LEGO Monkie Kid 2022

[CodFather1]

6 hours ago, zoth33 said:

Ok only one lego store out of the 2 in Connecticut even has the Monkie kid sets.  I haven't been to the one in Danbury in a few weeks so they might have the new mech.  The one in Hartford has no Monkie kid sets as I went there today.  I guess it depends on where you go and what each store has in stock.  

We are talking about availability in Australia, not in America.

[TeriXeri]

As from Europe, I've just come to accept that MK is only sold on LEGO.com . (but I can understand hunting down discount in other regions that sell them more widely)

I've been very selective on sets as well, only got the Dragon Horse Jet, Moon Cake Factory and Galactic Explorer, all 3 sets cover the "colorful cockpit spaceship" vibe for me. and don't really overlap with my existing Nexo or Ninjago sets (mechs/big wheelers etc)

Edited April 15, 2022 by TeriXeri

[Lyichir]

Just FYI, Season 3 has started airing in Hong Kong (available with both Mandarin and English audio). Not a ton new to glean from it so far (apart from Sandy's van being named the "Total Environment Automobile or T.E.A.), but it's nice to have and the English script and voiceover remains high-quality.

I'm really hoping to see the summer sets from this theme soon, but it's not unlikely that as a largely Lego-exclusive theme in most regions it might be one of the last to be leaked or revealed.

 

[a guy from somewhere]

Set names have been revealed, official pics should be any day now. The van and the dragon mech where obvious, however the biggest set will be known as "havoc in heaven", which I can only assume will depict the finale of season 3, possibly a face off in heaven between the lady bone demon and Mei in the celestial realm. Honestly this set wave sounds fantastic, but as always I dont think im gonna be able to pick any up.

I confess, I've only ever picked up 4 monkie kid sets at all, mainly due to the lack of accessibility. I find ordering off lego.com a tedious task at best, and as the sets are never discounted and dont usually come under promotions, its left me instead interested in other themes like ninjago, which regularly gets discounts and promotions. I love monkie kid. The show, the sets, the idea and the story. Its all amazing and I do think it is the epitome of modern lego. Its fun, action packed, and has great potential. When building both the mobile HQ from wave 1 and the bone demon mech from wave 4, I have felt the love that has been put into these sets, but I feel like theres a big disconnect between the model team and the actual company, at least in the west. This theme won't click with everyone, but I do think that it doesn't help that its locked behind a lego exclusive wall and rarely gets discounted or even promoted. Its obvious that the theme doesn't really sell well to many people here in the west mainly because the story is based in Chinese mythology, and here in the west thats not really shown anywhere. Theres been a couple of tv shows based around the book, but for many this is the first introduction to the storyline of journey to the west. It was for me! Another problem (its not really a problem) is I feel like the themes greatest strengths are the largest sets, flower fruit mountain, the city of lanterns, the HQ and the monkie mech. All of those sets have garnered nearly universal praise from everyone I know, but if your like me and often have a tight budget, it can be hard to spend a large chunk of money on just one set. smaller, fairer priced sets have started to show up now, so hopefully the tides are turning for the better. Monkie kid is a wonderful theme, but its also constantly overshadowed by other themes such as ninjago, which shares similarity's. They're different, dont get me wrong, but it is painfully obvious when comparing some of the sets. Take Mei's dragon car and Lloyds ninja night crawler. Both are large 1 seater cars, both have the same (UK) price point of £35 and both are based in Asian culture. But ninjago is easily accessible, often on sale and is way more popular. This leads to ninjago effectively overshadowing monkie kid, and the stuff that monkie kid does different, trying to differentiate itself by sticking to the themes of asian culture, it turns western people away as its "unfamiliar". As for the small fanbase MK has here in the west, we can only hope that this theme proves popular enough in the east to continue, and considering its been confirmed for 2023, it seems we can relax for now. I want this theme to do well. its really amazing, and I hope it can at least try to reach the level of love and popularity ninjago has.

Feel free to tear into this rant(?) and correct me where im wrong, because im sure theres something thats wrong, wether its an opinion or a plain fact. In the meantime, we can look forward to what MK has in store for the next wave. Personally I think the sandy van may be my favourite, but the dragon mech is pretty big in the show so the van may have to take up the smallest price point of £45, and I really feel like the set won't be done justice at that size. But who knows? MK designers are known for their creativity. I hope they can continue to blow us away with the sets. 

[Lyichir]

1 hour ago, a guy from somewhere said:

Set names have been revealed, official pics should be any day now. The van and the dragon mech where obvious, however the biggest set will be known as "havoc in heaven", which I can only assume will depict the finale of season 3, possibly a face off in heaven between the lady bone demon and Mei in the celestial realm. Honestly this set wave sounds fantastic, but as always I dont think im gonna be able to pick any up.

A Havoc in Heaven set? That could have to do with the S3 finale/special (assuming there is one this year, as opposed to the S3 story being resolved next year), but it could also be another set largely based on the Monkey King's origin story like most of the Flower Fruit Mountain set. "Havoc in Heaven" describes the arc following the Monkey King's time on Flower Fruit mountain, when he manages to earn his way into heaven and, well, causes his fair share of havoc. This arc is where the Monkey King got a lot of his powers as well as his reputation as a trickster hero. It was also adapted into an iconic Chinese animated film in the 1960s. Assuming these set names are correct, this might have been teased in the City of Lanterns set, which features a sticker advertising "HAVOC IN HEAVEN 6D IMAX" (which I had otherwise assumed to just be alluding to the classic film's popularity). A set of the Celestial Realm (if that is what it is) could be really promising and I'm eager to see what it looks like!

