Building the Ultimate Monkie Kid City
Posted by CapnRex101,
Since the Monkie Kid theme began, several sets have contained modular shops and other small structures, which can be combined. 80036 The City of Lanterns takes advantage of this feature and the instruction manual for 80054 Megapolis City presents an even more advanced layout.
The layout is more complex than I expected and also includes 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout, so this article explores the 'official' configuration, as well as a few others of potential interest to assemble the ultimate Monkie Kid city!
Basic Combinations
Before discussing the impressive arrangement suggested in the instruction manual, I should mention that 80036 The City of Lanterns and 80054 Megapolis City can be connected side by side, as presented here. Technic pins are available on both sides of the City of Lanterns and on one side of Megapolis. The option is welcome, although not terribly creative.
Furthermore, each building includes Technic pin holes on either side, so you can arrange them in a standard row of buildings. This design loses the chaotic energy of the city, which is a major part of its appeal, in my opinion. However, it could be helpful if you needed a backdrop for some Monkie Kid minifigures, maybe on a shallow shelf.
'Official' Combination
The configuration shown in the instruction manual, by contrast, is surprisingly complicated. In fact, the one image in the instructions gives limited guidance, which is probably intentional, as LEGO likely meant to show that many combinations were possible, rather than demonstrating a single 'official' design.
Nevertheless, the image advises connecting 80036 The City of Lanterns and 80054 Megapolis City at a right angle, with the karaoke booth from the City of Lanterns replacing the pagoda in Megapolis. This also involves detaching a section of the clouds beside the pagoda, which is seemingly only removable to facilitate this combination.
Widening the gap between the original structure of the City of Lanterns and the karaoke booth also extends the monorail track from the 2021 model. Fortunately, additional track sections are found in both sets, serving as an awning and an advertising board, so adding them expands the circuit, which actually passes through the frame for Megapolis.
This is ingenious, particularly since the extra supports required for the track are also found in Megapolis, but disguised as a lantern! The lantern itself can be removed and leaves behind a stanchion that matches those in 80036 The City of Lanterns quite well. However, I find the use for the lantern even more remarkable, as that fits onto a black crate, which had seemingly no specific purpose in 80054 Megapolis City.
From here, you can arrange the various modules however you wish. The instruction manual shows the combination below, placing the Classic Space elevator in the central position, with sections from 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout on either flank. This creates a nice silhouette, as the tallest structures are found in the middle, which feels natural.
However, I find the integration of 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout slightly awkward, as both The City of Lanterns and Megapolis are primarily urban, whereas the hideout occupies a more rural setting. Blending the two thus seems strange, particularly when transplanting buildings like the LEGO store into the rural environment, as the instruction manual presents.
The other end is more attractive, in my opinion. I think the difference in angle between the city and the mountain helps to separate them visually, softening the transition between urban and rural environments. Additionally, the pagoda from 80054 Megapolis City feels at home beside the mountain, even though the monorail staircase placed in between definitely does not!
Alternative Designs
Personally, I find the structure quite appealing without additions from 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout, although I should stress the excellence of that set individually. The arrangement below excludes buildings from the hideout, but otherwise remains very close to the 'official' design. The only other notable change I made was moving the Chang'e billboard because its initial position obstructs a staircase.
However, this design still encounters some problems. In my review of 80054 Megapolis City, I mentioned the gaps around the Classic Space elevator, which would make it difficult and quite dangerous for minifigures to navigate! This arrangement adds a staircase on one side, which is great, but the platform outside the shops on the upper level does not extend to the lift door.
Even the staircase is awkward because it does not line up with the door, which is obstructed by an antenna instead. This is not really a problem for play, but shows where the modular features could have been improved, perhaps by including removable roofs. Of course, quickly rebuilding the staircase above the bubble tea shop would resolve this issue too.
Despite the flaws, I have to praise the monorail system, which remains accessible at both ends of the model. I love how the track winds through a gap between the buildings, passing over the area where the Classic Space elevator was originally placed.
Having experimented with various layouts, my favourite is presented below. This design only uses parts of 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout, but includes just about everything from both 80036 The City of Lanterns and 80054 Megapolis City. I find the visual balance appealing and limiting the more rural environment to one area makes the city a little more believable, to me.
