Review: 80047 Mei's Guardian Dragon
Posted by CapnRex101,
Dragons have influenced Mei's various vehicles since Monkie Kid was introduced, so the arrival of 80047 Mei's Guardian Dragon feels overdue. Although dragons are common in recent LEGO sets, this example represents a clear departure from its precursors.
The curvature of the body is readily identifiable with traditional Chinese dragons, while the white and lime green colour scheme is consistent between Mei's different modes of transport. Hopefully this design can match or surpass the standard of 80020 White Horse Dragon Jet, which is my favourite of Mei's vehicles thus far.
Summary
80047 Mei's Guardian Dragon, 605 pieces.
£46.99 / $74.99 / €52.99 | 7.8p/12.4c/8.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Mei's Guardian Dragon looks outstanding, but is incredibly expensive in North America
- Interesting and unusual style
- Appealing colour scheme
- Near-perfect articulation
- Mediocre minifigures
- Very expensive in North America
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
New armour was introduced for Mei and Monkie Kid in January, with the former returning here. The torso and legs are extraordinarily detailed, including tiny dragon insignia on the shoulders, alongside intricate metallic gold and silver patterns. I love the segmented spine on the back in particular, while the flared shoulder armour looks excellent as well.
Mr. Tang is similarly attired, although the green details on Mei's armour are replaced with dark red. Furthermore, the shoulders are uniquely adorned with knotted designs, inspired by Tang's staff. Subtle differences are visible on the reverse too, striking a nice balance between uniform and specialised features across Monkie Kid's team.
Both minifigures include double-sided heads and Mr. Tang's is uncommon, introduced in 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech. A new accessory pack was also introduced in January and reappears in this set, providing Mei's golden blade and the distinctive finial for Mr. Tang's staff, known as a khakkhara, with various other elements unused.
Yellow Tusk Elephant is comfortably my favourite of the three animal-inspired demons introduced this year, thanks primarily to the excellent head component. A single element forms the character's trunk, ears and tusks, which are suitably moulded in yellow. This piece slots perfectly around a traditional minifigure head, repeating the all-important tusks underneath.
Moreover, I like the dark bluish grey hair element and the demon's ornate costume looks great, combining purple and teal to brilliant effect. Also, I like the metallic gold details on Yellow Tusk Elephant's torso and legs. Compared with the animated character, a bigfig would probably be more appropriate than a minifigure, but a minifigure is more practical for play in most scenarios.
However, I would rather the villain had been accurately armed with his mallet, rather than these two maces. Currently, the mallet only appears in 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant, so it would have been nice to see it again. The supplied weapons are interesting though, incorporating dark tan pumpkins, which are available in just two other sets.
The sinister Ink General differs from its animated counterpart even more than the Yellow Tusk Elephant, although I think avoiding a completely shadowy design was sensible. Black remains the most prevalent colour, with purple tendrils decorating the armour. Personally, I am not very keen on the mixture of yellow, gold and purple, but it is certainly unusual.
I do like the ghostly lower body element though, resembling ink and increasing this minifigure's height, relative to other characters. Additionally, the shoulder armour and rubber hair piece look good, further exaggerating the general's size. This minifigure is equipped with a black sword and a Power Blast, which represents the ability to launch ink.
The Completed Model
Despite the extraordinary number of dragons available in LEGO form, the Guardian Dragon has a personality of its own. The creature measures 32cm in length with its tail in the below position, which is similar to many other dragons, but the undulating body shape distinguishes this model from others. Also, the bright colour scheme of white, pearl gold and lime green, with occasional teal highlights, looks excellent.
The articulation is surprisingly impressive as well, considering the lack of joints along the body. Fortunately, the legs are very dynamic and the wings are also adjustable. These can provide a sense of movement when properly positioned. However, the head is unable to look down, which is a definite weakness.
The combination of white, green, teal and gold pieces across the dragon is nicely balanced, so the flame yellowish orange 2x2 curved wedge slope on its chest stands out. A sticker is applied to represent a gemstone and looks good, particularly since the surrounding body shape is very smooth. I like the use of 1x2 curved wedge slopes, angled to create gentle curves.
Sixteen stickers decorate the Guardian Dragon, which is more than I expected. However, only the eyes are absolutely necessary and those 1x2 rounded tiles are printed. The design looks superb and I like the golden blades resembling eyebrows, but the 1x1 round plates with bars which support the blades seem slightly odd, with noticeable circles immediately in front of the eyes.
Reddish brown whips form adjustable tendrils, extending from the nostrils. The mouth opens too and contains a magenta tongue, while the lime green crest is also articulated in sections. Even though the inability to look down is irritating, the head looks fantastic and its articulation gives the dragon some personality. Also, I appreciate the avoidance of specialised pieces, although those can be effective for dragons' heads.
Mei rides the Guardian Dragon on a simple reddish brown seat, with pearl gold highlights. The contrasting colour works well and I like the dramatic angle of the seat, again distinguishing this dragon from comparable examples, which usually include bulkier saddles. There are no reins for the minifigure to grip, but I think Mei's connection with the dragon is sufficient for control.
