So are these going to get a normal retail release? Or is it still only LEGO Shop (and Amazon in US)?

With some small exceptions I only usually buy sets on discount. As these are only available through lego (who even on black Friday only have 20%) off I doubt I'll ever pick any of these up, however nice they are.

Another awesome wave. While I'm not as crazy about these sets as I was over the likes of Flower Fruit Mountain, Bone Demon or Monkie Mech, these are all fantastic sets and I could see myself picking them all up eventually. The Modular MOC builder in me is definitely picking up the City of Lanterns on the first.

They look good and I want the space stuff, but the prices, oh boy, the prices!

Wow, City of Lanterns is an instant must-have! Already planning a 'Chinatown' expansion to Ninjago City incorporating the previous Monkie Kid small buildings, so I can't resist a set with so much useful signage. Price doesn't seem excessive compared to some other Monkie Kid sets too.

Nezha!

These look amazing, but I doubt I'll ever get any of them considering they'll never see a discount here.

The city of lanterns will be a perfect addition next to Ninjago City!

ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL.

Still hoping for the theme to be officially released in Brazil. I managed to get 80010 and 80012 through international shopping, but I wish much more for an opportunity to buy these sets in person. Ninjago and Monkie Kid are the best themes of the moment by far.

I would have been more interested in the City of Lanterns if it were compatible with Ninjago City and the other modulars.

I see a new robot knee in 80030, new stylized clip flames in 80031 (and a few other sets), possibly a new bone-in hairstyle in 80034, and a new chopsticks part in 80035 and 80036.

Build-wise, I think this is the first time I’ve seen a brickbuilt skateboard deck, and also the first time I’ve seen a wheel made out of a track system.

@Astro:
Besides that, there’s a ZNAP logo on the yellow fence, I think the “T” logo comes from the Airport Shuttle monorail set, and right above the “H” logo is a Bohrok bug.

@IgelCampus:
The didn’t print the logo on the tiles for the Antman set that first included brickbuilt LEGO elements, but the cool thing there was they eventually changed the sticker backing to clear, which meant you could put them on any color rather than just yellow and red. Given the range of stickers (Antman only had three logo stickers), I doubt we’ll get that lucky here.

Znap's back! I like it. The City of Lanterns is on my wish list.

Did I just see a new lego chopstick piece in 80036 or is that already a thing?

@TomKazutara said:
"80036 The City of Lanterns
2187 pieces
£114.99, $149.99, €129.99

That is an very good deal"
The prices in general for these new sets do indeed seem better value than what was customary on this theme previously.
Love the City and the Spaceship.
And neon yellow is an awesome colour. Seems even more bright than vibrant coral.
Let's call it Stabilo highlighter yellow ;-)

I have never had any interest in monkie kid but I am tempted by 80036 The City Of Lanterns.

These sets all look very colourful and that they have an extreme amount of play-ability...I really wish Lego put this much effort into other themes.

Did someone say Monkie Kid is dead?

@Zander said:
"Are the flame pieces in various trans colours new? What about the chopsticks?"

I LOVE the Chopsticks new part

I love the sticker references to Bionicle, Hero Factory, and Znap! I won't probably be getting the whole set, but I will surely they to get my hands on the sticker sheet at least!

Note: City of Lanterns has some pins sticking out the bottom left. Looks like it's Modular compatible!

I see something D.Va inspired.

@FoolECK said:
"Did someone say Monkie Kid is dead?"

Not sure who said that. It's one of LEGO's best selling themes in Asia, according to their last annual report.

@TeriXeri said:
"City of Lanterns is fantastic and I sure love the Mei Dragon Car.

Mei Vehicles like the 2021 jet and the 2022 appeal to me as they capture some sci-fi style that attracted me back into LEGO via Nexo, and this color scheme is just nice , getting 2 red monkeys is cool as well, they fit right in with jestro's lava monster as well as monkie kid.

Neon Yellow parts and the green shooter on the car are also lovely."

Nice, I thought I was the only [adult] who got back into LEGO through Nexo Knights.

This theme is crazy fun. Over-the-top silly, and they make it work really, really well. It'd be fun to collect, but I don't have the space or the funds to start chasing after yet another big thing.

