sturdy.

I might just hold off and wait until they show/announce some other karts/bikes, that way I'm not buying a bunch of the same vehicle with different colors and minifigs. I was originally going to grab a Mario and a Luigi, one on a bike and one in a kart, but if the bikes are a little fragile, I'll probably wait until some alternate karts are available. While I agree that the accuracy of the minifigs is a plus, I think I'd rather have less accurate minis with Lego-quality blocks and design. Plus, seeing Mario characters shoe-horned into the minifig template would be fun. :)