LEGO vs. Mega Bloks vs. Playmobil vs. K'Nex: Which is Right for You?
- We all kown that LEGO, Mega Bloks, Playmobil and K'Nex all are construction toys that encourage the principles of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) with children as young as 3+ years old.This is achieved through the use of plastic bricks, rods, motors, and many other accessories.However, Is Playmobil or Lego better? Are mega blocks as good as Lego? What is the best alternative to LEGO? Which is better LEGO or KNEX? Read on to discover the differences between LEGO, Mega Bloks, Playmobil and K'Nex and learn how to choose the right brick for you.
LEGO vs. Mega Bloks vs. Playmobil vs. K'Nex Review
LEGO
What is Lego?
Lego is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. As of 2021, Lego was the largest toy company in the world. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking plastic bricks accompanying an array of gears, figurines called minifigures, and various other parts.
Lego pieces can be assembled and connected in many ways to construct objects, including vehicles, buildings, and working robots. Anything constructed can be taken apart again, and the pieces reused to make new things.
The Lego Group began manufacturing the interlocking toy bricks in 1949. Movies, games, competitions and eight Legoland amusement parks have been developed under the brand. As of July 2015, 600 billion Lego parts had been produced.
Lego pros and cons
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Where to buy Lego?
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Which Lego sets are worth buying?
1.Best for ages 1-3: Lego Duplo My First Number Train
This 23-piece set does a lot of work. The rolling wheels of the train allow for movement and play. The numbers let you work on counting. And a boy, a girl and a cat jump off an accompanying pretend story.
2.Best for ages 3-5: Lego Duplo Number Town Steam Train
The 59-piece set comes with a small motor and lets kids start or stop the train with a touch. There are also colored bricks that correspond to sounds, lights and action on the train.
3.Best for ages 5-7: Lego City Ice-Cream Truck
A dog and ice cream scoops are part of the 200 pieces in the set. The vibrant ice cream truck is an easy build for beginners and offers plenty of moments of play after it is built.
4.Best for ages 7-9:Lego Creator 3-in-1 Townhouse Toy Store
In this case, a child can construct a toy store, a cake shop or a flower shop. I recommend the 554-piece kit because it also introduces the concept of modular and scale building, wherein structures can be linked together in an imaginary city.
5.Best for ages 9-11 : Lego Creator Expert Ford Mustang Model Car
The 1,471-piece Mustang set has a working hood and trunk and plenty of hot-rod modifications. But the big draw is that this one will delight kids and the adults who might be building alongside them (or after they go to bed).
6.Best for ages 12 and up: Lego Ideas Tree House
This set has over 3,000 pieces. You’ll want to set aside a full day or two to build the treehouse with cabin roofs that can be removed and a working crane to lift a basket from the ground. Not to mention, some of the bricks are made of plant-derived plastic.
Why should people buy Lego?
It takes a lot of skill and finger control to manipulate the small blocks. This makes Lego an excellent fine motor activity that will build your child's fine motor coordination and strengthen the small muscles of the hand.
Investing in Lego is more lucrative than gold, art and wine, according to a study. It found that the market for secondhand Lego rises in value by 11% annually, which it says is a faster and better rate of return than gold, stocks, bonds, stamps and wine.
Mega Bloks
What's Mega Bloks?
If you're new to the plastic brick world, then you might not have even heard of Mega Bloks. LEGO has been dominating in the brick world for a while now, right? But LEGO isn't your only option.Mega Bloks even market themselves as the 'proud no.2 in construction' and that's a pretty fair assessment of who they are and what they do. 30 years ago they started out with focussing on a part of the brick world that LEGO hadn't quite mastered yet - bricks for toddlers.
Mega Brands Inc. (formerly Mega Bloks Inc. and Ritvik Holdings) is a Canadian children's toy company currently owned by Mattel. Mega Bloks, a line of construction set toys, is its most popular product. Its other brands include Mega Construx, Mega Puzzles, Board Dudes and Rose Art. The company distributes a wide range of construction toys, puzzles, and craft-based products.
