LEGO Monkie Kid 2020

[Lyichir]

I'd been holding off on forming an opinion until we got clear pics of the sets themselves, but now that I've seen them I'm loving this new theme! The sets are really well designed, and remind me of both Ninjago and themes like Agents or Space Police—they've got a wonderful "heft" to them, if that makes any sense. There's so many things I love in these designs: the ingenious build of the engines on the cloud jet, the sheer bulk of both mechs, the little Asian buildings and convenience stores that make the action around them feel that much bigger and more intense, the brick-built cargo ship that serves as a secret headquarters, and the fact that the bigfig "Sandy" has a matching kitty and a big hammock to relax in!

[hagridshut]

Not my cup of tea, but I am impressed with the creativity and detail of the Monkie Kid sets.  

Given that Ninjago has been a big success for Lego, I expect that Monkie Kid will also be a bestselling theme for the next few years.  It's got the same technology/fantasy vibe, but with fresh characters/minifigures and a new (at least to LEGO) story.

[Harkonen]

I already wonder what are gonna be the villains for next year... I know JttW has a lot of demons so I wonder which ones are next, I would like them to go with sea demons next. 

 

Also, is this the first time Lego actually uses the word "demon" in a set? 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Harkonen

[JaBaCaDaBra]

Wow what a great sets for my grandchildren.

I really like this, they will have so much fun with it.

[Bobathan Buan]

This theme feels like 50% Ninjago, 20% Nexo Knights, and 30% Chima. It's pretty interesting 

[mrfang2]

These sets look amazing! While I can see the comparisons to ninjago in a few of the sets, I really feel like there is a lot of difference in everything but the small bike. Honestly the style of the theme feels fresh and new. Honestly if it reminds me of anything it’s not ninjago, it’s the LEGO movie lines! Just because it’s got elements of sci fi doesn’t make it bad.

 The character design is wonderfully cartoony and expressive, the builds feel like chunky sci fi awesomeness, the structures included in a few sets will be a wonderful little addition to the theme and will hopefully be paired with some more substantial buildings in future waves, and man that cloud jet is just An incredible build! 
 

the huge stand out of the wave has to be that container ship! The opened form of it is absolutely awesome as a play set, and it manages to be cartoonish and exaggerated in proportion, but not enough that it would feel out of place in a city setting or on its own. 
 

this theme was also rumored to have a tv show coming, and if the art on the sides and top of the boxes is any indication, it will be a 2D animated series, not another cgi one! 

Edited April 24, 2020 by mrfang2
Had more to say

[Harkonen]

Shouldn't the thread be re-named Monkie Kid instead of Monkey Kid? 

[Gorilla94]

I'll bricklink a few of the new lightsaber hilts.

I am happy for everyone who likes the theme, but i don't get it.

[Kim-Kwang-Seok]

4 hours ago, BrickJagger said:

Wow, those pictures are something. Interesting sets, but they're a couple of tiny differences away from just being another wave of Ninjago.

There could really only be two possible reasons for this theme's existence:

1. Ninjago doesn't sell well in China. Not sure if this is true, but Monkey Kid may very well be a regional exclusive regardless. People in other continents will now have to choose between two similar themes, and doubtless they'll go with the more established one. Makes no sense to be a worldwide release.

2. Lego is phasing out Ninjago in favor of Monkie Kid. Now before someone comes in here hollering about it being an Evergreen theme, we don't know what Lego's plans are outside of what they choose to tell us. It's possible that something changed in the last couple years and they've decided to go in a different direction, but who knows? 

answer is probably everything. Ninjago speaks to eastern asian market in general - but making it more specific wont hurt.

