Review: 30562 Monkie Kid's Underwater Journey
Posted by MeganL,
The Year of the Tiger gift with purchase is getting most of the attention; however there's another promotion on offer: 30562 Monkie Kid's Underwater Journey is available with a Ninjago or Monkie Kid purchase over $40. Let's take a quick look at the latest addition to Monkie Kid's world.
Disclaimer: I'm not up-to-date on the Monkie Kid story in the slightest, so fans may be disappointed and/or amused by this review...
Summary
30562 Monkie Kid's Underwater Journey, 57 pieces.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Monkie Kid polybag with plenty of play value at a low spending threshold
- Detailed minifig
- Lots of play value
- Disjointed scene
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
It's a Monkie Kid polybag, so of course the titular character is featured. The minifigure features outstanding printing; Monkie Kid is wearing a flame yellowish orange jacket with plenty of details - patch pockets and a teal cross body belt with additional compartments. I particularly like the zippered pocket on the legs.
As this is an underwater journey, the Kid is outfitted with breathing apparatus - that is new this year, and this is only one of two sets in which it's included. Plus it matches his swim fins!
The back of Monkie Kid is similarly detailed; additional compartments on the belt as well as a large pocket on the back (though how he reaches back there, I'm not sure).
Detailed printing is also on the Kid's arms. I like this view as it shows off the hairpiece. While I see that it's not new this year, I rather like the use of this hair for this set, as it almost looks like hair would if the Kid was underwater.
This is a two sided head; the first side seen in the earlier pictures shows Monkie Kid with a very determined expression. The alternate side shows Monkie Kid with a red mask and another determined expression, almost like a grimace.
Monkie Kid needs to get around, so a small underwater conveyance is included. It looks to be not much more than a motor with some handlebars.
Thanks to the lower centre of gravity of the motor, I'm able to position Monkie Kid on the motor just like he was underwater.
Awaiting Monkie Kid at the bottom of the sea is a treasure chest with gold bars inside. There's even one on the top (along with a crab). However, there are also two skeletons wielding cutlasses, so Monkie Kid better be prepared.
Also found at the bottom of the sea is what looks to be Monkie Kid's staff, which I suspect is the real reason he's underwater. It's hidden in the midst of some coral and other ocean greenery, under the watchful eye of another crab.
Overall thoughts
There's a lot for kids to play with here - the protagonist, skeletons to fight, treasure to find, a underwater scooter to travel on. That's a lot of play for one polybag and a lot of stories to be created there. There are some nice parts included but none that are particularly rare, an inventory list can be found here. However, the set feels like a lot of bits and pieces instead of one coherent scene.
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28 comments on this article
A polybag with a minifig, two skeletons, two animals, funky coral pieces and a chest full of gold? That's more cool stuff than you get in some retail sets!
This could be a set in a box on it's own!
We soon need a relaunch on AquaRaiders!
Wait, what? I mean, I like this and I aim to get several for the lovely parts, but - doesn't China usually censor skeletons?
This is litteraly best polybag Lego made
If only all polybags could have as much content in them. All that AND a fig with dual molded legs AND arm printing? It's collectable minifig quality with all the extras!
@Ridgeheart said:
"Wait, what? I mean, I like this and I aim to get several for the lovely parts, but - doesn't China usually censor skeletons?"
This is a very common misconception.
They have a whole story about the Bone Demon for example :),
If you look on the packet, it ties together better with the skeletons as remains more than baddies
Don’t really get the criticism of a disjointed scene here - it looks like a complete fleshed out scene to me?
Since this is a GWP, people in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan possibly won't be able to get this anyway since they can not order anything through the Lego website.
Good review! This is a fine little polybag. Build-wise, there's nothing too exciting about it (especially compared to polybags in themes like Creator or Speed Champions that are lighter on figures but have more substantial builds). But it has some great parts, and I like the underwater variant of Monkie Kid.
Regarding the story context, in Journey to the West the Monkey King originally obtained his staff from the underwater kingdom of the Dragon of the East Sea. With MK losing the staff to the Lady Bone Demon at the end of the most recent season, it's possible that he will be returning to where the staff was first obtained in the hopes of finding a replacement.
TWO skeletons!? I'm in. A chest of gold is good, too.
Suggestion for those lovely new review overview boxes - on polybags like this, it'd be nice to have a point telling us if it's a good pack for getting rare parts / colours.
Great little pack - sorry it’s locked behind the purchase of two themes that I don’t collect.... Hoping to see it at department stores in the near future!
I don't think this scene is disjointed at all. I think that this is really solid for a polybag.
@NatureBricks said:
"The torso is uncommon too because of the awesome arm printing."
To be honest I didn't even realize just how uncommon this outfit is! It seems to be meant as MK's "standard" outfit for the new wave (like his yellow-orange jackets in the 2020 and 2021 sets were), but so far it only actually shows up in this set, 80031, and 80033. The other sets either don't include MK (80032) or put him in different outfits entirely (80030, 80034, 80035, and 80036)!
@MisterBrickster said:
"A polybag with a minifig, two skeletons, two animals, funky coral pieces and a chest full of gold? That's more cool stuff than you get in some retail sets!"
Exactly! Gief!!!
Also @Huw I believe that new summary feature colour is too striking (and better positioned elsewhere at the text - a bit obtrusive how it's there)
@blackdeathgr said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"A polybag with a minifig, two skeletons, two animals, funky coral pieces and a chest full of gold? That's more cool stuff than you get in some retail sets!"
Exactly! Gief!!!
Also @Huw I believe that new summary feature colour is too striking (and better positioned elsewhere at the text - a bit obtrusive how it's there)"
Surely a summary box should be both striking and easy to see (obtrusive), isn’t that literally the point of them?
So how does that breathing apparatus part differ from the previous mold? They look the same to me.
@TheOtherMike said:
"So how does that breathing apparatus part differ from the previous mold? They look the same to me."
It has never been in this color before, that might be what they are refering too.
Not really sure what the reviewer means by the set seeming disjointed. An underwater set with coral, buried treasure, skeletons, and a diving vehicle seems to me to be super common among underwater themes.
@your_nutt said:
"Not really sure what the reviewer means by the set seeming disjointed. An underwater set with coral, buried treasure, skeletons, and a diving vehicle seems to me to be super common among underwater themes."
I thought it was a skeleton joke... disjointed?
I see what happened: MK was peacefully skimming across the surface of the ocean, when he pulled out his staff and accidentally dropped it. so now he's down there looking for it!
Set has huge play value and KFOLs will love it, but aren't skeletons kind of taboo in China, or at least not appropriate for kids? In DOTA 2, Valve censored all the skeletons for the Chinese version of the game.
Im not chinese but did a quick google search.
In chinese culture skeletons are not forbidden in media, but undead are seen as symbol of bad luck so some companies feel including them in their product would reduce sales
@CopperTablet said:
"Set has huge play value and KFOLs will love it, but aren't skeletons kind of taboo in China, or at least not appropriate for kids? In DOTA 2, Valve censored all the skeletons for the Chinese version of the game."
Actually skeleton itself isn't some kind of taboo in China, in the original novel skeletons played a key role in the main character's adventure.
Finally 80036 became available to (back) order so I got a copy of this and the free tiger. Also managed to use £20 worth of discounted vouchers from Black Friday and a Stranger Things notebook code. Happy Days
Those swords have just a hint of "marbling" from the pearl silver effect and it's beautiful