LEGO Monkie Kid 2020

[BPK2300]

I'm checking in here for the first time because I've suddenly realized I've not heard a lot of buzz in a while about this theme. Seems like a sort of flash in the pan? I'm not knocking the theme, I just sort of forgot about it for a minute there. 

[Lyichir]

3 hours ago, BPK2300 said:

I'm checking in here for the first time because I've suddenly realized I've not heard a lot of buzz in a while about this theme. Seems like a sort of flash in the pan? I'm not knocking the theme, I just sort of forgot about it for a minute there. 

Not much new to talk about until the new sets come out in a couple days or the TV series finally premieres globally. Personally I've been waiting on the edge of my seat for the TV series to get a Western release to give the fan community for this theme a much-needed shot in the arm.

[Lego David]

9 hours ago, Lyichir said:

I think it's a mistake to assume Lego EXPECTS the theme to become as big of a hit outside of China. My assumption since the theme's exclusivity was announced was that the reasoning for it was hesitation on the part of Lego's normal retail partners to buy in big on a theme that lacks the same cultural context for a Western audience. So instead, by keeping the theme exclusive to Lego.com and Lego Brand Retail, Lego may be accepting a reduced audience reach and producing the sets with that in mind (in other words, not producing as many sets for western markets as they would if they had to provide product to as many retail partners as a more widely released theme like Ninjago).

Now, that may change. It's possible that, once the TV series receives a wider premiere and if sales of the current sets through Lego provide impressive enough returns, future waves of sets may end up given a wider release. I certainly wouldn't mind! But frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the initial plans for this theme didn't involve a Western release at all and were only adjusted after the backlash to the regional exclusivity of the Chinese New Year sets demonstrated a global demand for more regionally focused product lines, and even now the success of this theme may be measured more by its performance in China than by its popularity in other regions.

I can certainly get behind their fear that the line may not sell well outside of Chima (especially given the competition with Ninjago) but let's be real here, limiting your line's advertising to one country only is gonna greatly limit it's popularity and success. They could just as easily just focus their advertising in China, but also have a smaller release and marketing campaign in the rest of the world in order to boost the line's popularity. But they didn't even bother showing the sets in European LEGO catalogs, and I don't see how that's gonna do any good.

[DuckBricks]

15 hours ago, BPK2300 said:

I'm checking in here for the first time because I've suddenly realized I've not heard a lot of buzz in a while about this theme. Seems like a sort of flash in the pan? I'm not knocking the theme, I just sort of forgot about it for a minute there. 

It does seem to have a lot less fanfare than a normal “Big Bang,” especially given the sheer amount of effort and weight that seemed to have been put into it with that documentary and all. The only set featured in the S@H catalog was the flaming foundry, whereas most other themes got a much larger feature. I wonder if this really was intended for a limited release in Asia all along and plans changed with their updated regional exclusive policy.

[Vindicare]

9 hours ago, legozebra said:

It does seem to have a lot less fanfare than a normal “Big Bang,” especially given the sheer amount of effort and weight that seemed to have been put into it with that documentary and all. The only set featured in the S@H catalog was the flaming foundry, whereas most other themes got a much larger feature. I wonder if this really was intended for a limited release in Asia all along and plans changed with their updated regional exclusive policy.

I was really surprised to only see that one set. Couple that with not being available in normal retailers & the prices...seems like quite the disservice to this great theme. It’s weird. 

[Robert8]

So, if this theme doesnt work on China, they are pretty much screwed

[Lyichir]

20 hours ago, Robert8 said:

So, if this theme doesnt work on China, they are pretty much screwed

Sure, but that's the case if pretty much any theme is a miss with its target audience. Obviously sales of the sets outside of China still help (and could potentially make a big difference in whether future waves remain exclusive or get picked up for a wider release), but we're very much not the focus of this particular theme.

[mrfang2]

On 8/22/2020 at 8:43 PM, Robert8 said:

So, if this theme doesnt work on China, they are pretty much screwed

Considering they’ve now ordered multiple seasons of the cartoon, and the stuff said about crazy turnout for the launch events, and the “bonus” 4 set wave releasing just a few months afterword, I would guess they are doing pretty well so far in China. 
 

lego listens to fan complaints pretty frequently too, so I’m sure by now they’ve heard the want for smaller sets and will likely make them. One thing you can get from that documentary is that the second wave of sets was developed with the first and held back a few months for whatever reason. They present the flaming foundry and cloud roadster as if they were part of wave 1 in that special. I think that goes a long way to explain why they “didn’t listen” to fans saying they wanted small sets yet, since they’ve not shown anything yet that was designed after the series initial reveal. 
 

so for now, I’d say things are looking pretty good for the future of the theme. it’s got room to grow, sure, and time will tell how the so far positive western reception will impact the release of future waves or media, But it’s quickly gaining a following, the designers are putting out some stellar models, and the people working on the show are making some solid content. 

[White Phoenix of the Crown]

On 8/25/2020 at 4:08 PM, mrfang2 said:

Considering they’ve now ordered multiple seasons of the cartoon, and the stuff said about crazy turnout for the launch events, and the “bonus” 4 set wave releasing just a few months afterword, I would guess they are doing pretty well so far in China. 
 

So the series will continue ?

[mrfang2]

3 hours ago, Ragana9289 said:

So the series will continue ?

