We talked about several of the recently released LEGO Monkie Kid sets (see links at the end of this post), but there are a couple of sets we haven’t discussed yet. LEGO Monkie Kid sets mix the Chinese legend of the Monkey King with modern fantasy elements. Thus, we get traditional Asian motifs and characters blended with futuristic mechs, drones, and other vehicles. The sets are creative, imaginative, and visually pleasing, and they have some impressive play-features, and unique elements.
The two sets we will talk about today are the #80021 LEGO Monkie Kid’s Lion Guardian, and the #80022 LEGO Monkie Kid Spider Queen’s Arachnoid Base. Both of these sets prominently feature some of the baddies, ruled by the evil Spider Queen, and have ominous black mechs shaped like spiders.
The #80021 LEGO Monkie Kid’s Lion Guardian set is fairly well balanced between the sides of Monkie Kid and his friends, and the baddies led by the Spider Queen. Monkie Kid rides on a fully posable Lion Guardian Mech with snapping jaws and two hidden spring-loaded shooters, while the Spider Queen’s Battle Rig has movable legs and two spring-loaded shooters.
I normally like the Monkie Kid mechs, but I feel like that the design of the Lion Mech is just too messy. We know that LEGO can make excellent brick-built lions and dragons, so I’m not sure why this one went wrong. The black internal frame and mechanical parts showing through are unsightly, and the outer cladding doesn’t look very good either.
The Spider Queen’s robotic spider looks a lot cleaner in terms of design and I like that they spring-loaded shooters double as the eyes of the spider. Overall, this is a small but fun design.
The real attraction of this set though is the arcade with a working toy-grabbing claw game that can actually dispense small pieces. I also like the overall color-scheme of the arcade and that the layout can be changed from open to closed. In the video-review below, you can see how the claw machine works..
The five minifigs are Monkie Kid in his usual attire and with the Golden Staff, Mei also in her usual attire with the Jade Dragon Blade, Lu who seems to be just a generic civilian, Spider Queen, and a Huntsman. All the minifigs are highly detailed, but you can get them from other sets, except for Lu, who is exclusive to this set.
In summary, this set is probably not worth it to most people, however, some of the design elements could be copied from the instructions for other applications. The arcade is especially nice and could be incorporated into your LEGO city. Even the design of the Spider Queen’s mech could be used as a template for small spider-shaped vehicles. This is a 774 piece set, so the $79.99 doesn’t seem too bad, however when you look at what you get, and how much of it is actually useful, it may not be worth it to you at full price. You can find it at the LEGO Monkie Kid section of the Online LEGO Shop.
Now, let’s take a look at the enormous #80022 LEGO Monkie Kid Spider Queen’s Arachnoid Base. This set is obviously dedicated to the Spider Queen, and there is very little provided for Monkie Kid and his team. But that’s alright, because the giant spider-shaped mech/HQ is definitely awesome!
The Spider Mech features lever-operated attack pincers, poseable legs, and the spider’s body (the round section at the back) opens up to reveal a detailed lab and prison.
The overall size is 10 in. (25 cm) high, 13.5 in. (34 cm) long, and 17.5 in. (44 cm) wide, so yeah, it’s big! The color-scheme is also great and the lime-green really pops against the purple and black. You really have to see this spider in action to appreciate the details, so make sure you watch the video-review below.
The six minifigs are Spider Queen, Syntax, Monkie Kid, Pigsy, Monkey King, and a generic civilian. They are highly detailed, as usual, especially the Spider Queen. You also get a small robotic spider as well as a tiny flyer for Monkie Kid, but the main highlight of this set is really the mech itself. It’s sturdy, looks great, and full of fun play-functions.
The #80022 LEGO Monkie Kid Spider Queen’s Arachnoid Base comes with 1,170 pieces and the price is $119.99. The price per piece ratio is pretty standard (10 cents), and if you like what you see, it would be worth it at full price or close to full price in my opinion. If you want to check it out, it’s available at the LEGO Monkie Kid section of the Online LEGO Shop.
I should also mention that spider mechs are fun, even outside of the LEGO Monkie Kid universe. Think about what you could do with them for Halloween! What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Monkie Kid spider mechs? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
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I have the spider Queen’s arachnoid base and the white dragon horse jet. I just requested for my birthday the legendary flower fruit Mountain set. It’s on its way. The Spider Queen arachnoid base is extremely huge and very Sinister looking. Just like a bad guy base should look like. LOL! I’ve combined NINJAGO and monkie kid as well as the gorillas from Legend of Chima. I also have a couple of the spiders from legend chima too. This will go great with the legendary flower fruit Mountain set.
Wow. I didn’t notice the arcade before. Cool little gadget. The rest doesn’t really interest me.
The big spider is incredible. I highly recommend it. Probably one of my most favorite HQ sets.
Does anyone know if Monkie Kid will continue after this wave? Is the tv show still going on? Does it have more to the story?
You can see some episodes on youtube, and you can find a list of all the episodes (and a short synopsis) on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego_Monkie_Kid
The claw machine is great! I’m hoping to build an arcade in the near future, so I will definitely use it. I’m fairly certain I have all the parts for it.
I should have the bulk of the 1998 set 6977 Arachnoid Star Base in a box from a thrift shop buy somewhere, the set that likely seemed as an inspiration for this set.
Otherwise, I guess the theme is pretty cool and all, it’s just that my time and space is too limited to invest in it apart from certain parts through Bricklink or Bricks and Pieces. (I mean, I recently splurged on a Daily Bugle which costs more than my regular annual Lego budget or something…)