Proudly endorsed by Fisher Price, every Mega Bloks building toy connects with the next, providing endless building possibilities. Durable and safe, our blocks are the perfect construction toy for your child. Why? They’re easy-to-grip and easy-to-stack, helping to nurture early childhood development, explore their senses and spark their imagination.
Mega Bloks pros and cons
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Where to buy Mega Bloks?
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Which Mega Bloks are worth buying?
1.Top Mega Bloks toy:Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Bag
If you are looking for the best starter set for your child, this varied assortment of building blocks is the way to go.
You get a total of 80 building blocks in this set that can be used to create a wide variety of objects and structures. The blocks are large enough for small hands and feature beveled edges, making them safe for children as young as 12 months old.
2.Top Mega Bloks toy for the money:Mega Bloks First Builders ABC Musical Train
This set of building blocks is best for a toddler who loves trains and is in the process of learning their alphabet.
The 50 pieces in this set allow your child to build a train that has an engine and two cars. The letters of the alphabet are printed on 26 of the blocks. When you press the smokestack, the train toots and plays music.
3.Worth checking out:Mega Construx Halo Skiff Intercept Vehicle
This is a more complex set of building blocks that is designed for a child who is at least 8 years old.
This 452-piece playset was inspired by the banished skiff from Halo Infinite. It features a missile launcher, a rotating turret and more pieces. Alternatively, the kit can be used to build a walker vehicle, and it comes with four micro action figures.
Why should people buy Mega Bloks?
Children love to build and Mega Bloks are great for young builders. It's colorful pieces and easy to assemble parts make this toy a big hit. A great toy to help develop creativity while enriching critical thinking. Playing with this toy naturally reinforces Math concepts such as colors, counting and size.
Playmobil
What is Playmobil ?
Playmobil is a German line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. The signature Playmobil toy is a 7.5 cm (3.0 in) tall(1:24 scale) human figure with a smiling face. A wide range of accessories, buildings and vehicles, as well as many sorts of animals, are also part of the Playmobil line.
Playmobil toys are produced in themed series of sets as well as individual special figures and playsets. New products and product lines developed by a 50-strong development teamare introduced frequently, and older sets are discontinued. Promotional and one-off products are sometimes produced in very limited quantities. These practices have helped give rise to a sizeable community of collectors.Collector activities extend beyond collecting and free-form play and include customization, miniature wargaming, and the creation of photo stories and stop motion films, or simply as decoration.
Playmobil has more of a timeless image and has not relied on external trends as much as Lego. Their strategy has been not to purchase popular licenses, but to make parents find toys for their kids similar to those they used to play when they were children.
Playmobil pros and cons
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Where to buy Playmobil?
Which Playmobil sets are worth buying?
1.Best Castle Theme: Playmobil Hawk Knights Castle
Kids will love playing with this castle which is one of the best Playmobil sets that put them in a make-believe play. Your kid might be the prince of your house but here he is the king.
This royalty themed play Playmobil Castle has all the elements that make kids fall in love with playing while also learning.
2.Best For Kids Above Five: Playmobil NHL Shootout Carry Case
This portable carry case can be taken with you on-the-go and is great for kids who love to engage with sports. One of the best Playmobil sets that encourage imagination, the Playmobil NHL Shootout Carry Case includes 2 play figures, a goalie, net, puck, and other realistic accessories.
This set is recommended for kids above the age of 5.
3.Best For Creative Play:Playmobil Take Along Modern Dollhouse
The case opens with a latch to reveal a 2 story house with 4 rooms. The playrooms are fully furnished including the kitchen, family room, bathroom, and bedroom. This playhouse includes 3 figures, 2 dogs, a baby bottle, and a highchair along with other accessories.
