Anyone in the UK ordered from LiteUp Blocks?

caterham7

The company has been mentioned in a few threads for lighting up modulars, and someone associated with the company has posted 'adverts' for them in the last year (and is now banned?).

Tempted to try a set out, but was wondering if anyone in the UK has ordered from them, are you satisfied with the product, and what extra costs have been incurred in customs / vat charges etc.

Website is here;

http://www.liteupblock.com/unlimitshop/

Contrails

I bought some stuff from them directly when I was in Hong Kong. Quality is pretty decent but not as good as Lego. Bricks tend to click together very tightly. If you are planning to use them for modulars I suggest getting one with daisy chain. If not you are going to end up with 5-6 usb points for 1 modular. To light up all your houses you will have a massive headache buying devices with multiple usb ports. Not to mention e usb cables are only ard 60cm long. So for the lampost, pulling the wire to the back you would have lost about 27-28cm in length. The liteup touch bricks are easier to use than the ones with switches on them too

akunthita

I'm not from the UK, so I can't comment on custom charges and such, but I can comment on the quality of the light-bricks and some of the other light elements they offer as I have a bunch of them.

The light-bricks are fine and very similar to LEGO's own light-brick. Not as good, but pretty close. They tend to be a bit too tight as far as clutch-power. Also, they are just a tad off from LEGO's own brick sizes. They are fine when you just attach them via the top or bottom connections. However I would not recommend building a wall around them where they are surrounded by bricks on all sides, because there will be a bit of gap and stress. I have included a picture in my review about this: http://thebrickblogger.com/2014/05/custom-lego-light-bricks-now-in-color/

The street-lamps are very sweet, and they are my favorite product from them. I would recommend the wired ones instead of the battery operated ones. They make their own street-lamps (rather than drilling holes in LEGO's on lamps). The plastic is good quality and pretty much the same as LEGO's own, although the white is just a tad milky.

The light-bars (on thin plates), are a very interesting product and very bright. This can be a good thing or bad thing. They are excellent for certain applications, and because they are so thin they can don't take up much space, but I wish they would offer different color intensities. I prefer smoother, warmer light for my modulars. The street lights have a very nice glow, so do the various light-strings but the light-strips are a bit too bright for my taste (for the modulars). For space-stations, office-buildings, warehouses and such, they are fine. 

One other thing I can say about this small company is that they are LEGO fans themselves and are trying to improve their products all the time. I have both their earlier products and newer ones, and they are definitely striving to get better and please the LEGO fan community. They are not as good with interacting with Western AFOLs due to language barriers and different social customs (as their activity on the Brickset Forum exemplified), but they are definitely trying to make good products. It's worth giving them a try, and also keep an eye on their new offerings.

caterham7

Thanks.  They've several light sets I could use, but I might go for a Christmas light set for when I start a large winter layout for my boys in a few months time.  Have found a website that calculates vat and customs fees, so will play around with that before ordering and see what I can get without any additional major cost surprises.  

chrisalddin

please keep us informed for what happens.
i to would like this stuff.
it be awesome if a uk Bricklink member was to stock this stuff on there store.
not the light bricks but the light bar's.
until the bricks are the right high to match lego brick high. i see little point in getting 1. but as the light bar's need a open bottom anyway, there be ok.

Contrails

akunthita said:

I'm not from the UK, so I can't comment on custom charges and such, but I can comment on the quality of the light-bricks and some of the other light elements they offer as I have a bunch of them.

The light-bricks are fine and very similar to LEGO's own light-brick. Not as good, but pretty close. They tend to be a bit too tight as far as clutch-power. Also, they are just a tad off from LEGO's own brick sizes. They are fine when you just attach them via the top or bottom connections. However I would not recommend building a wall around them where they are surrounded by bricks on all sides, because there will be a bit of gap and stress. I have included a picture in my review about this: http://thebrickblogger.com/2014/05/custom-lego-light-bricks-now-in-color/

The street-lamps are very sweet, and they are my favorite product from them. I would recommend the wired ones instead of the battery operated ones. They make their own street-lamps (rather than drilling holes in LEGO's on lamps). The plastic is good quality and pretty much the same as LEGO's own, although the white is just a tad milky.

The light-bars (on thin plates), are a very interesting product and very bright. This can be a good thing or bad thing. They are excellent for certain applications, and because they are so thin they can don't take up much space, but I wish they would offer different color intensities. I prefer smoother, warmer light for my modulars. The street lights have a very nice glow, so do the various light-strings but the light-strips are a bit too bright for my taste (for the modulars). For space-stations, office-buildings, warehouses and such, they are fine. 

One other thing I can say about this small company is that they are LEGO fans themselves and are trying to improve their products all the time. I have both their earlier products and newer ones, and they are definitely striving to get better and please the LEGO fan community. They are not as good with interacting with Western AFOLs due to language barriers and different social customs (as their activity on the Brickset Forum exemplified), but they are definitely trying to make good products. It's worth giving them a try, and also keep an eye on their new offerings.

The light up bars come with 4,6 or 8 LEDs. So if you want a dimmer one you could always get the 4LED set