LEGO Technic Catamaran 42105 Model Sailboat Building Kit $55.29 @ Amazon AU
Cheapest ever according to ccc, floats well in water :)
Back in stock, 9c more expensive now at $55.29.
CamelCamelCamel.
Damn it man, this set was never on my radar before I saw that video and now I have to get it so I have an excuse to get some more BuWizz motors.
buwizz are ridiculously expensive… I'm using some knock-off product that cost one 3rd of the price
You get what you pay for. There aren't any aftermarket Lego motors with the range and maximum speed of BuWizz and the controller app/programmable functions are extremely easy to use.
@Gnostikos: $36 vs $180, i can't justify the 5+ times of price. the knock off does what i need it to, not too bad on power as well.
unless im not aware of a cheaper way to buy buwizz
@Tyler Kwok: Geeeeez, last time I mentioned 'cheaper knock-off versions' in a Lego thread all the Lego Lovers got triggered and down-voted!
@Tex Texan: And rightfully so; Lepin, Decool and all of those sweatshop specials can go straight to hell. As has been explained to death on previous Lego deals ad infinitum, no one cares about counterfeit versions of a genuine product on a deal specifically for the genuine product. It's like telling people to download movies from The Pirate Bay on every Blu-Ray deal. People have already made up their minds as to what they want to spend their money on, the deal post is not the place to bring up "hAvE yOu tHoUghT aBoUT LePIn???" for the millionth time (make a forum thread). What you're trying to do is PR for scumbags who represent the very worst kind of business model based on outright theft.
@Gnostikos: I do get your point but it is OzBARGAIN nonetheless, where everyone is looking to save a dollar. The lovely thing is we all have choice, nothing wrong with indicating other options, at the end of the day anyone can choose to purchase what they wish, at whatever price point they are happy to pay (and to be honest I hardly see Lepin etc mentioned in 99% of Lego posts).
Just about every item has a cheaper/'knock off' alternative wouldn't you say so why draw the line at LEGO only?
and to be honest I hardly see Lepin etc mentioned in 99% of Lego posts
You mean apart from every third Lego deal for the past 2 years that's had to be derailed by a bunch of muppets who think they've stumbled upon the best-kept secret in the AFOL community and who aggressively dismiss any criticism of their alternative with ridiculously narrow-minded zeal?
Just about every item has a cheaper/'knock off' alternative wouldn't you say so why draw the line at LEGO only?
That's not a remotely like-for-like comparison if you're talking about other product categories that are stratified into low-quality, cheaper goods and high-quality, expensive goods.
A crappy Hisense washing machine that costs $400 dollars is completely different in design, function and end-user experience compared to a high-end Bosch 8 Series washing machine that costs $1,200. There is no copyright on the concept of a washing machine in today's world and Hisense haven't stolen the CAD files and technical drawings for the Bosch 8 Series and then simply retooled an existing washing machine factory to produce the exact same washing machine but instead of charging $1,200 for each unit, they charge $600 because they didn't have to invest into any R&D nor pay huge teams of engineers, designers and other staff to produce such a complex machine.
Of course Lepin is cheaper because Lepin don't innovate, they don't have R&D teams and they don't have to pay licensing royalties to IP holders like LucasArts, Marvel, Disney and car manufacturers to reproduce their designs in Lego without getting slapped with multi-million dollar lawsuits. They simply buy existing Lego sets, reverse-engineer the pieces into factory moulds and then reproduce them indefinitely. They even scour the Internet for fan-created MOCs and then steal those ideas and monetise them, when even the original creators are not profiting from them. The close relationship Lepin/Decool have with Chinese marketplaces like AliExpress, Banggood and TaoBao ensure they can leverage ridiculously low-cost drop-shipping to further lower their overheads and further unfairly undercut Lego.