Each wing is assembled using a large blade introduced in January, a cloud-shaped piece and a curved blade. The resulting shape looks reasonable and I like the repeated cloud motifs across the two bigger sections of the wings. However, my favourite features are the dishes which hide the connection points for these blades, alongside stud shooters.
The connection between the front legs and the body looks marvellous as well, encircled by 3x3 arch bricks. Furthermore, the undulating shape of the body is attractive. The whole structure is assembled at a 45-degree angle, thus allowing curved plates to create the desired shape and lime green 1x2 curved wedge slopes to form scales along the top.
As a result of this construction method, the dragon's tail is permanently raised. A greater range of motion would have been ideal, but I think the tail looks interesting in this position, especially with the repeated curvature between the tail and the neck. The trans-bright green blade which forms the tip of the tail is appealing as well, drawing a connection with 80041 Mei's Dragon Jet.
Overall
80047 Mei's Guardian Dragon reminds me of 70734 Master Wu Dragon, which is undoubtedly strong company! This whole model is beautifully stylised and its vibrant colours look wonderful, unlike any other LEGO dragon. The undulating body is clever too, reflecting the Chinese origins of Journey to the West and again separating this creature from its equivalents.
The minifigure selection is underwhelming by comparison, as only Mr. Tang is exclusive and the other three characters are available in multiple sets. However, by far the greater problem is the price of £46.99, $74.99 or €52.99. The European prices are reasonable, but the US price feels absurdly expensive, which is very frustrating when the actual design is so impressive.
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30 comments on this article
Mei!
$75 in the US?! Why? Are they inflating the price just so retailers like Target and Walmart and Amazon can discount it and still profit?
The Euro price converted to USD is $56.86.
The UK price converted to USD is $58.03.
@PDelahanty said:
"$75 in the US?! Why? Are they inflating the price just so retailers like Target and Walmart and Amazon can discount it and still profit?
The Euro price converted to USD is $56.86.
The UK price converted to USD is $58.03."
Now you know how we feel most of the time when coverting the other way :-)
Meh
@PDelahanty said:
"$75 in the US?! Why? Are they inflating the price just so retailers like Target and Walmart and Amazon can discount it and still profit?
The Euro price converted to USD is $56.86.
The UK price converted to USD is $58.03."
Retailers like Target and Walmart do not carry Monkie Kid sets. I believe Amazon stopped carrying the line also, after the first or second wave.
TLG thinks that enough people in North America will be willing to pay $75 that it makes sense for them to price it that way. It's as simple as that. Comparing prices across regions is sort of a futile exercise. I live in New York and I know for a fact that avocados in California are 2-3 times cheaper and also better in quality than what I have access to, but I can't do much with that information. My options are to buy avocados where I live or not buy them at all. Same with LEGO. I don't look at prices in other regions because it's not going to help me make a purchasing decision; it will probably just annoy me.
Oh, I thought the plate with bars WERE the eyes.
As much as I like Monkie Kid I think Ninjago has the edge on dragons the undead Skull Sorcerers 71721 being a personal favourite!
@chrisaw said:
"Oh, I thought the plate with bars WERE the eyes."
Might work to exchange those with its black variant.
Tbh I kept thinking that the tan pin was the eye of the dragon, cover those up with, idk, the infinity stones in gold and it will look so much better
That might just be the most 'Mortal Kombat'-like ("Kombative"?) dragon TLG has ever produced. As we sure this is the right MK-line?
Despite the unusually high US price, I'm very much looking forward to this set. I'm glad I held off on buying the Yellow Tusk Elephant set since this has all the essential figs from that set plus Tang in a unique outfit, plus a main model that I'm much more interested in than the elephant mech. The shaping here looks gorgeous and definitely satisfies my expectations for a long awaited dragon build for Mei.
Mei is may in Dutch, so this review is in its best month
plates with bars aren't too bad. worst comes to worst he's got a lotta eye poop to clean out
I actually dislike minifigure exclusivity, so only seeing one unique figure in this set doesn’t strike me as too bad.
We know the dragons still needs its Guardians. And you... will make a better leader than I ever was... Captain.
Sorry but I can't unsee those 1x1 'nipple' tiles as the dragon's eyes instead of the prints. The prints look too far back and don't stand out at all! As a result it looks like it has tiny, wide open eyes. Which is certainly a look XD
That tail doesn't look great at all though. Did they really need to permanently angle it like that so the rest of the tail can only flop down from either side? It doesn't look the greatest from a toy design perspective. Same goes for the chair. Poor Mei looks like she will slide down from it!
Another thing: those wings look like they can only pivot to angle up or down from one spot. So no splaying them out or turning them horizontal at all, it seems. What's the point of giving the dragon wings if they can barely be moved? I know eastern dragons might fly differently than the standard western ones, but at this point they might as well have made them do something!
As for the rest, I always admire the detail on this line... from a distance. Because 1) it's not affordable to me right now, not helped by this theme's overabundance of high price point sets 2) the Monkie Kid sets are sold almost nowhere over here except at 100% retail price at Lego stores I seldomly ever get nearby and 3) because, as it turns out, I kind of find sets with this much detail a bit of a chore to build and rebuild.