Recommended for ages 4 to 10, this toy adds exceptional value and lets your kids explore their creativity and engage in imaginative play.
Why should people buy Mega Bloks?
Playmobil toys are great toys for sparking children’s imagination and creativity. These building blocks help your little ones build dollhouses and gardens and are also available in sports-related themes. When buying a Playmobil set for your little one, make sure that it aligns with their interest so that your child enjoys the outcome after spending time arranging the blocks.
K'Nex
K'Nex is a construction toy system founded by Joel Glickman. It was first introduced in America in 1992. K'Nex is designed and produced by K'Nex Industries Inc. of Hatfield, Pennsylvania. K'Nex was purchased by Florida-based company Basic Fun! in 2018.
The toy's building system consists of interlocking plastic rods, connectors, blocks, gears, wheels, and other components, which can be assembled to form a wide variety of models, machines, and architectural structures. While K'Nex is designed for children ages 5-12, a larger version, Kid K'Nex, is aimed towards children 5 and younger.
The toy has been released and marketed in various stores, as well as online websites. K'Nex has released various sets, educational kits, and models consisting of assorted parts, the last of which includes parts and instructions specifically packaged to be assembled into a specific model.
K'Nex pros and cons
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Where to buy K'Nex?
Which K'Nex sets are worth buying?
1.Kid K'NEX budding builders building set (ages 3+)
This K'NEX kit is ideal for young builders, as it's designed for kids over the age of three. It's part of the Kid K'NEX range, so it's a perfect choice for pre-school youngsters, as the designs are less complex and the pieces are more manageable for little hands to handle.
There are 100 pieces altogether, so children can spend hours trying out new designs.
2.Imagine 70 model building set (ages 7+)
With 70 different models to create, including hot air balloons, boats and trucks, to more unique models such as a sandcastle, this K'NEX kit is sure to stretch young imaginations. It would be a great gift for kids who are big on their transport!
There are 705 pieces altogether, so it's a worthwhile investment, especially if you're keen to distract kids from their various screens and encourage some good old fashioned building block play.
3.6-Foot Ferris Wheel Building Set (ages 9+)
If you're looking to progress your building skills and take your creations to a higher level, quite literally, K'NEX have designed a six-foot (1.8m) Ferris wheel model.
The kit contains 8,550 pieces, and there's a plug in motor so you can get your wheel up and running! It comes with a colour coded instruction manual, and you'll need two AA batteries.
Why should people buy K'Nex？
K’NEX is a rod and connector building system that lets you build BIG and make it MOVE. With over 430 awards and recognitions, the K’NEX product line has building toys specially designed for every age group and skill level.
LEGO vs. Mega Bloks vs. Playmobil vs. K'Nex: Comparison Side by Side
Age Recommendation
LEGO
What is the best age for Lego sets?
This will vary from kid to kid based on their experience with building toys, but we think 4 is the youngest age at which most children are ready to start with Lego bricks.
For younger kids, chunkier Duplo blocks are a great place to start, and older kids can tackle general-audience sets such as the intricate skylines from Lego’s Architecture series. (Of course, age ranges are approximate; every kid is different.)
Mega Bloks
What is the recommended age for Mega Bloks?
The Mega Bloks 80-Piece Big Building Bag is rated for kids ranging in age from 1 to 5, making them one of the few block sets on the market for children as young as 12 months. That's a major plus for parents concerned about the choking hazard posed by blocks with smaller dimensions.
Playmobil
What age is best for Playmobil?
Playmobil toys are specifically aimed at children from the ages of four to twelve. The company believes that older children tend not to play with these types of toys and so they have resisted creating toys from less well-known historical time periods. Many adults own or collect Playmobil and make movies with the toys.
K'Nex
What is the recommended age forK'Nex?
K'NEX is widely used with children aged 5 to 11 in primary schools, where it is mainly used in the curriculum areas shown in the Curriculum pages.