Its also still open enough so that it could - if successful - fill a hole if Ninjago were to phase out. But since they can reuse Ninjago for pretty much everything and it has established products in TV, online and so on - I wouldnt know how they phase it out that soon. Right now they just started getting weird - going gamer; next going European medevil, they can also go full sci-fi, sea battle or monster/kaiju.

simple city sets may sell well but due to rise of digital entertainment Lego has to step up their game as long as it wont become replaced by apocalypse or 3D printers. So city sets now get more personalized, more action features (catch the shark, explore Mars, etc.). I believe Duplo, City, Friends and Ninjago are the non-licenced foundations of Lego...

[ToaDraco]

I'm very pleasantly surprised by how good this theme looks. All of the sets are really well designed and have tons of detail. I'm especially blown away by the the 2 giant mech sets, they're just so massive and so cool looking! My only real issue is the prices. Man these sets are big and expensive. 

[Fenghuang0296]

Just now, ToaDraco said:

I'm very pleasantly surprised by how good this theme looks. All of the sets are really well designed and have tons of detail. I'm especially blown away by the the 2 giant mech sets, they're just so massive and so cool looking! My only real issue is the prices. Man these sets are big and expensive. 

The ‘leaked’ prices are fake, they’re direct conversions of the Hong Kong prices that don’t take into account the fact that the Chinese intentionally increase their prices for the sake of ‘premium’. It was discussed earlier in the thread, point is we can expect to see them cheaper than the rumoured prices.

[PenPlays]

10 minutes ago, Fenghuang0296 said:

The ‘leaked’ prices are fake, they’re direct conversions of the Hong Kong prices that don’t take into account the fact that the Chinese intentionally increase their prices for the sake of ‘premium’. It was discussed earlier in the thread, point is we can expect to see them cheaper than the rumoured prices.

I verified with some of the people reporting it, since I was skeptical too. Apparently they got it from someone who knows. Expensive, but for a lot of these, it's obvious to see why. Not to mention that the sets are for an older demographic.

[Metanoios]

8 minutes ago, PenPlays said:

I verified with some of the people reporting it, since I was skeptical too. Apparently they got it from someone who knows. Expensive, but for a lot of these, it's obvious to see why. Not to mention that the sets are for an older demographic.

So the prices are from an American retailer or Lego Store employee then, not converted from the listings of the Honk Kong toy store? There was some weird pricing going on with the Chinese New Year sets (119,99 $ US vs 99,99 €). The prices might still differ from region to region. Furthermore is this source confirming that normal retailers in the US and Europe get these sets? I was under the impression these would remain Lego store exclusives, which would mean normal sources for these prices wouldn't be available and the prices would have been leaked from a Lego employee 

 

The price increase on the US market for the Chinese exclusives (or rather sets produced exclusively in China) like 80104, 80105 and the Monkie Kid line could be the consequence of Trump's tariffs on imported Chinese products.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Metanoios91

[The_Fiery_Rooster]

15 minutes ago, Metanoios91 said:

So the prices are from an American retailer or Lego Store employee then, not converted from the listings of the Honk Kong toy store? There was some weird pricing going on with the Chinese New Year sets (119,99 $ US vs 99,99 €). The prices might still differ from region to region. Furthermore is this source confirming that normal retailers in the US and Europe get these sets? I was under the impression these would remain Lego store exclusives, which would mean normal sources for these prices wouldn't be available and the prices would have been leaked from a Lego employee 

 

The price increase on the US market for the Chinese exclusives (or rather sets produced exclusively in China) like 80104, 80105 and the Monkie Kid line could be the consequence of Trump's tariffs on imported Chinese products.

I think you're looking into this too much. Euro prices compared to U.S. prices have always been strange. Some are very similar, like ninjago and creator, some can be more expensive, like marvel, and others are cheaper, like city. I don't think that the difference in this case means anything special. Also, about the tariffs point, aren't these still manufactured all over the world, like they usually are? Is there any reason to believe that they wouldn't be?

The prices we see now really do look like just straight up conversions, who's to say the person they got to from didn't do the same thing in the first place? I just can't believe that Lego would make a standard retail $170 dollar set for a completely new original theme. I guess we'll see...