In some regards, this arrangement is lacking in creativity. For example, the Flaming Mountain gift shop and restaurant from the City of Lanterns remains in the same place as in the original set, as does the crayfish restaurant on the next level. However, I like using the larger buildings for the lower tier because I think that makes the city look denser, while the crayfish sign really belongs on a higher floor.
Moreover, placing the larger buildings on the lower level means minifigures can walk from the Classic Space elevator onto an outdoor promenade, formed by the roofs of those buildings on the ground floor. Their path is actually obstructed by some rocks on the roof of the record shop, but this is not really noticeable on display.
A similar issue affects the staircase between this promenade and the highest level of the city, which almost always leaves a gap at the top. Again, this is not visible on display, but I wonder whether the designers could have found somewhere to add a small curved platform that would fill gaps like this one. A simple 4x4 quarter circle plate would suffice.
Access to Lady Bone Demon's office is another challenge when rearranging things because its attached staircase from 80054 Megapolis City is often required elsewhere. Fortunately, I found that the monorail can solve this issue. The staircase on the roof is a little more problematic, as these sets contain few two-storey buildings, so I like to imagine this is only used by Monkie Kid to reach his hideout inside the mountain!
The opportunity to combine these sets with such complexity, which has clearly formed part of their development, is impressive. The extension of the monorail is particularly ingenious and I like smaller details too, such as the option to rearrange signs or the electricity poles. There are some areas for improvement, but even those require only minor modifications.
Perhaps the more significant issue with this method of display is the space needed, as the full city measures around 80cm across, depending on the precise layout. However, the options for customisation are outstanding and I hope to see more sets developed with similar modularity in mind.
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33 comments on this article
Very interesting city, though very chaotic. Not sure i'd be able to find my way around!
Can you imagine a western themed series of sets like that? Or Pirates? Space? Castle?
A kid can dream…
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but it looks like the jumbled messes my 7yo makes, just to the nth degree of complexity... and price.
Love the chaotic energy of these sets, especially when combined together.
Am I the only one who thinks these sets are kinda just a hodgepodge cluster mess?
Lovely review! I really appreciate that rather than sticking with the default "example" you went into some other, slightly more logical possibilities. The final one might be my favorite given its elevator access.
I'm looking forward to the possibilities and challenges of integrating this new set with my City of Lanterns, since I've already doubled my City of Lanterns in size. Some of the modules like the top three businesses I expanded to fill space, while I added a new module to the bottom level based on the arcade from 80021. Adding this set to all that might require me to buy some additional parts like roller coaster track (since both spare sections are already used in my layout), but it wouldn't be the first such investment in my own customized layout.
@blogzilly said:
"Can you imagine a western themed series of sets like that? Or Pirates? Space? Castle?
A kid can dream…"
To be honest a western-themed series like this is pretty hard to imagine, as "old west" architecture and town planning doesn't particularly lend itself to this sort of clustered modularization (with most buildings being detached from one another and the landscape tending to favor flatter layouts). I could definitely picture a series of modular castle sections that could be combined into a megastructure like this, though.
Such a great theme, I wish it weren't so expensive (read: I wish it weren't so exclusive and always full price).
I'll settle for the side build from 80012 that I managed to reenact (minus the stickers) thanks to the elements bought from BrickLink.
Very impressive. Combined, these sets are a lot more than their individual sum.
I really like what i’m seeing here. Thanks for the article.
Lovely review, thanks for the all of the alternative layouts aside from the “Official” one!
My plan is to take all these sets, combined in any of these condensed versions and make it an island off the coast of my Ninjago City…
@Boettner_Builds said:
"Lovely review, thanks for the all of the alternative layouts aside from the “Official” one!
My plan is to take all these sets, combined in any of these condensed versions and make it an island off the coast of my Ninjago City…"
If you have any images, please share
@fourstud said:
"Am I the only one who thinks these sets are kinda just a hodgepodge cluster mess?"
No, I think so, too. And that is part of the appeal. These would be nowhere near as good sets if they were all neatly ordered.
@oukexergon said:
"This is probably an unpopular opinion, but it looks like the jumbled messes my 7yo makes, just to the nth degree of complexity... and price."
Yeah, I know what you mean. I like it and dislike it at the same time.
I love this
I love that this looks like a cluttered mess, as others have called it.
I love this article, even though I'm not a Monkie Kid fan,and don't have any of the sets - but I do like seeing how sets can be used together, so more creative articles like this would be very welcome!