However...the windscreens on the Galactic Explorer would be great for Space Police ships, and when I clicked through to look at more pics from that set, the minifigs have an SP vibe with their white suits and red helmets.

Leave it to the Monkie kid theme to consolidate three 10 euro sets into one 30 euro set for no reason. Because the theme is too good to dirty itself with lower price range sets, it seems.
Availability, what's that?

Besides this, some of these look like great sets. It's just a shame that the theme is so skewed towards large, overall expensive models.

Also, that city looks waaay too close to the Ninjago modulars. Idk, maybe it's the modern, layered asian city similarities or something, but this just feels like it's trying to supplant those sets rather than do its own thing.
The two robots are a nice call-back to the Time Cruisers robot and those theme references are nice. But I feel that they could have done something way more unique than copy Ninjago City's formula with a monorail and different base but in China.

ZNAP!

City of Lanterns is easily the highlight of the bunch. It just looks fun, and is decently priced. Probably way too many stickers, but for what is designed primarily as a play set that's forgivable. My other favorites would be the Staff Creations (fun little builds at a good price) and the Galactic Explorer (such unique design).

All of the other ones are a bit of a mixed bag, with elements I do very much like but also quite a bit I don't care for. And some feel a bit overpriced. I think the biggest victim of that is Nezha's Fire Ring, in itself a very cool build that could have been a great set on its own, but with so many unnecessary side builds that drive up the price way too high.

@UK67Mac said:
"City of Lanterns looks soo good"

Indeed, this is something I will be aiming for, hopefully it is closed on the back.

6D IMAX®, wow! Lots of nice creative decorations and little builds in that lunapark I might steal, I find many parts and builds in the sets quite inspirational.

@illennium said:
"I have most or all of the Monkie Kid sets to this point but I don't watch the cartoon. Does anyone know if there is an in-universe reason why the Sandy character went from a bigfig to a regular minifig? It's nice to not have to keep overpaying for a bigfig that I already have a few of, so this is great from a practical perspective, but seems strange to just shrink down a main character like that."

I was just about to ask the same thing... I haven't watched all of the cartoons yet (though I really like them, as does my son 7 and my nephew 24).

I'm torn because I'd like to see alternative bigfigs of Sandy, but I expect that's unrealistic, even for this theme which seems to be throwing caution to the wind in several areas to make a good impression in China. The minifig Sandys seem nicely designed, but I'd need an in-universe rationale to feel fully OK about it, otherwise it seems to be just a compromise for manufacturing cost reasons.

The VIP weekend saw me filling out my MK collection for fear of any more nice sets going OOS. I figured double points and a couple of GWPs was probably the best deal I could count on getting.

@Lordmoral said:
" @UK67Mac said:
"City of Lanterns looks soo good"

Indeed, this is something I will be aiming for, hopefully it is closed on the back."

It is open in the back. The set page shows multiple images of the set from various angles. You can also see that it's open in the main image above if you look through the transparent doors on the top floor.

The City of Lanterns looks the most original with interesting build and plenty of play value. The spaceship may be ok, but plenty of city versions already, and bunnies in space are a bit lost on my kids. The mech, car and 3-in-1 are presumably just updates on what already sells well to ensure business as usual.

@Binnekamp said:
"Leave it to the Monkie kid theme to consolidate three 10 euro sets into one 30 euro set for no reason. Because the theme is too good to dirty itself with lower price range sets, it seems."

My understanding is that the theme is expressly targeting China's growing upper-middle class, so the prices are higher to appeal to that market. I don't think LEGO has high sales expectations for the theme outside of that market.

I don't know anything about Monkie Kid himself, but I find the MK line to have some really awesome (White Dragon Horse Jet had some very interesting building techniques) and fun (a ramen bowl tank) sets. They're usually a good value too. I'm excited by the silliness of the Moon Cake set (a bunny-driven mech and carrot radars), and the City of Lanterns looks really fun.

After 30 years the Airport Shuttle turns into a Pig Train.

@GrizBe:
Or, Ninjago Repackaged For People Who Want Nothing To Do With Japan, aka China.