[Lyichir]

18 minutes ago, Metanoios91 said:

So the prices are from an American retailer or Lego Store employee then, not converted from the listings of the Honk Kong toy store? There was some weird pricing going on with the Chinese New Year sets (119,99 $ US vs 99,99 €). The prices might still differ from region to region. Furthermore is this source confirming that normal retailers in the US and Europe get these sets? I was under the impression these would remain Lego store exclusives, which would mean normal sources for these prices wouldn't be available and the prices would have been leaked from a Lego employee 

 

The price increase on the US market for the Chinese exclusives (or rather sets produced exclusively in China) like 80104, 80105 and the Monkie Kid line could be the consequence of Trump's tariffs on imported Chinese products.

Is the Monkey Kid line produced exclusively in China? I wasn't aware that that was the case. I would expect its parts to be produced in a wide variety of Lego's facilities like most other sets sold on a worldwide basis. That goes especially for these current times, when global instability thanks to the coronavirus means that Lego relying solely on any one production facility could be risky. The flexibility that comes with global diversification of production is essential for ensuring that issues at an individual facility don't have such a dramatic impact.

[Metanoios]

Just now, NetherCreeper said:

I think you're looking into this too much. Euro prices compared to U.S. prices have always been strange. Some are very similar, like ninjago and creator, some can be more expensive, like marvel, and others are cheaper, like city. I don't think that the difference in this case means anything special. Also, about the tariffs point, aren't these still manufactured all over the world, like they usually are? Is there any reason to believe that they wouldn't be?

The prices we see now really do look like just straight up conversions, who's to say the person they got to from didn't do the same thing in the first place? I just can't believe that Lego would make a standard retail $170 dollar set for a completely new original theme. I guess we'll see...

Read this article about tariffs and the inital delay in the NYT, where Lego is mentioned alongside Mattel and Hasbro: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/us/politics/china-tariffs-toys.html

The tariffs concerning toys went into effect December 2019 and the Chinese New Year sets were released in January 2020. You are right that there are some price differences but normally not more than 10 $. in the case of 80105 it's 20$. If we use this price difference on the bigger Monkie kid sets, the resulting prices are much more reasonable for the part counts and normal price per piece ratios.

Concerning the supply chain: This line is designed for the Chinese market and will therefore be produced mainly in China at Lego's biggest plant that was built exactly for the purpose of gearing up sales in the Chinese market. It is cheaper to ship a few thousand sets to America and Europe than millions of sets from Mexico or Hungary to China.

 

[Fenghuang0296]

5 minutes ago, Metanoios91 said:

Concerning the supply chain: This line is designed for the Chinese market and will therefore be produced mainly in China at Lego's biggest plant that was built exactly for the purpose of gearing up sales in the Chinese market. It is cheaper to ship a few thousand sets to America and Europe than millions of sets from Mexico or Hungary to China.

I don’t care as long as some of it shows up in Australia at secondary retailers. Shop@Home never does discounts . . 

Also, I just noticed, it’s easy to miss but Pigsy uses the newer medium-size legs! And they’re printed - this is the first time printed medium legs have been included outside of a CMF. Awesome! Between this and Kid having side printing on his legs, you can tell they’re really pulling out the stops for minifig design this theme . . which makes it kinda suck that the Bull Goons don’t have leg prints . . 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Fenghuang0296

[Vindicare]

Well, I’m pretty impressed! I love the Monkey Mech & Cloud Jet. That little building section & island will go good with Ninjago. Alternatively, I think the building will look decent next to the Shrimp Shack from HS. Those two are definite buys for me. The others are on my hope to buy list. I love the new prints & that new hat/hair piece is fun. And a new color cat! 

[Fenghuang0296]

11 minutes ago, Vindicare said:

Well, I’m pretty impressed! I love the Monkey Mech & Cloud Jet. That little building section & island will go good with Ninjago. Alternatively, I think the building will look decent next to the Shrimp Shack from HS. Those two are definite buys for me. The others are on my hope to buy list. I love the new prints & that new hat/hair piece is fun. And a new color cat! 