Lepin until very recently was completely immune from prosecution thanks to the Chinese state's tacit approval of industrial sabotage, espionage and counterfeiting as an economic strategy for rapid growth, which is a ridiculously lopsided advantage when Lego and other Western corporations have to comply with mountains of legislation and the threat of legal action if they dared to engage in the kind of outright criminal behaviour that Lepin/Decool do.
Lego's proprietary system of interconnecting bricks and other elements is copyrighted and (supposed to be) protected under international law against infringement, so you're comparing apples to bowling balls by suggesting Lepin/Decool is just another low-cost manufacturer equivalent to Hisense, Coles Home Brand or any of the knock-off brands Aldi stock.
@Gnostikos: Holey moley, you take your Lego seriously man!
With two kids I check in to virtually every Lego deal here and personally can't remember the last time I've seen the cheaper knock-off's mentioned as an alternative (other than when I did once a few weeks ago!). If you want to go to the time and effort of trawling through past deals to prove me wrong, go your hardest!
Again, there are plenty of examples of 'knock-off's' worldwide, in every product/ industry. Ever been to Bali? Is it good/legal/not a very nice thing to do? Vote with your wallet and your right to choose. Does it stop something from not being a bargain though ("a thing bought or offered for sale much more cheaply than is usual or expected.")? No.
Again, this is OzBARGAIN which is what most people come for. Should we only publish Big Mac deals and not Big Jack deals? Does anyone looking for a bargain really care?
@Tex Texan: Mate, it's not rocket science, if you took the time to think it through you (and all of the other rabid Lepin zealots) would realise your arguments don't have a leg to stand on.
Lepin is not comparable to any other budget category of goods; they are counterfeit goods, which are rarely if ever advertised on OzBargain and according to OzBargain's deal guidelines counterfeit goods are outright banned on here too (though this rule is not always strictly enforced by moderators).
Anyone mentioning pirating movies, music, games, buying Blu-Rays from South-East Asia or fake watches has been universally negged since time immemorial yet for some bizarre reason Lepin apologists believe Lepin should get a pass because the price differential between genuine Lego and Lepin somehow justifies a practice that would ordinarily be shunned from this site.
It's a wonderful display of the incredibly hypocritical attitudes embodied by so many people on this site, where their supposed morals change based on the savings to their wallet.
personally can't remember the last time I've seen the cheaper knock-off's mentioned as an alternative
There's three pages of results for this year alone. I think it's safe to say you just don't know what you're talking about. Out of curiosity, I checked your voting history (because I honestly cannot remember seeing a comment from you on a Lego deal anytime this decade) and it seems you've voted on about 4 Lego deals in the last 6 months, so with all due respect, maybe don't try sound so authoritative on a subject you really haven't got a clue regarding.
If you want to go to the time and effort of trawling through past deals to prove me wrong, go your hardest!
I have notifications setup for Lego deals. I check the comments on pretty much every one of them. I've seen Lepin being mentioned so often that I've lost count of the amount of people like yourself that I've had to educate on this subject so you'll calm the hell down with your incessant, bot-like spamming of the word "Lepin" in every Lego deal.
If anything it's probably me that's discouraged a good amount of Lepin fanatics from constantly hijacking every Lego deal with their nonsense, but boy were they committed to the point where I honestly believe some of them had to have been unaffiliated store reps or something.
Does it stop something from not being a bargain though
Yes, it does. End of story.
Again, this is OzBARGAIN which is what most people come for.
You keep saying "OzBargain" like it's some kind of cult where people have to place the almighty dollar above all else. Plenty of us on here have standards when it comes to what we will support and what we won't support with our money and assuming you speak for everyone is just silly.
What Lepin supporters seem unable to do, beyond the most cursory level, is justify and explain why anyone should support Lepin or why Lepin is not a disgusting company engaging in ridiculously criminal behaviour.
The point still stands: enough people know about Lepin and the fact that's cheap, especially on OzBargain, that we don't need near-automated reminders about Lepin from people like yourselves on nearly every Lego deal.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
@Gnostikos: Wowsers, love your passion, I just hope it applies to other areas of your life and not just discussing Lego on an adult internet forum, but who knows.