Design
LEGO
Lego pieces of all varieties constitute a universal system. Despite variation in the design and the purposes of individual pieces over the years, each piece remains compatible in some way with existing pieces. Lego bricks from 1958 still interlock with those made in the current time, and Lego sets for young children are compatible with those made for teenagers. Six bricks of 2 × 4 studs can be combined in 915,103,765 ways.
Each Lego piece must be manufactured to an exacting degree of precision. When two pieces are engaged they must fit firmly, yet be easily disassembled. The machines that manufacture Lego bricks have tolerances as small as 10 micrometres.
Mega Bloks
The figures for Mega Bloks are somewhat different. For a much wider variety of poses, they have articulated joints. This is their greatest benefit. Most of them have special molds, which suggests that they are not as customizable and interchangeable.
The figures come entirely assembled in Mega Bloks sets, while they come in pieces in their collectible packages, and you need to build them. Trying to pop the mini ball joints together, in truth, proves to be quite a challenge and sometimes impossible.
Playmobil
Playmobil toys are specifically aimed at children from the ages of four to twelve. The company believes that older children tend not to play with these types of toys and so they have resisted creating toys from less well-known historical time periods. Many adults own or collect Playmobil and make movies with the toys.
Most Playmobil sets require some assembly by the owner. Buildings especially come with detailed instructions for putting them together.
K'Nex
K’nex has building toys designed for all age groups and skill levels. Kids assemble their model by looking at the pictures, finding the pieces in their set that match in shape, size and color and clicking them together. All pieces of the same size and shape come in the same color. Instructions include piece-by-piece photos alongside easily understandable text.
Set themes
LEGO
Since the 1950s, the Lego Group has released thousands of sets with a variety of themes, including space, robots, pirates, trains, Vikings, castle, dinosaurs, undersea exploration, and wild west, as well as wholly original themes like Bionicle. Some of the classic themes that continue to the present day include Lego City (a line of sets depicting city life introduced in 1973) and Lego Technic (a line aimed at emulating complex machinery, introduced in 1977).
Over the years, Lego has licensed themes from numerous cartoon and film franchises and even some from video games. These include Batman, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Minecraft.
Mega Bloks
Playmobil
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K'Nex
K’nex makes five different categories of building sets. Take a quick look at each so that you can choose a model that is age-appropriate for your child.
Core | This series is designed for kids five and older. Core building sets are for kids who want an easy building experience. |
Thrill rides | Choose from many different roller coaster building sets, including Pac-Man, Shark Attack, Dragon’s Revenge and Bionic Blast. |
Architecture | Kids can build authentic replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Golden Gate Bridge or London Eye. |
Education | K’nex Education sets are used in classrooms everywhere. Parents who like playing and learning alongside their kids buy education sets for use at home. |
Kid K’nex | The Kid K’nex line is built for little hands. Kid K’nex building sets have larger, brightly colored pieces that are made of softer materials. |
Quality
LEGO
LEGO is an expensive toy. However, the bonus is that LEGO pieces are completely interchangeable and can be re-used in an infinite number of ways. In LEGO, there are no junk pieces that can be used for one item only.
For many years, possibly decades, all the pieces have been used repeatedly in many different collections. In a range of forms, they will both interconnect and be part of the complete structure.
Mega Bloks
While based on the studs-and-tubes system, Mega Bloks does not focus on compatibility and connectivity but life-like information. Their sets are more like templates or maquettes that fit together like a jig-saw puzzle, not based on the reusability of the components and fitting into a comprehensive structure.
Playmobil
Playmobil characters are made from a plastic material called ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). ABS is very shock-resistant. It is also of very high quality. It is used in household appliances, in coffee makers but also in motorcycle helmets. It is also present in the bodywork of some cars (for example the Citroën Mehari).
K'Nex
All K'Nex products are made from high-quality materials, meaning that they can easily stand the stresses and strains of being played with every day.