For now, we know that flying bark studios is producing at least 2 seasons of the show (it’s unknown if they got picked up for 2 after the pilot or 2 MORE after a season 1 that they’re already working on.), and it’s HIGHLY unlikely LEGO would sink the money in to production if they weren’t going to make sets. Plus, there are still a couple villains introduced in the pilot who haven’t hit sets yet, and one of the heroes too. 
 

all in all I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t continuing for a good while. Atleast a 3 year series if I had to guess. 

[GlacierPhoenix]

Something to keep in mine for the longevity of the theme is because of how far in advance LEGO works yes they have the TV show ordered for a few seasons but they also have all of next years product already developed and are likely working on 2022 product now. So sales figures now may impact wider availability of the line but not likely new waves as those would be finalized.

[Lyichir]

 

Trailer for the new season of Monkie Kid! If the other episodes will be released soon in China, that could be a good sign for the first season becoming available elsewhere as well (especially if they are opting to air it on a service like Netflix that makes the whole first season available at once).

You can see a fair number of the sets here (both the first and second wave), as well as a glimpse of a mysterious villain we haven't seen up to now who may be the Baigujing (White Bone Demon) from Journey to the West. It's possible that they're being set up as a sort of "big bad" for the theme.

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Lyichir

[Pchan1983]

Lucky enough to get hold of the Monkey King Brickheadz!  It's pretty hard to find in New Zealand due to limited stock.  I really like how they designed the shoulder armour!.   I wonder if they will make more of this from original IPs. (I doubt it thou... )

 

[BPK2300]

I'm very excited that the 30341 Monkie Kid's Delivery Bike will be a GWP next week! Not sure why I've wanted it so badly but the lack of news/updates on it was driving me crazy. I was planning on being at the Disney Springs Lego Store next week regardless, and this makes it all the better!

[Lyichir]

3 hours ago, BPK2300 said:

I'm very excited that the 30341 Monkie Kid's Delivery Bike will be a GWP next week! Not sure why I've wanted it so badly but the lack of news/updates on it was driving me crazy. I was planning on being at the Disney Springs Lego Store next week regardless, and this makes it all the better!

Ooh, I hadn't heard about that! Maybe I'll pick up some of the Wave 2 sets to get that, then.

[BrickBob Studpants]

1 hour ago, Lyichir said:

Ooh, I hadn't heard about that! Maybe I'll pick up some of the Wave 2 sets to get that, then.

According to stonewars, the GWP will be added to all orders above the threshold of 35€, regardless of theme  Unless all you currently want are the wave 2 sets of MK of course 

[BPK2300]

I picked up two Monkie Kid GWPs last week. Probably one of my favorite polys in recent memory. It's the only Monkie Kid set I own, and I am okay with that. While the entire theme is interesting to me, I just don't have any budget to allocate to it. 

[TeriXeri]

Monkie Kid polybag in Europe was originally ending 13-9 , but seems they extended it to 18-9.

[Pulp Detective]

Eh if only the polybag offer was available way back in May when the theme debuted.

[TeriXeri]

1 minute ago, LOTR34 said:

Eh if only the polybag offer was available way back in May when the theme debuted.

But to get the polybag, you don't need to buy any monkie kid sets.

[Pulp Detective]

21 minutes ago, TeriXeri said:

But to get the polybag, you don't need to buy any monkie kid sets.

I know.I just wish the offer was available back when I wanted to buy something.I'm not about to buy something now just to get a polybag. 

[TeriXeri]

1 minute ago, LOTR34 said:

I know.I just wish the offer was available back when I wanted to buy something.I'm not about to buy something now just to get a polybag. 

I agree the timing might have been better with actual Monkie Kid sets.

I still wanted some €10 sets, like City Mail Plane, a winter 2020 set that never was sold anywhere but LEGO.com for some reason  (in my country, speaking of online retailers).

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by TeriXeri

[gedren_y]

3 hours ago, LOTR34 said:

I know.I just wish the offer was available back when I wanted to buy something.I'm not about to buy something now just to get a polybag. 

Polybags do occasionally last past the GWP period, and become available for direct purchase, you just have to use the Shop By Price section. The GOTG polybag only ran out this year, and the Black Panther, LEGO Movie 2, 20th Anniversary Obi-Wan Kenobi polybags are still available. There are two Friends and two City polybags listed as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the Trolls World Tour polybag gets listed soon.

[Pulp Detective]

7 hours ago, gedren_y said:

Polybags do occasionally last past the GWP period, and become available for direct purchase, you just have to use the Shop By Price section. The GOTG polybag only ran out this year, and the Black Panther, LEGO Movie 2, 20th Anniversary Obi-Wan Kenobi polybags are still available. There are two Friends and two City polybags listed as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the Trolls World Tour polybag gets listed soon.

Didn't know that you can buy polybags on the official Lego shop.Thanks for the heads up. 

[TeriXeri]

21 hours ago, gedren_y said:

Polybags do occasionally last past the GWP period, and become available for direct purchase, you just have to use the Shop By Price section. The GOTG polybag only ran out this year, and the Black Panther, LEGO Movie 2, 20th Anniversary Obi-Wan Kenobi polybags are still available. There are two Friends and two City polybags listed as well. I wouldn't be surprised if the Trolls World Tour polybag gets listed soon.

Slightly different offerings on the European store, but yes, they added some Friends, LEGO Movie 2 , Frozen II , Ninjago Polybags a while ago : 

https://www.lego.com/nl-nl/categories/polybag - Europe / NL

https://www.lego.com/en-us/categories/polybag - USA

I do hope the European listings get expanded.

Edited September 15, 2020 by TeriXeri