(Very minor correction - the rapid transit train isn't a monorail, it has two rails! You could call it an 'L' if you were Chicago-inclined...)
IMO the combined assemblies are much more appealing than either main set separately, and I like the expansion of the train layout. Still, I've already invested in three Ninjago City sets and I doubt I'll find the money or space for any of these (or any more Ninjago City ones, either!). Might be fun to try combining 80044 with 77015 , since they both have "building in the wilderness" vibes!
Thank you for this fun article!
I think it looks great. Much more fun to look at than the usual boring city/modular layouts
Is there any indication from the design of these sets that they will accommodate further expansion with sets released in the future?
I wonder what all of the shops from other sets combined with this would look like
Nice article. This has changed my mind about the Hideout set 80044. I will be adding that to my 'get' list.
This is a fun addition to my ever-growing amine cyber-punk world. I love that they integrated the elevated train throughout the combined city. Lego's fueling that brick addiction fire!
@Lyichir said:
@blogzilly said:
"Can you imagine a western themed series of sets like that? Or Pirates? Space? Castle?
A kid can dream…"
"I could definitely picture a series of modular castle sections that could be combined into a megastructure like this, though."
For example, the Hogwarts sets that have been released since 2018. We combined all of them into one large castle, using the official LEGO example as a starting point (their two examples don't include all of the sets). It's a fun modular system and looks pretty nice. I totally understand if you don't want to purchase those sets, however (not trying to open that can of worms).
Absolutely great. Was thinking of passing on Megapolis since I'm very happy with City of Lanterns already, but this article might just have me sold. Completely agreed on the hideout being a great set on its own but awkward when combined with the others. Love this.
@blogzilly said:
"Can you imagine a western themed series of sets like that? Or Pirates? Space? Castle?
A kid can dream…"
The re-made Eldorado Fortress has something close to this. Some people have MOCed extensions for it. Lego could have created a 6265 Sabre Island remake as a GWP to connect to the Fortress, missed opportunity.
It is still not as appealing as here. The modularity brought by the city structure and the shops is amazing
@ForestMenOfEndor said:
" @Lyichir said:
@blogzilly said:
"Can you imagine a western themed series of sets like that? Or Pirates? Space? Castle?
A kid can dream…"
"I could definitely picture a series of modular castle sections that could be combined into a megastructure like this, though."
For example, the Hogwarts sets that have been released since 2018. We combined all of them into one large castle, using the official LEGO example as a starting point (their two examples don't include all of the sets). It's a fun modular system and looks pretty nice. I totally understand if you don't want to purchase those sets, however (not trying to open that can of worms)."
We've also done the same thing. Only with ALL (most) of the HP sets ever released. It's quite extensive layout covering an area 4x12 feet with a lot of height and cramming. We also use a bunch of the transparent stick elements to allow flying ghosts, owls, dragons, Buckbeak, thestrals, and Hagrid/Sirius' motorcycle. Happy building.
The large Ninjago and Monkie Kid sets are brilliant. LEGO doing what it does best. More like this please.
Damn, you're making me reconsider getting these sets now. Originally I was put off by the price and the structures, now that I've read this article, I'm intrigued and wondering if I have the space...
I can see a pirate theme doing this, it would be very clever idea, sort of a Diagon Alley dock city. And it would lend itself to a medieval city theme, too.
I think a space city with this sort of modularity could be brilliant! Even better with an integrated monorail, if we are talking about dreams…
Wow. That's...
certainly colorful.
Now imagine a mashup between this and the Ninjago City sets.
It looks quite fine, but far from the polished and beautiful look of all my 4 Ninjago modulars connected together. Compared to that it is too big of a mess.
There goes my regret that it's not compatible with modulars.
They should have used more 8x16 shops. 8x8 are just too cramped.
My point was twofold…seeing long term, pre-planned modularity across a larger number of themes.
Seeing classic themes re-energized with that in mind. I have the HP stuff for the time being, but it wasn’t my jam as much as something like this would be that had more of a Space or Castle or Pirate vibe. Or something totally different I’m down for that too. For reasons I haven’t yet identified I’m not that into MK. It’s cool and all, just doesn’t hit on all cylinders for me.
Though I did buy and enjoy a couple of vehicles, gotta admit. But overall the architectural sets are too…I dunno…open. It’s in my head totally.