Review: 30341 Monkie Kid's Delivery Bike
Posted by CapnRex101,
The fun Monkie Kid theme has elicited criticism based upon the absence of smaller sets. 30341 Monkie Kid's Delivery Bike accordingly appears interesting, including some unusual pieces and the primary character.
Furthermore, this polybag complements larger sets, expanding upon Pigsy's culinary business which appears in both 80009 Pigsy's Food Truck and 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech!
Minifigure
Three different Monkie Kid minifigures are available across the theme, featuring varied attire and double-sided heads. This example has appeared in 80009 Pigsy's Food Truck and 80011 Red Son's Inferno Truck, both of which are rather expensive, so its presence here is welcome. The textured hair piece includes lovely detail and I like the dual-moulded headband, matching Monkie Kid's red trousers.
Monkie Kid is evidently under pressure to deliver orders promptly and features a concerned expression on one side of his head while the other appears angry. His white uniform displays remarkable detail, including Pigsy's distinctive emblem and a mustard stain. Additionally, I like the metallic silver key and the cloud-shaped charm which decorate the legs, revealing Monkie Kid's connection with the legendary Monkey King.
Decoration continues across the sides of each leg, including further cloud iconography which complements the aforementioned charm. The dual-moulded boots appear similarly appealing, although the white printing on these boots seems washed out. Monkie Kid's new headphones would have been an excellent addition but the minifigure looks good without them.
The Completed Model
An updated motorcycle fairing was introduced at the beginning of 2020, featuring improved shaping around the fuel tank and textured shock absorbers towards the rear. This red piece appears in three sets and looks marvellous in combination with the red wheels. White would have been more consistent with 80009 Pigsy's Food Truck but this colour scheme looks nice, especially with yellow accents on either side.
Various accessories are stored behind the driver, including two swirl elements that resemble distinctive bao. The printed trans-clear tile looks great too, displaying Pigsy's branding above Chinese text which literally reads 'delicious supreme'. The teal and flame yellowish orange parts do clash with the motorcycle but appear consistent with the broader world inhabited by Monkie Kid.
Overall
30341 Monkie Kid's Delivery Bike certainly represents an enjoyable introduction to the Monkie Kid theme, although I remain quite disappointed about the dearth of smaller sets. This polybag offers various interesting elements and the minifigure includes fantastic detail, matching others from the range which have established an impressive standard.
The modern motorcycle also looks splendid, offering improved moulding when compared with previous designs. This is a lovely addition to the existing Monkie Kid sets but provides greater value as an appetiser for this exciting theme in my opinion.
97 likes
24 comments on this article
The printing on his face seems janky, what on earth happened there
This is a great set! I love the motorcycle component.
Good review!
While white, pink and red would be closer to the food truck's color scheme (along with Pigsy's small watercraft in the Secret HQ set), red and yellow is the color scheme used for most of MK's vehicles and is also used for the delivery vehicle in Red Son's Inferno Truck.
This was one of my first sets to include the new motorcycle piece and I really like it—there's so many quality of life improvements such as the ability to attach either classic handlebars or the minidoll-compatible parallel handlebars, or the change from a hard to use offset Technic connection at the bottom to a much more widely compatible anti-stud connection (allowing you to more easily "mount" the bike on studs for storage or display).
One feature of this MK variant you didn't mention is the fact that in his delivery uniform, MK's headband lacks the printed gold details featured on figs with his "hero outfit". The unprinted headband is a little more generic so might be preferable for anyone keen on reusing the hairpiece on other figures.
I love this set. It’s the only Monkie Kid set I own and will most likely remain that way.
Loved this set. Fits right into my normal City surroundings. Upgraded the bike with some pearl silver engine bits instead of the yellow, which looks brilliant.
@Muncher said:
"The printing on his face seems janky, what on earth happened there"
ye somehow i have noticed a lot such junky faces in past few years :/
Had to jump on this polybag as soon as it was available! Would like to get a little more of this theme but the pricepoints are definitely a deterrent. Hopefully, TLG will release a few more scenes rather than vehicles and at a $15-$35 price range. I really like the Panda Store from 80011 and the Food Stand from 80012.
I happened to purchase Diagon Alley a bit late, and so instead of the Brickheadz, this was the Gift with Purchase. The motorcycle element is really nice, although I do enjoy the dirt bike element produced with some sets during the early 2010s.