Your gripes with the theme, its pricing, and its availability outside of Asia are certainly valid! I am luckily able to afford even the larger sets in the theme, but even then I am frustrated by the theme's uneven sales, distribution and media strategy in the U.S. (not helped by the relative lack of promotion and communication from Lego about it).

[zoth33]

These sets sound interesting.  I'm still going to get the evil monkey mech from the latest wave.  Can't wait to see picks for the sets.  

[Robert8]

From the instructions app

 

[Lyichir]

A couple set pics are on instagram. Gonna hold off on full thoughts until we have the full suite of pics but what I see looks great so far!

[Lion King]

Oh my gosh.

[TeriXeri]

That's a big set for sure, using 4 of those 16x16 ART bases in white + more.

Edited May 2, 2022 by TeriXeri

[icm]

Be still my beating heart, 80039 The Heavenly Realms is perfect, a true must-buy.

Of course, I said that about 80024 The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain, and I still haven't bought that one.

[chill9394]

The heavenly realm set looks amazing!!! Must buy. It is a great depiction of the mythology. Wish it had a few more characters as Monkey kid battled a lot of gods in the chaos there. But i guess they have to stick to what is made in the cartoon. Those cloud prints does help to make it look heavenly.

The van looks like a lot of fun too. in the same realm as the HQ Boat from first wave.

Now to hope they do the third set which is a water dragon justice too!

[Vindicare]

45 minutes ago, icm said:

Be still my beating heart, 80039 The Heavenly Realms is perfect, a true must-buy.

Of course, I said that about 80024 The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain, and I still haven't bought that one.

You’re not alone...maybe we can hope for a Groupon. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it’s priced as good as City of Lanterns is. 

[Meaf]

The Heavenly Realm looks perfect. I imagine it'll be pretty expensive, but I will be buying it no matter what.

[neithan]

And now we have a pic of the Monkie Kid Team Van:

 

https://brickset.com/sets/80038-1/Monkie-Kid-s-Team-Van

 

 

The two new sets look both amazing!

[a guy from somewhere]

The van looks good, but I’m not a fan of how high it sits off the ground. Looks like a monster truck. Much prefer the show version and will mod it to make it that way. Otherwise it looks pretty good! The fight in heaven set on the other hand, I like it but there’s something about the large technic beams and pinholes that I’m not liking at all. 

[neithan]

80038 Monkie Kid's Team Van

• 1406 pieces
• €129.99

 

80039 The Heavenly Realms

• 2433 pieces
• €179.99

 

Source: brickset.com

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by neithan

[JJ Tong (zfogshooterz)]

Not feeling it with the Team Van, it's just alright to me. But The Heavenly Realm looks really good there!

I'm still looking forward to the reveal of Dragons of the East. That's the one that I'm most anticipated to check out after seeing the screenshots of it from the show.

Edited May 2, 2022 by JJ Tong (zfogshooterz)

[zoth33]

23 hours ago, icm said:

Be still my beating heart, 80039 The Heavenly Realms is perfect, a true must-buy.

Of course, I said that about 80024 The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain, and I still haven't bought that one.

You really need to Flower Fruit mountain is such a great set.  

The Heavenly realms set looks great. Hopefully I will have enough money to buy all these sets I want between Ninjago, HP, SW, and the upcoming 90th anniversary set this year is going to be so expensive.  Plus hopefully pick a brick will be back up to get some of the new animals or otherwise I'm buying the farm sets too.  

[Maple]

I love the temple of Heavenly Realms, but a ton of the cost of the very expensive set will be the base I don't care about.

Flower Fruit Mt is HUGE and beautiful. If you can afford it and have the space it's a fun build and awesome display.

[a guy from somewhere]

Dragon of the east has been revealed! Nice colours……. But no. Not a fan of this one at all. 

[icm]

That must be what the Monkie Kid Underwater Journey polybag GWP was meant to tie in with.

[Lyichir]

Hm... the colors are a bit brighter than I would've expected from the show (especially Ao Guang's hair, which I thought would be a more subdued lavender). But I do like the general look of the set. And it's nice that Tang is included in this one since he wasn't in the other two summer sets.

[Meaf]

Yeah, I cannot say I am a huge fan based on what I've seen. It looks okay, but I would have expected better from a theme that (in my opinion) has largely been excellent, especially since Lego clearly has experience with dragons. My opinion on it might soften once we get some more pictures of it, but I've been trying not to buy as many dragons lately, so I will probably skip this one.

[JJ Tong (zfogshooterz)]

So about the Dragon of the East, I gotta say, I do like it! The colors are nice and the silhouette does remind of a cross between certain bird and lynx character from another franchise and a giant turtle which I find to be pretty interesting.

I haven't been keeping up with the show lately so I don't really know the comparison on which one is better but for now, I really dig this set.