LEGO Monkie Kid - Monkey King Warrior Mech - 80012

Product Information

Ultimately, if you were hoping for something far improved on 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech, then LEGO Monkie Kid 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech isn’t for you. This is an upgrade in an aesthetic way, with some techniques improved and other design details changed out. Essentially, though, what will stand before you now will be the same core model that stood before you two years ago. They look sufficiently different to each other should you so wish to have two of them standing next to each other on your shelves, but just know that that’s all they’ll be doing – they can’t move much, and don’t try to make them else they’ll ping various pieces off at you in protest. As it is, we have two giant mechs to sit on the shelves and look menacingly awesome, just so long as they aren’t asked to change stance, or walk. And don’t dust them too heavily because things will ping off, argh! — LEGO Monkie Kid 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech characters — As a fan and collector of Monkie Kid, I'm of two minds about these two sets. For me personally, they feel a bit inessential—the "hero" characters are all repeats from earlier sets (albeit good ones, and in MK's case a rare variant), while the "villain" characters are in one of the larger sets as well. These sets also don't have much else that's exclusive, apart from those tasty-looking Trans Bright Green blades in Mei's jet.

The comments calling this a downgrade are funny. The review itself shows that both mechs are eye to eye in terms of height; the new one has much more intimidating and natural shaping which frees up movement in the arms; and, of course, the "horns" are and always have in fact been plumes, so they should be floppy! While a dimension of play is lost in removing the original's tiny enemy mech and side building, the new mech introduces new features to make up for it: spring-loaded guns, glowing "golden gaze" eyes, and a modular detachable jet. The original mech has no functions of its own, and its weight and limited articulation don't lend themselves to action figure style play, either. This mech maintains the size and visual beauty of its predecessor while integrating actual play features! I do wish that the Azure Lion had a small mech or build, since this is his only appearance and his allies each have one in the other sets they respectively appear in, but it couldn't possibly rival the main course here anyway— the tiny bull mech from 2020 is more funny than fun to play with. All things considered, this Monkey Mech is definitely on par with the original, and while it may not be different enough to attract some collectors, it's great in its own right." I’m sure there is a die-hard fan out there that is at the ready to sweep this setup and get make that mech their own, but as a fan collector who has built the other set, this one doesn’t do it for me. Mei looks very cool seated behind MK as his copilot, and the contrasting color schemes work surprisingly well (special shout-out to each minifig having their own color-coded head-up display)! The Bright Bluish Green "belt" around the mech's waist honestly helps a lot at making the combination feel natural, since it matches the jet's other Bright Bluish Green parts, including the pentagonal tile that forms part of the chest plate/harness. The aforementioned panel from underneath Mei's Dragon Jet folds over the Combi Mech's torso and looks brilliant. Once again, I love the stark contrast between the rounded shapes on Monkie Kid's vehicle and the sharp angles on Mei's. However, I wish there was some means of properly securing this chest panel, rather than it instead resting over the Combi Mech's shoulders.In isolation, each model provides an interesting build experience and fun opportunities for imaginative play, at a very good price point (the Mech has a price per part of6.5p / 7.2c / 7.2c while Mei's Jet is7.3p / 8.1c / 8.1c). It's great to see these smaller and more affordable Monkie Kid sets in the lineup for 2023. Combining the two of them adds another level of fun and play potential which I'm sure the target 7+ audience will enjoy. Both sets offer modest minifigure selections, but they do contain some interesting rare parts and share examples of the new sword mould with this wave's biggest release, the Ultra Mech, so there is something for AFOLs to appreciate as well. LEGO Monkie Kid 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech is the flagship release in the January 2023 wave of Monkie Kid sets, continuing to be loosely based on the 16th-century tale Journey to the West, reimagined somewhat for a modern audience (not sure how many mechs there were some 500 years ago in China). This premium-quality, 1,170-piece LEGO® set offers a rewarding build and unlimited play potential. It makes a super birthday or holiday gift for trend-setting, creative kids aged 9 and up. And… we’ve already built this before, haven’t we? It’s sold out on LEGO.com and is retiring at the end of this year just before 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech comes out, but 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech is pretty much this set from two-and-a-half years ago. Clearly there are both aesthetic and particular structural differences to the respective mechs (which do slightly improve this more recent version), but at their core this feels like the same main build, particularly for how similar the final models behave in how they look great but are quite restricted in movement and play. Let children create their own awesome battle stories with this LEGO® Monkie Kid™ toy playset (80022), featuring the Spider Queen’s Spider Arachnoid Base mech/mobile HQ.