@Roloff:
Ah, right, forgot to mention that little bit of copyright infringement in my previous post.

It will take quite a bit of work to convert 80036 into a Ninjago City modular. Many will try, and if you're actually good enough to pull it off you can probably build your own NC expansion de novo.

That yin yang cup of noodles is amazing

First thought of seeing preview picture of City of Lanterns - wow, another block of Ninjago City! Sadly, it is not:(

in my opinion the sets are very nice but most are very overpriced. the only one that I think is not overpriced is 80036 but that already costs a lot of money.

Okay, I gotta admit. The Monkie Kid sets hadn't really been my cup of tea up to now; but the City of Lanterns is massively impressive. It's kinda reminiscent of Ninjago City, but on a more manageable scale (and price!), and looks pretty great in its own right, too.

On a side note, thanks to those above who pointed out the various references - especially the Time-Cruisers droids and the Bohrok logo, those two are my favourites! :D

bravo these look awesome

Always been take it or leave it with this theme, but City Of Lanterns looks phenomenal. Potential day one purchase.

The robot figures in 80036 are same design as the Time Cruisers robot in 6494 Mystic Mountain Time Lab. :)

@illennium said:
" @Lordmoral said:
" @UK67Mac said:
"City of Lanterns looks soo good"

Indeed, this is something I will be aiming for, hopefully it is closed on the back."

It is open in the back. The set page shows multiple images of the set from various angles. You can also see that it's open in the main image above if you look through the transparent doors on the top floor."

A shame, but I can work with that.

I am impresed. But as usual buildings steal all the spotlight

I like how the Lantern City pays homage to some of the more underrated themes such as Znap, TimeCruisers, and Hero Factory!

“Ninjago-but-for-China” makes for a fairly unexciting theme. But there are some colors to love.

There is a lot to like here!

It looks like Monkie Kid is new Ninjago to Lego

More great Monkie Kid sets! I love the City of Lanterns set especially - it feels like a smaller, more affordable version of Apocalypseburg or the Ninjago City sets. The prices on some of these sets are still too high in the US, though. Very happy to see better prices in Europe (especially in Euros) but I wish the US prices were $10-20 lower on most of these.

Not a collector of Monkie kid sets but I do like the city of Lanterns and the car they gimme me a slight ninjago vibe! But all very good sets I look forward to the other themes for January now I wonder what City has in store!!

Seeing a spaceship with a great PPP is kind of amazing, especially since it’s also a Monkie Kid set. City of Lanterns is probably the best one, though.

The Moon Cake Factory is really odd and trippy and will probably be my first Monkie Kids set.

Overall, the Monkie Kid sets for 2022 look fantastic.

Oh I love these! Nezha's Fire Ring especially looks siiick!

Also the Moon Cakes set is a wonderfully creative Chinese folktale (citation needed) reference!

@Aanchir said:
" @ComfySofa said:
" @illennium said:
"I have most or all of the Monkie Kid sets to this point but I don't watch the cartoon. Does anyone know if there is an in-universe reason why the Sandy character went from a bigfig to a regular minifig? It's nice to not have to keep overpaying for a bigfig that I already have a few of, so this is great from a practical perspective, but seems strange to just shrink down a main character like that."

I was just about to ask the same thing... I haven't watched all of the cartoons yet (though I really like them, as does my son 7 and my nephew 24).

I'm torn because I'd like to see alternative bigfigs of Sandy, but I expect that's unrealistic, even for this theme which seems to be throwing caution to the wind in several areas to make a good impression in China. The minifig Sandys seem nicely designed, but I'd need an in-universe rationale to feel fully OK about it, otherwise it seems to be just a compromise for manufacturing cost reasons."

Truth be told, I think it's great that they're providing a minifig version of Sandy even if he's not any smaller in the story, since this way there can be a version that's compatible with buildings, scenery, accessories, and vehicles even if they're not specially designed for bigfigs.

It's sort of like how 70810 and 80016 had downscaled versions of Metalbeard and the Demon Bull King, or how 5000022 5003084, 76141, 76237, etc. include downscaled versions of the Hulk and Thanos.