On a quick glance through your provided links it seems most of it is you cracking the sh.ts again, although I did see a heap of +1's when L3pin (don't want to add to your tally!) was mentioned as a viable alternative so maybe others do have a different viewpoint to yourself?
By the way, wouldn't class myself as a "zealot", I've bought some knock-off's for the kids but have also bought ten times the amount in genuine stuff. Pretty sure I've mentioned [insert world's most hated Lego knock-off company here] maybe once (heaven forbid, twice?) as an alternative? If that makes me a "rabid zealot" who provides "near-automated reminders on every Lego deal" in your eyes, so be it.
But you keep on doing you, every forum needs an Amar89.
I just hope it applies to other areas of your life and not just discussing Lego on an adult internet forum, but who knows.
So do you actually have anything relevant to add or just more useless ad hominems?
Your argument can basically be summarised as: "I like Lepin and my mum says it's okay."
On a quick glance through your provided links it seems most of it is you cracking the sh.ts again
Lol, "quick glance"; there's 12 pages of deals with users mentioning Lepin going back to 2016. Sufficed to say, it's be an ongoing feature of Lego deals for the past few years as I originally said. So your claim that it's rarely if ever brought up is complete and utter nonsense.
But of course, you do know what you're talking about Mr. "I voted on 4 Lego deals in the past 6 months so take my word for it, no one brings up Lepin on OzBargain".
although I did see a heap of +1's when L3pin
Wow.
That definitely makes it justified now and that's definitely representative of some widespread support for Lepin here.
But you keep on doing you, every forum needs an Amar89.
Another feeble Lepin drone conceding defeat.
I'm sure another "Tex Texan" will crop up on the next Lego deal with his self-important, cocksure, sage wisdom and fanatically defend Lepin like a newborn child from people who ask him rational questions like, "Why would I bother giving my hard-earned money to some sweatshop empire that makes its money stealing other people's designs and employing semi-slave labour to produce them? Why would we encourage the growth of such a ruthlessly dishonest and exploitative industry?"
@Gnostikos: never heard of lepin b4 reading your comments , Wow !!! You are right , how could this lepin got
Away from blatantly copying LEGO !! Tempted to buy the cheap prices but no thx caused buying a LEGO is not supposed to be about buying a fake LEGO .
Can you let me know what you bought & how it fares?
@High: https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4000758431930.html
does the job for me for $36 aud. power is ok, range is about 11 meters
How does LEGO fare in water over time?
As long as it's kept dry afterwards it's pretty hard for water alone to degrade ABS plastic of the quality that Lego pieces are made out of it. Lego themselves recommend washing pieces in lukewarm soapy water (i.e. in a full bathtub) as the go-to method for sterilising old Lego that's been sitting around for a while or big second-hand lots from garage sales and online purchases.
If it's salt water or water with a lot of impurities in it, combined with exposure to strong UV over a long period of time then that's a different story but I've been washing my Lego pieces in a bathtub with lukewarm soapy water to sanitise them for a while and never had any issues.
Same price at Big W with some possible savings via discounted gift cards and free shipping over … 150?
any idea if i can purchase a discount gift card with paypal? cant seem to find any that accepts paypal
If that thing gets hit by a gust and goes turtle, you will waiting a while for it to come in. Mind you the sail area is pretty small for the hull size. Without remote control, it's use is limited to bath / pool use and then the upside down issue wont apply. Without RC this ain't ShipShape
I didn't know they floated and because they do I buy a couple so the kids can have a sail boat race ( looked at motoring it up and would be a nightmare for me because I'm not mechanical minded ) in the swimming pool .
Cool its at Camel lows as well :)
You could make a some simple mods. This is really a 'fun of lego that happens to be a boat' thing, not a 'fun of model boating thing that happens to made of lego'. Great for the pool.
In case anyone want to motorize it https://youtu.be/VRaLIPDnY58