Review: 30656 Monkey King Marketplace
Posted by CapnRex101,
30656 Monkey King Marketplace represents an ideal companion for the brilliant 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout, sharing obvious similarities with the market stall in the larger set.
While small, the stall is extensively detailed and takes full advantage of some interesting pieces, which have previously been limited to relatively expensive sets. Monkey King himself looks fantastic too, so this polybag should be fun.
Summary
30656 Monkey King Marketplace, 66 pieces.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Monkey King Marketplace is an ideal companion set, although looks great alone too
- Superb minifigure
- Desirable elements
- Attractive market stall
- Combines with other sets
- Conspicuous Technic pins
Minifigures
Unsurprisingly, multiple versions of Monkey King have been produced since the Monkie Kid theme began. This example combines parts from two of its predecessors, as the mythological hero wears a flame yellowish orange robe with black sleeves and a teal neckerchief. The same torso has appeared several times before.
The printed legs are less common though, available in 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech and soon 80048 The Mighty Azure Lion. These were created to match a torso displaying the same pattern, but work perfectly alongside this simpler torso. Additionally, the double-sided head also appears in those two bigger sets, so its presence in a polybag is welcome.
The minifigure's lime green plant stem is interesting too, making only its third appearance in this colour. However, these rare pieces are overshadowed by the Monkey King's creative means of transporting cargo, by attaching two boxes to his golden staff, which then slots through his tail! The tail is made of rubber, so this connection is rather fragile, but does work.
The Completed Model
The heavy load tends to unbalance this minifigure, hence a trans-clear 2x2 dish is provided to support Monkey King. The dark orange chicken included receives the same treatment and is presumably in pursuit of Pigsy's bao, represented by a white ice cream piece. A printed box, featuring Pigsy's logo, is also included and returns from 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout.
80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout has evidently influenced the market stall as well because an almost identical structure appears in that set. The wooden colours remain the same, although the tan roof is unique and seemingly denotes stretched fabric. A lantern hangs from the roof, while two more lime green stems and another box are displayed beneath.
A pair of Technic pins are conspicuously located on the side, ready to connect with the modules found in other Monkie Kid sets. These include the aforementioned market stall, as shown below. The option is certainly appreciated, but I think some space is necessary between them. Perhaps this would be a good companion for the catapult module in 80040 Monkie Kid's Combi Mech.
Although maybe unintended, the upper section of the stall can be removed to reveal a crate in the base. I think the designer would have used a simple 2x2 brick under normal circumstances, but using another crate was easier because Monkey King's cargo already needed one. Even so, extra space to hide an accessory is always welcome.
Overall
30656 Monkey King Marketplace is essentially the perfect polybag! The minifigure is splendid and includes some uncommon parts, while the decorated boxes for Pigsy's noodles have only appeared once before. Moreover, the market stall looks nice and is compatible with the growing modular system across the Monkie Kid theme.
The distribution has been fairly limited so far, it seems. However, if you do have an opportunity to purchase this polybag at some point, it is definitely a worthy acquisition.
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35 comments on this article
I wonder what people will want the most from this polybag. My money's on the chicken.
Have other Monkey Kid polybags previously been available at stores across the US? I certainly never saw any. It would be great to get this one. A nice little set.
@B_Space_Man said:
"Have other Monkey Kid polybags previously been available at stores across the US? I certainly never saw any. It would be great to get this one. A nice little set. "
Monkey Kid sets are only sold at the Lego Store in the US and the poly bags have only been gift with purchases there.
Where do people get poly bags from in the UK? I know the supermarkets have a few but never the good ones, the Lego store never have them, Smyths don’t stock them. It seems you pay twice as much on bricklink which just isn’t worth it to me
@ItisNoe said:
"I wonder what people will want the most from this polybag. My money's on the chicken. "
It was a tie between Monkey King and the chicken for me. These were available for purchase at Legoland in Florida at the tail end of January.
This is the first time I can recall them having you put a minifig on a 2x2 radar dish, which is usually not the most stable arrangement. Man, if only they had an actual non-CMF minifig stand…
The Technic pins are not really a problem. Use them if you’ve got stalls to link together, or leave them off if you don’t. I never see this listed as a con for the Modular series, Ninjago City, or any other chainable models. Don’t like the look of the holes on the stall? They’re drainage, for the monsoon season.
@refriedbeans said:
" @B_Space_Man said:
"Have other Monkey Kid polybags previously been available at stores across the US? I certainly never saw any. It would be great to get this one. A nice little set. "
Monkey Kid sets are only sold at the Lego Store in the US and the poly bags have only been gift with purchases there.
"
Haven’t they been even restricted to Monkie Kid purchases? There have been a couple MK polybags I would have liked to pick up, but I don’t have any. Theme-restrictions would certainly explain that.
Lovely little polybag! It's a shame about the availability though. I would have loved to pick one up for the parts, but I'll save my money for the Ninjago one(assuming we'll even see that in stores).
Is this exclusive because I haven't seen any in Australia. I haven't seen the new Monkie Kid sets in stores too.
I would like to see more information on availability in these reviews.
The LEGO polybag game is strong.
A chicken that lays icecream/cupcake shaped eggs, interesting.
This is the cheapest Monkie Kid set. The next cheapest is “The Glorious Golden Dragon vs. The Nefarious Bone-smashing Mecha” with 2,389 pieces for $220 USD or $8000 AUD.
@Everylittlebrickhelps said:
"Where do people get poly bags from in the UK? I know the supermarkets have a few but never the good ones, the Lego store never have them, Smyths don’t stock them. It seems you pay twice as much on bricklink which just isn’t worth it to me"
I don't have any local supermarkets/shops that stock them, so all of my polybags are GWPs. Fortunately the only ones I would make an effort to track down (Speed Champions) have been June GWPs each year so far. I certainly wouldn't pay the prices of the various specialist Lego reseller rip-off merchants!