Sure, a Sandy minifig might not look perfectly accurate compared to other characters in the scene — but if you want to role-play a scene of all MK's allies gathering at Pigsy's noodle shop, Sandy being imprisoned by Lady Bone Demon, etc, spares you the trouble of having to redesign the entire scene to accommodate a bigfig. And a minifig like this can even serve as a "chibi" or "microscale" version of that character.

None of that is to say that an in-story explanation would be bad, though — I feel like it'd make a great story to have one of the villains sap Sandy's size and strength, and have him have to adapt to those changes after becoming so used to his life as a powerful giant!

For that matter, a story like that could even be prefaced with Sandy becoming frustrated and self-conscious about being so much bigger and stronger than everybody else. It'd be a great setup for a kid-friendly "body positive" message about becoming comfortable in your own skin and embracing the attributes that make you unique/different."

All great points, especially about a minifig version being easier to play with in most of the sets. I suppose it would be pretty annoying for Sandy if he couldn't visit any of the cool locations in the City of Lanterns :)

I'm actually not too sure why they made Sandy a bigfig to start with. Not that the MK versions of the classic characters necessarily have much in common with their legendary counterparts, but Sandy was never known as being larger or stronger than the rest of the adventuring companions.

The TV show will no-doubt have a good/crazy storyline reflecting the size change, which will put me at ease for sure.

City of Lanterns is of course fantastic. I think I might even prefer the side by side layout, although that does seem to lose the monorail.

80033 is a "maybe" because I'm not especially into mechs, but the others are all at least "probably", with 80036 being "must-have". They had me at "Monkie Kid spaceship"; I didn't even need to see it to know I wanted it!

I wonder if the smaller Ninjago City modular add-on was confused with the City of Lanterns - which does look like an extremely awesome and fun set, especially with that LEGO store referencing the new ones opening in China where MK takes place.
I also hope to get the Chang'e Moon Factory, my mom loves all things bunny rabbits so she'd probably be willing to get it for me.
As for the other ones, I might get Monkie Kid's Staff Creations for the figs (because the builds all seem unfinished and it would've been a much better idea to sell all three models separately) and Mei's Dragon Car because it gives me Katana 4x4 vibes.

I like the new chopsticks piece, the arm/side leg prints, as well as the possible return of trans medium blue! As someone above mentioned, I believe that neon lime green color looks new.

@WesterBricks:
Their appearances vary so much I’m not sure if that’s Olli/Ollie the dragon or Brickley the sea serpent. I think Brickley is associated more with LEGOLAND over LEGO Stores, while Ollie is probably more interchangeable, but you’d need to see if there’s anything to represent wings on the back to know for sure.

@ComfySofa:
In the original text, Sandy was made to look like a monster as punishment for some offense, and I believe is often depicted as an ogre as a result. He probably didn’t get any special powers, or enhancements, so I’m not sure why they made him a bigfig. He’d have to be pretty wimpy to not at least gain abnormal strength from being supersized to that extreme.

It is interesting that Nezha's story was shown on the TV screen of 80023: Monkie Kid's Team Dronecopter. Then LEGO made a set for Nezha.

This reminds me of how future products are hinted in those LEGO designer videos.

These sets have some great stuff.
Unlikely I will be able to afford any of it though (except maybe buying loose parts from Bricks & Pieces)

The price-to-part ratios don't look that bad, but the majority of the sets themselves seem smaller than they should be for the price point. I do love Nezha's Fire Ring looks like a $70 or $80 set to me. Don't even get me started with the Moon Cake Factory's pricing.

Now I have a reason to build the spaceship PUG-Z from the LEGO Worlds game... the trans-orange windscreen in 80032 will be a perfect fit for the main windscreen. Sadly, it looks like it will be a Mars Mission variant (white with some orange) with that transparent color.

If only it came in trans-black!

I love 80030! It reminds me of 2000s LEGO Creator (Max and Tina), well, the non-juniorized parts anyway :) As well as Emmet's and Lucy's Builder Boxes from TLM2. I'm pleasantly surprised that it appears, based on the piece count and the box art, that you can build all three at once! If I were to get one Monkie Kid set, it might be this one!