Those are neat, but having thought about it a bit more, I think the ones I want most are the Secret HQ - because a ship slash hideout like that will be perfect in my city’s industrial area - and the Food Truck, because it’s only fourteen studs wide and should fit quite snugly in a space I’ve got, as a ‘restaurant’. Maybe also the Red Son Inferno Truck, because it’d suit my crime syndicate pretty well as a ‘boss vehicle’. Assuming I can find somewhere to put it. The Monkey Mech is gorgeous but probably gonna be outside my budget if I’m getting the Secret HQ . . 

[Pchan1983]

Was hoping a more traditional take of the Monkey King.  Feels weird to have cars and plans related to Journey to the West XD.  HOWEVER, love the monkey king mech and some of the side builds.  And so many interesting parts and new minigifures.  Hope B&P ships to NZ by the time it releases ....

[The_Fiery_Rooster]

1 hour ago, Metanoios91 said:

Read this article about tariffs and the inital delay in the NYT, where Lego is mentioned alongside Mattel and Hasbro: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/15/us/politics/china-tariffs-toys.html

The tariffs concerning toys went into effect December 2019 and the Chinese New Year sets were released in January 2020. You are right that there are some price differences but normally not more than 10 $. in the case of 80105 it's 20$. If we use this price difference on the bigger Monkie kid sets, the resulting prices are much more reasonable for the part counts and normal price per piece ratios.

Concerning the supply chain: This line is designed for the Chinese market and will therefore be produced mainly in China at Lego's biggest plant that was built exactly for the purpose of gearing up sales in the Chinese market. It is cheaper to ship a few thousand sets to America and Europe than millions of sets from Mexico or Hungary to China.

 

Well, Lego is only mentioned in the article as an example of how companies have responsibly shifted manufacturing to china, there is nothing on how the tariff affects it. Obviously this affects Lego, but as to how much is unclear, mostly because they already have other factories that they use.

About the price differences, here are 2 sets from city last year that have a $20 difference

https://brickset.com/sets/60229-1/Rocket-Assembly-Transport

https://brickset.com/sets/60217-1/Fire-Plane

As for the supply chain, why can't lego make a few thousand in Mexico and Hungary for Europe and the U.S. while also making millions in China for China? I think that's how they usually do it anyways, I see no real reason to change it that much.

Finally, using the prices from the site these came from, I really do see how we could have gotten these inflated prices...

This year's police station? The price listed converts to about $140. The Ninjago Temple of Madness? $110. How about the cyber dragon? $60. It really does look like someone just chucked the prices they saw into a converter and claimed that as a source.

I don't mean for any of this to come off as aggressive, I'm just trying to make sense of these things. Either way, I'm sure we'll know what's actually the case sooner or later.

[legobear]

The pictures are awesome~  They have the four traditional friends in the set : ) and I like how the HQ opens up but also functions as a boat.  It's also interesting to note the cloud that the Monkey King flies on seems to be used as a hinge to hold the two halves together :D !!  What an interesting theme.  I see they're going really hard trying to do good PR in Asia.

[Harkonen]

I really really really hope that the prices are just a mistake. Even Jangbricks said that there is no way these are the actual prices, Monkie Kid is not a licensed theme so they cannot do this pricing. 

[HalfBloodPrince]

8 minutes ago, Harkonen said:

I really really really hope that the prices are just a mistake. Even Jangbricks said that there is no way these are the actual prices, Monkie Kid is not a licensed theme so they cannot do this pricing. 

Hopefully the actual prices are cheaper and not THAT expensive. No way the cheapest set is $35

[Harkonen]

Just now, HalfBloodPrince said:

Hopefully the actual prices are cheaper and not THAT expensive. No way the cheapest set is $35

I think the cheapest set is 25$.That's what I would give it.