So to keep things positive: it looks nice for sure! I'm glad I can admire it through reviews like these at least!
Here be dragons!
It's a good thing I'm not a Monkie Kid completionist (the only MK set I've paid money for is 40472, and I also have 30341, which was a GWP), because that is quite a gap in prices. If I'm going to spend that much on Monkie Kid, I still haven't gotten 80040 and 80041, and those two together would still be only a little more than half the price of this one.
@Brickodillo said:
"Mei is may in Dutch, so this review is in its best month"
It's pronounced the same way in English, so yes, good timing.
I wonder if the price disparity is due to the place of manufacture? Most of the product sold in North America comes from the Mexican factory - duplicating work done in Europe and/or China. MK is manufactured predominately to cater for the Asian Market, and therefore originates from one point of distribution?
@Huw said:
" @PDelahanty said:
"$75 in the US?! Why? Are they inflating the price just so retailers like Target and Walmart and Amazon can discount it and still profit?
The Euro price converted to USD is $56.86.
The UK price converted to USD is $58.03."
Now you know how we feel most of the time when coverting the other way :-)"
Try living in Australia, @Huw !!….
@TheOtherMike said:
"It's a good thing I'm not a Monkie Kid completionist (the only MK set I've paid money for is 40472 , and I also have 30341 , which was a GWP), because that is quite a gap in prices. If I'm going to spend that much on Monkie Kid, I still haven't gotten 80040 and 80041 , and those two together would still be only a little more than half the price of this one.
@Brickodillo said:
"Mei is may in Dutch, so this review is in its best month"
It's pronounced the same way in English, so yes, good timing."
Mei (Dutch): /maj/, as in "my"
May (English): /meI/, as in "maid"
@gasdoc: I wonder if you're not on to something...
@Ridgeheart said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"It's a good thing I'm not a Monkie Kid completionist (the only MK set I've paid money for is 40472 , and I also have 30341 , which was a GWP), because that is quite a gap in prices. If I'm going to spend that much on Monkie Kid, I still haven't gotten 80040 and 80041 , and those two together would still be only a little more than half the price of this one.
@Brickodillo said:
"Mei is may in Dutch, so this review is in its best month"
It's pronounced the same way in English, so yes, good timing."
Mei (Dutch): /maj/, as in "my"
May (English): /meI/, as in "maid""
lol, that's only in "Dutch" Dutch (meaning being from Holland), in Flemish Dutch (Belgium) Mei is pronounced exactly the same way as May in English. ;)
@gasdoc said:
"I wonder if the price disparity is due to the place of manufacture? Most of the product sold in North America comes from the Mexican factory - duplicating work done in Europe and/or China. MK is manufactured predominately to cater for the Asian Market, and therefore originates from one point of distribution?"
It's probably because more Asians live in the Americas than Europe. Lego thus sees a lower demand in Europe and lowered the price.
@Norikins said:
"It's probably because more Asians live in the Americas than Europe. Lego thus sees a lower demand in Europe and lowered the price."
Exactly, and it's a full-price theme, which has to compete against many themes that go on discount, sometimes right at release. (especially Ninjago competes with this , when it comes to dragons)
@lemish34 said:
" @Huw said:
" @PDelahanty said:
"$75 in the US?! Why? Are they inflating the price just so retailers like Target and Walmart and Amazon can discount it and still profit?
The Euro price converted to USD is $56.86.
The UK price converted to USD is $58.03."
Now you know how we feel most of the time when coverting the other way :-)"
Try living in Australia, @Huw !!…."
$85 AUD = €52 , or £45 currently, so on paper , it's priced exactly the same.
Nice looking dragon & I agree, it reminds me of Master Wu's dragon. Which was my first dragon purchase, other than my Elves dragons.
I really like the color scheme for this dragon and it would pair up nicely with 80020, one of the few MK sets that I own. I'll add this to my wish list. The price is the only thing holding me back. With sales tax it will cost $79.50, ouch!
@lORDoFtHEbOARD said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"It's a good thing I'm not a Monkie Kid completionist (the only MK set I've paid money for is 40472 , and I also have 30341 , which was a GWP), because that is quite a gap in prices. If I'm going to spend that much on Monkie Kid, I still haven't gotten 80040 and 80041 , and those two together would still be only a little more than half the price of this one.
@Brickodillo said:
"Mei is may in Dutch, so this review is in its best month"
It's pronounced the same way in English, so yes, good timing."
Mei (Dutch): /maj/, as in "my"
May (English): /meI/, as in "maid""
lol, that's only in "Dutch" Dutch (meaning being from Holland), in Flemish Dutch (Belgium) Mei is pronounced exactly the same way as May in English. ;) "
I didn't know flamingos could talk, but if so, I can't blame them for mispronouncing words. Dutch is already a difficult and gutteral language, and it's hard to pronounce anything correctly with a beak.
@Ridgeheart I think the original comment might have meant that the 'name' of Mei is pronounced the same as the month in Dutch. Not the English version?
@Binnekamp said:
" @Ridgeheart I think the original comment might have meant that the 'name' of Mei is pronounced the same as the month in Dutch. Not the English version?"
May-be.