@Spartan_Ghost said:
" @Muncher said:
"The printing on his face seems janky, what on earth happened there"
To a gamer, “janky” means something completely different."
How so? It means poor quality/poorly designed in any setting I've heard it used in, including games.
@Spartan_Ghost said:
" @Muncher said:
"The printing on his face seems janky, what on earth happened there"
To a gamer, “janky” means something completely different."
jan·ky | 'jaNGke | (also jank)
adjective (jankier, jankiest) North American informal
of extremely poor or unreliable quality: the software is pretty janky | there's hardly anywhere to eat other than a janky food court | the car is embarrassing to drive because it's so jank.
Definitely describes the printing on that face!
Best Monkie Kid set out there. I'll pick it up if I can find it.
Where can this bag be purchased in the US? Lego.com doesn't list it for sale and I was in a Lego store a week ago and they had no polybags at all.
@graymattr said:
"Where can this bag be purchased in the US? Lego.com doesn't list it for sale and I was in a Lego store a week ago and they had no polybags at all."
It was a gift with $35 purchase from Lego.com and at Lego stores September 7-13.
I got this set just for the motorcycle piece. It's a nice piece!
@CapnRex101 said:
"Monkie Kid's new headphones would have been an excellent addition"
No, please, be thankful to Lego for not condoning the troubling trend of people riding bicycles and motorbikes with their hearing effectively disabled by headphones ;)
I love all the Monkey Kid sets but buying them all would be over $1000 (I think).
Goes well with 952010 : Motorbike
@TeriXeri:
I like the new motorcycle fairing, but the studs on the frame basically force set designers to come up with something to stick _something_ on them, and just seeing that set basically tells me that grille tiles will henceforth be their way of not just phoning it in, but robocalling it in. At least with the crotch rocket that was the first design to use this frame, those studs were hidden from view, but with this fairing you basically have to do something with those studs even though there's really not enough space to do much that's interesting.
@PurpleDave said:
" @TeriXeri:
I like the new motorcycle fairing, but the studs on the frame basically force set designers to come up with something to stick _something_ on them, and just seeing that set basically tells me that grille tiles will henceforth be their way of not just phoning it in, but robocalling it in. At least with the crotch rocket that was the first design to use this frame, those studs were hidden from view, but with this fairing you basically have to do something with those studs even though there's really not enough space to do much that's interesting."
There's not a ton that you can do, but there are at least a few options in terms of rounded or semi-rounded tiles (in fact, using this fairing you could probably fit taller parts like plates on the two lowest studs). And even with something as simple as these grill plates, they do serve the purpose of adding a little more color variation even when the frame itself lacks printing or stickers.
@Lyichir:
It looks like less than half of the grille tile is covered, so you should be able to even build on the 1x1 plate. But again, there's not much you can do there, and very little of what you can do would make sense. On a real motorcycle, it's all frame and exhaust pipes down there, The Catwoman set from TLBM came with stadium tiles that had engine cylinder deco on them, but that would be more in the center of the frame.
One thing this does do is it leaves a place where you can easily attach stuff to hold the bike in a pose, which is something the earlier frame sorely lacked. The new frame, however, sits exactly one plate off the ground and has a 1x2 attachment on the bottom, so there are plenty of options to keep it from falling over without actually needing to use those studs, but it might still be useful if you want to do stunt poses.
@Muncher said:
"The printing on his face seems janky, what on earth happened there"
That's current LEGO "quality control" at work, hitting a new low. Not that this would be a rare case in recent times.
"Only the best is good enough" is becoming more and more of a distant memory these days.
@PurpleDave said:
" @TeriXeri:
I like the new motorcycle fairing, but the studs on the frame basically force set designers to come up with something to stick _something_ on them, and just seeing that set basically tells me that grille tiles will henceforth be their way of not just phoning it in, but robocalling it in. At least with the crotch rocket that was the first design to use this frame, those studs were hidden from view, but with this fairing you basically have to do something with those studs even though there's really not enough space to do much that's interesting."
Rainbow unicorn tiles from the Dots range?
@ComfySofa:
Three words, all of them "No."
@Muncher said:
"The printing on his face seems janky, what on earth happened there"
I always find it disappointing when Brickset.com reviews don't acknowledge quality issues. Do they not notice or do they deliberately ignore them? (if so then why?)