Present for DD’s 9th birthday. Lego technic or fake?

[TickledOnion]

DD is really into Lego, electronics and making stuff. I think she would love a remote control Lego car that you can build yourself but they are all over £100. Has anyone tried the fake Lego? There is a revell technik kit on Amazon for about £50.

Or any other ideas please? She got snap circuits and lego for Xmas. She got gravitrax last year.

She’s also into gymnastics, likes imaginary play and quite likes art so any ideas on those lines would be much appreciated too.

Thanks

We have had fake lego (although not lego technics) it was rubbish, didn’t stay together or ‘click’ like real Lego. Total waste of money

I think if she's really into lego, she might prefer a smaller set of the real thing, than a larger set of fake.

Actually just realised the fake kit isn’t Revell. It’s crossrace.

I would definitely go with the Lego, we have been gifted a few of the non Lego bricks and they are far harder to click together and do, my DC struggled with them and didn't enjoy making them.

Real Lego all the way I'm afraid.
The cheaper copies don't build as nicely.

I’m not sure I can justify spending £100 on a Lego kit.

Any Smyths stores near you with this in stock?

www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/lego-and-bricks/lego-technic/lego-42095-technic-remote-controlled-stunt-racer-set/p/169812

You can get direct from Lego as well, but not sure what their delivery is like at the moment

There is a big difference between 'fake' Lego and legal alternative brands. Fake means it is often copied designs (ie stolen designs) and made by who knows who in who knows where and is not guaranteed to be safe.
Do not buy these. Please. It's contributing to crime.
However alternative brands....Revell is a good brand although I only know their plastic models (like Airfix) but they are good quality.
Knex is a good alternative. There was a range of knex which combined both knex pieces and 'lego compatible' bricks. I am not sure if you can still get those but I expect Amazon will have some. But regular knex is sold everywhere. It's often considered more 'stem' based than Lego.
Meccano is good. Mega Construx is not bad (used to be called Mega Bloks - they just use that name for the toddler range now) but to be honest they are often not much cheaper than Lego.
If you see a set that is almost identical to an official one - then that would be a fake. Don't buy it.
But if it's by a brand like Knex or Mega Construx or Meccano then it will be fine.
In the cheaper (but legal) range is Wilko Bloks, Block Tech and the B+M own brand - these 3 are actually all the same thing - these are okay ish. I find the instructions can be a bit baffling but the quality of bricks is actually ok. Not much Technic type sets though. Although B+M have their own brand version of Meccano. I haven't tried that out though so can't say if it's any good.

Thanks tizwozliz. Annoyingly Argos were advertising that one for £40 but it’s out of stock. I can probably get to a Smyths.

Thanks ilovemaisie. That’s good to know.

By the way ordering from Lego will mean delays at the moment. Unfortunately they are delayed and backed up as all the stock into the UK comes from Belgium. (That's only if you buy direct from them)

How about a Lego boost? It's £150 new, but there are some on eBay for £50-£60. We have one, it's really cool!

Bricklink is a good secondhand Lego site. They are semi-owned by Lego themselves so it's very strict on making sure all products sold are the real thing. You can get some good bargains there.

Aaaargh it’s not in stock anywhere

I’ve ordered it from the Lego site. Hope it turns up on time.

Fingers crossed TickledOnion