Very good comment. I'd thought about replying to some of the naysayers but you explained everything far better than I have. I also think that, as I mentioned above, the new version is probably better suited for action-figure play by virtue of having fewer loose parts that could pop off if mishandled.

Conclusion

Destiny Fulfilled [ ] This section is a stub. You can help the Monkie Kid Wiki by expanding this section. Inspired by Monkey King tales from the classic Journey to the West novel and rooted in China’s culture and values, LEGO Monkie Kid sets help youngsters develop bravery, resilience and optimism through creative building and play. Smaller vehicles detaching from larger ones has been an ever-present feature of original LEGO themes, including NINJAGO, Legends of Chima and now Monkie Kid. However, this instance is more complex than most, as the detachable jet comprises four sections and the central thruster assembly must still be reconfigured, before the blades are attached. Speaking of physique, the arms on the mech are longer than the legs, making me a little thrown off by the disproportionate look they have going on. Whether this was made to make it easier for the mech to hold the large-sized “Shadow Staff”, I’m not sure, but it throws it off slightly for me.

What is fascinating to build and then to take in as a final piece is not very playable at all. The quite frustrating feature of some of the smaller pieces wanting to ping off every time you even just breathe too close to it could be overlooked if its range of movement was any greater than a couple of different standing poses. Unfortunately, though, LEGO Monkie Kid 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech feels restricted out of necessity. To get this thing to stand at all is a real achievement, but the result is a compromise on play, which for this being the flagship set of a theme very much targeted at a younger LEGO audience, feels a little counterintuitive. This set’s strengths speak to an older audience that may not be even looking at this theme in the LEGO store. Oh, for sure—Voltron was another step forward (among other things, its shoulder construction went on to inform the designs of the 2020 Monkie Kid mechs). Bowser is an interesting case since while his arms are hinged similarly to modern mechs, his legs are designed "loose" so they can move realistically as you puppet him around. In the Final battle with Lady Bone Demon, MK used the chi gifted to him by his friends and allies all around the world to make a gigantic projection of the Monkey Mech. Ne Zha also used his Fire Ring to give the enlarged mech roller blades. Windscreen 6 x 4 x 1 Hexagonal with Handle in White (6341902 | 27262) - also seen in White Dragon Horse Jet, 80028 The Bone Demon and 80006 White Dragon Horse Bike Although the faces are almost the exact same and they stand to share the same sort of physique, the sheer amount of grandeur and attention that the predecessor has makes this feel like a downgrade rather than something to contest it.Yellow Tusk Elephant is more obviously identifiable with his animal inspiration, as a combined trunk and ears element slots underneath his head. The prominent tusks are excellent and I like how colourful the villains' respective attires are, visually connecting the three characters, despite their major differences when compared with Monkie Kid's more traditionally uniform enemies. Macaque now wields a darker equivalent of the Golden Staff that he once sought, emanating dark purple fire from the staff. The use of gears on the end of the staff is a clever use on LEGO’s part to really differentiate the two, and really show that this guy is here to hurt. It’s a hefty investment, but it’s for a hefty LEGO set that will take enough of your time and attention to put together to make it worth it. If it could fully run around and pose like a lot of other LEGO mechs then it would be a sure winner, but for what it is, there’s little to otherwise be disappointed by. Comparisons between the new model and 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech are inevitable, as they do share obvious similarities and are essentially identical in height, excluding the original mech's dramatic horns. However, their numerous differences are equally apparent, as the 2023 mech includes much heavier armour and fewer decorative features.