Sheng Yuan Hulk Minifig [Toy Impressions]

The knock-off stakes have officially gone up a notch. It used to be that Lego (I'm not really comfortable typing it in all caps even though it's officially spelled in all caps) knock-offs, or Lego-compatible products if you're more PC, simply took the standard block sizes of original Lego pieces, made their own original sets, mass-produced them, and called it a day.

Those knock-off sets are still in vogue, of course, and they're becoming more and more common in lower-end malls and bazaars.

What's new is that some enterprising manufacturers have started to take aim at some of Lego's more popular pieces that gives them tremendous staying power with today's kids and kids-at-heart old-timers: licensed minifigs (adopted slang for Lego human representations).

Prices on these wildly vary, starting from 25 pesos each all the way up to 90 pesos. Buying them as a set (what comprises a set is solely dependent on the retailer, though) will definitely net you better savings than buying them solo. Also, buying from Divisoria (where these minifigs are originally sourced), if you can hack it, is cheaper than buying them in other malls. The usual going rate is at around 35 to 50 pesos, though. Anything higher, for me, feels like a rip-off, but then again, I don't mind the long commute to Divisoria, and others would be willing to pay the higher price for the convenience of not going to Divisoria.

Even at 90 pesos, though, it's still cheap compared to the actual going rate of an original Lego licensed minifig, which usually ranges from $8 to $10 (320 to 400 pesos, using a conservative exchange rate).

But as the old adage goes: "You get what you pay for". So what are we getting exactly?

On To The Box Contents

The first minifig we'll be looking at is the Hulk minifig by Sheng Yuan (the logo on the upper left of the box is actually an interlocking S and Y, and not the S and Z I initially saw).

The first thing you should get used to if you do get into the habit of buying these minifigs is that the main box art is not always indicative of the minifig you're getting. If it seems like a bit of bait-and-switch or trickery or just plain salesmanship on the part of the bootleg makers, well, that might be the case. But in their defense, though, these makers do post a photo of the minifig you're getting somewhere on the box. In Sheng Yuan's case, it's on the lower-left part of the box front.

Opening up the box, here's what we're getting:

There are two sealed plastic wraps, one containing a partially-disassembled minifig, and the other one contains a pack of cards. Opening the two plastic packets and assembling the minifig, this is what we get:

The box doesn't include an instruction manual on how to assemble the minifig, but I'm guessing it should be pretty simple for anyone to deduce which part goes where. Also, none of the included cards have the Hulk on them, so the cards seemed to be packed at random. I have no idea what game uses the cards, as there's no indication at all on what game they're for (the print on the back of each is simply the same "Super Heroes" logo on the box, only it's now on a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and on a city skyline silhouette), only that they have varying elemental (I'm guessing here based on icons printed on the cards) values and a general numeric power levels on the upper right hand side.

Let's just move on to the figure itself:

As mentioned earlier, the fig we're getting is the one depicted on the lower-left hand side of the box front than the one depicted on the main box art. The fig itself is normal-sized, which might be a disappointment for Avengers movie Hulk purists (and certainly more so for those who bought this fig based on the main box art). This one is a copy of the comic book version Hulk that Lego introduced.

For reference, here's the original Lego Avengers movie Hulk, which does exist:

Credit: Brickset.com

Going back, the minifig we have looks pretty good, to be honest. Why he's given a sniper rifle, though, I do not know. We're also given a 4x4 plate for the minifig to stand on. And as an additional bonus, a spare hand (a thoughtful gesture because I can easily imagine some excited kid tearing through the plastic packet and scattering the contents all over, easily losing a minifig hand in the process).

Here's a close-up of the face:

The paint work isn't perfect, to be sure. But it's pretty decent, though. The face has good details, and the torso lines look pretty good, too. You can see a seam line on the hair piece, but it's not a huge deal-breaker for me.

The trousers area also is pretty decent, albeit with a small unpainted area on Hulk's left leg. I'm marking it down as a sample variation than anything intended.
 

Looking at the back of the figure, it still shows a decent paint job with the back details, but you'll also notice that the legs are perceptibly different from the usual Lego legs, in that the bottom part is actually left open with this bootleg version. What it does is that it makes it harder to secure the figure on the given platform (or any other brick in general) since there is a tendency for the figure to slide forward slightly as you put it on, so there's an extra effort involved to secure it nicely. As with the aforementioned imperfections, it's not a deal-breaker for me, but it may be for others.

If you'll also care to notice, the feet of this bootleg figure aren't the flat nubs that they are in traditional Lego minifigs. The ones on this bootleg Hulk are more trapezoidal in shape. If I had to guess, both the trapezoid feet and the nonexistent heel(?) are intentional design decisions made to save on production costs by Sheng Yuan. Multiplied into the thousands of production runs, that will total to some serious cost savings.

Here's where the Lego mark of quality and the associated extra cost make a difference. Having the heel helps in securing the figure on the brick it's standing on. Also, it's rare to find those paint and hair seam imperfections (I personally never found one on the Lego sets I have had, but I'm guessing some fall through even the most rigorous QA checks) on Lego sets that actually make it to store shelves.

All told, though, this Sheng Yuan Hulk minifig is pretty good value. The details are there, and in actual use, the moving parts are pretty solid and feel tight. The imperfections are absolute non-starters for me, but then again, I may not be as demanding of brick toys as others may be.

If you have the means to buy the Lego minifigs you want, go for it. For the rest of us who aren't quite there yet, though, this Hulk bootleg will do for now. Suffice to say, I'm hooked.

Note: I'll be doing a continuing series of posts on these minifigs absent some of the items already mentioned here.

Next: Tong Toy Story Woody Minifig