Price
LEGO
LEGO is an expensive toy. Their mid-priced sets are in the $30-$50 range. However, the bonus is that LEGO pieces are completely interchangeable and can be re-used in an infinite number of ways. In LEGO, there are no junk pieces that can be used for one item only.
Mega Bloks
If you are interested in purchasing a Mega Bloks toy for a younger child, you can expect to spend $7-$50. Licensed Mega Construx sets (for Wonder Builders and Pro Builders) may cost $200 or more.
Playmobil
Compared with other toy brands, Playmobil and Lego are expensive.
K’NEX
Small, non-motorized K’nex building sets cost as little as $10. From $25–$50 you will find complex designs with motors and more pieces. K’nex sets with thousands of pieces cost anywhere from $100 and up.
Comparison Chart
| Particulars | Lego | Mega Bloks | Playmobil | K’NEX |
| Type of toy | Construction set | Construction set | Construction set | Construction set |
| Origin | Denmark | Canada | Germany | America |
| Manufacturer | The Lego Company | Mega Brands, Inc. | Brandstätter Group | K'Nex Industries Inc. |
| Release | 1949 | 1967 | 1974 | 1992 |
| Cost | Most expensive | Less expensive | More expensive | Lest expensive |
| Inventor | Ole Kirk Christiansen, Hilary ‘Harry’ Fisher | Marc Bertrand, CEO Vic Bertrand, COO | Hans Beck | Joel Glickman |
| Games | Yes | No | No | No |
| Theme parks | Yes | No | No | No |
| Color | Various (nonmetallic) | Various (including metallic and camo) | Various (nonmetallic) | Various (nonmetallic) |
| Themes | Angry Birds, Star Wars, Jurassic World, Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons, Ghostbusters, Nexo knights, etc. | Star Trek, Hello Kitty, Call of Duty, Sponge bob SquarePants, Hot Wheels Halo, etc. | A-Team,Action,Aston Martin, Ayuma, Back to the Future,City Action,City Life,etc. | line of Sesame Street, Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoy, Angry Birds, KISS, The Beatles, Family Guy, and Monster Jam, etc. |
LEGO vs. Mega Bloks vs. Playmobil vs. K'Nex: The Verdict
Overall, there's very little in it when it comes to these four heavyweights of the construction toy world, but LEGO has a longer history, has far more experience, and brings in bigger brand names (although not always, as seen by the Mega Bloks Halo line, amongst others). Moreover, should you decide to sell them second-hand, you will get much more money for your LEGO sets than for your other brik sets.
Mega Bloks is a Canadian company that is essentially known by LEGO fans as a LEGO rip-off and copycat, with poorer quality items and lower costs. They use the same pattern of studs and tubes as LEGO, bundle their sets similarly, and their main purpose seems to be to trick parents and children into purchasing a set of Mega Blocks rather than a LEGO one.
LEGO focuses with its products on children and people of all ages, while Playmobil really focuses on kids.LEGO gives the user the necessary to build themselves, while Playmobil provides the elements to create a story themselves.Incidentally, it has turned out that especially at a later age boys prefer LEGO, and the girls for Playmobil. It is the same for the youngest age groups.
Both LEGO and K’Nex are construction toys that encourage the principles of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) with children as young as 3 years old. But K’Nex is a much cheaper option than LEGO as a construction toy or set.
The Final Thought
Construction toys are a great addition to any child’s toy store and whether you decide on LEGO, Mega Bloks, Playmobil or K'Nexas your construction toy of choice you will not be disappointed.
Read More:
Top 10 of the Most Complicated LEGO Technic Sets to Build for Adults 2024
12 Quality Cheap LEGO Alternatives for Adults in 2024
Top 10 Cheapest Places to Buy LEGO Sets in the Word (Extra 10.5% Cashback)
The 16 Most Expensive and Valuable LEGO Sets in the World 2024 (Sale+8% Cashback)
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