@PurpleDave
They also put some of the figures in 80111 New Year Parade on radar dishes for stability.
I could’ve sworn this was gonna be a $10 set instead of a polybag given how grossly overpriced most Monkie Kid sets are. This is actually one of the best polybag deals right now and I’ll get it if I see it, no questions asked.
@TeriXeri said:
"A chicken that lays icecream/cupcake shaped eggs, interesting."
Must be one of those fancy genetically modified organisms my science teacher goes on about.
@DoonsterBuildsLego:
Those are 3x3 radar dishes, though. The minifig’s feet are almost entirely within the footprint of that radar dish. There’s a bit of two corners on the “off” foot, but the significantly larger footprint adds enough stability that it’s unlikely to ever matter. However, the 3x3 also sits two plates tall.
The 2x2 is as low as you can get without using baseplates, but one foot is over 50% outside of the footprint. Put something large in the outside hand and it’ll probably just fall over. So what they obviously need is a dedicated stand. Maybe about 2x4 in size, but with rounded, beveled edges so it doesn’t draw too much attention, and two studs in the center. Can you imagine how cool it would be if something like that existed?
Those "eggs" look like chinese dumplings to me.
@PurpleDave said:
" @DoonsterBuildsLego:
. So what they obviously need is a dedicated stand. Maybe about 2x4 in size, but with rounded, beveled edges so it doesn’t draw too much attention, and two studs in the center. Can you imagine how cool it would be if something like that existed?"
And with open studs, so you could use the "action stand" 65578.
This is a great set to have regardless of what theme you want: Legends of Chima, Star Wars, Ninjago or Monkey Kid itself.
Talking about minifig stands, I wish the piece that Polka-Dot Man stands on in 70917 saw more use. The only other uses of it I know of are 71024-18 and 71030-9.
@TeriXeri: As the review states, that's probably bao.
Since Lego is doing the whole "No more plastic bags" thing, does anyone know if we will still get polybags beyond this year?
@DoonsterBuildsLego:
And they could make it in clear to start with, but maybe expand out into other colors, like green. It's too bad such a thing is impossible to make.
@ozbrickcreator said:
"Since Lego is doing the whole "No more plastic bags" thing, does anyone know if we will still get polybags beyond this year?"
Maybe they'll do tiny boxes or paper bags like they do for baseplates?
@Zayzon said:
" @ozbrickcreator said:
"Since Lego is doing the whole "No more plastic bags" thing, does anyone know if we will still get polybags beyond this year?"
Maybe they'll do tiny boxes or paper bags like they do for baseplates? "
Maybe they'll go back to small boxes like they used decade's ago.
@DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Maybe they'll go back to small boxes like they used decade's ago. "
I'd love to see a return to the little boxes... just like my first ever Lego set 212-1. (Maybe without a return to cellulose acetate bricks held together with nothing but gravity though!)
@sjr60 said:
" @DoonsterBuildsLego said:
"Maybe they'll go back to small boxes like they used decade's ago. "
I'd love to see a return to the little boxes... just like my first ever Lego set 212-1. (Maybe without a return to cellulose acetate bricks held together with nothing but gravity though!)"
Well they do use little boxes for those small creator sets and the stuntz bikes
Lovely little set, and a higher percentage of market than Ninjago City Market
@MarkingX said:
"Is this exclusive because I haven't seen any in Australia. I haven't seen the new Monkie Kid sets in stores too."
I picked up this polybag at an Australian LEGO Certified Store last week.
In Australia, even though polybags have gone up $1 to $6, they are still a fantastic deal when they have a good Minifigure and parts like this has. Our CMF RRP is also $6, and this polybag blows that pricing out of the water!
What's more, the legs alone cost more than this entire polybag on Pick a Brick.
I'm glad this one is just available to buy at least here in Australia, unlike that underwater Monkie Kid one from last year that we could only get as a GWP.
The only thing I have to say about this is the inclusion of a base, whether the optimal solution or not, shows an impressive level of thought by the designer. There've been a couple of minifigs where a base would have been quite useful, so hopefully this continues going forward.
@MarkingX said:
"Is this exclusive because I haven't seen any in Australia. I haven't seen the new Monkie Kid sets in stores too."
Hi, person living in Australia here
I found one at my local store (in Castle Hill, Sydney)
I bought one and I absolutely love it, will definitely go back for a couple more at least
@ItisNoe said:
"I wonder what people will want the most from this polybag. My money's on the chicken. "
I am already hunting for chicken in other sets, this would be the best way to get it in multiples (and get nice and useful bits alongside it). However, in Europe this thing costs a bit more than the City chicken coup (that comes with 2 chicken ... so sad).
No idea this was released yet but coincidentally just found it today at the LEGO Store at Miami International Airport. Picked one up for $6. For what’s it’s worth they also seemed to have all the other known 2023 polybags from the first half of the year. Also got a pair of city ones.
@Loerwyn said:
"The only thing I have to say about this is the inclusion of a base, whether the optimal solution or not, shows an impressive level of thought by the designer. There've been a couple of minifigs where a base would have been quite useful, so hopefully this continues going forward."
Hmm. The minifigure base included with Frozone from 71024 seems useful, shame it was only ever included with that minifigure (as far as I know).
Also, remember the Star Wars sets that had renders which had minifigures on little 3x3 dishes?
Great small set.
It would be a shame if it was... next to impossible to find.
Better hope you can afford the 20 euro thing instead (which is actually more affordable than almost every MK set so far).
Wait nevermind, those are also almost impossible to find. Better buy it from one single kind of store full price!
That said nice set though.