But I'd also like 80031 and 80036... if prices are as competitive as suggested, I might have to add Monkie Kid to the list of themes I collect against my original plan of not collecting most themes outside of City, Creator, Classic and Friends when I returned to the hobby. (I just audited my Super Mario collection and the amount I paid for what I have now is enough for a Switch Lite and at least three games... but I'm still really happy with my collection.)

A carrot rocket and bunnies? That's an instant buy :o)

"Monkie Kid's staff creations" kinda reminds me of the BIONICLE master builder set 10023

Also, they seem to be using CG for all of their retail promo images instead of actual photos now, which is simultaneously interesting and slightly disappointing.

Anyone else spot the Classic Space parody in 80032

Also I'm just going to say it. I think Monkie Kid is the best original Lego theme in a long time purely for the sheer creativity and colour and madness of the sets. I really might have to invest in some of these!

Positively impressed at the £ prices for theses bad boys.

The moon-bunny spaceship gave me some odd feelings when I first saw it- and I just realized why! It's white and orange- Mars Mission coloured!
Might actually pick it up because of that!

And that fire ring vehicle looks dope. Wonder if the wheel actually spins.

Personally I'm not really a fan of The City of Lanterns.
Colours are muted and there doesn't seem to be much of interest on the inside. Also- a LEGO store? That just feels kinda gross.
The more I look at it, the less I like it.
Shame, from the name leaking yesterday I had hoped to convert it into a companion to Ninjago City Gardens.

The mechs head-shaping is nice. Aside from that I'm not too fond of it.
Also- is it even a "mech" if no one is inside of it?

Well it looks like this is where I pick up a modular Lego store!

@ToaofPlastic:
By your username, you should be fully aware that they were using CGI product images two decades ago. There’s probably not a single Bionicle set that included an actual photograph for the main artwork, either film or digital. Many characters had impossible poses because they altered the angle of single-piece limb elements (look at Tahu Nuva’s knees).

@alegrispa:
Judging by just the images shown here, someone probably stands in the chest, making their own head the real head of the mech. But they were only able to show one minifig inside a vehicle, and chose to put Monkie Kid in the car instead.

@Astro said:
"I am very happy to see a HERO FACTORY reference on The City of Lanterns! This is the first HERO FACTORY reference on a set from what I remember. I already added this to HeroPedia, and I hope LEGO throws more HERO FACTORY in the future!"

I was pleased with the monorail logo making a come back just above it.

I misspoke in my earlier comment: I meant 80035 is a "must-have" because spaceship!

Looking at 80034 I immediately thought of the Secret Wars Doom Roller. I now want to suggest that Lego look to Mattel's Secret Wars line an release Lego versions of those toys in a future Lego Marvel line.
I would love a Tower Of Doom with Doctor Doom, Kang, Zemo, Hobgoblin, Captain America, Iron Man and black suit Spider-Man (the figure I owned and played with since you ask ; )).

None of my local LEGO stores are stocking Monkie Kid any more, is anyone else having this problem?

I love the City of Lanterns set, but I wish it was in Modular Format like the Ninjago City sets

Woah! Those are all very cool.

80036 is to Ninjago City what 76108 is to standard modular buildings.

One more range destined to fail...

@Norikins :
Looks compatible, but isn’t?

These sets are bonkers! So much creativity and fun oozing from them. They just pop. The designers outdid themselves for these.

@Boettner_Builds said:
"None of my local LEGO stores are stocking Monkie Kid any more, is anyone else having this problem?"

LEGO shops in the UK have stopped stocking MK too, at least the few I've been to have.

I'm really hoping it does well in China so they keep designing and manufacturing these crazy sets. If they make them for China I'm convinced they'll continue to make them available in other major markets, even if it's only online and in smaller numbers.

@ComfySofa said:
" @Boettner_Builds said:
"None of my local LEGO stores are stocking Monkie Kid any more, is anyone else having this problem?"

LEGO shops in the UK have stopped stocking MK too, at least the few I've been to have.

I'm really hoping it does well in China so they keep designing and manufacturing these crazy sets. If they make them for China I'm convinced they'll continue to make them available in other major markets, even if it's only online and in smaller numbers."

I hope so too! I don’t like all of them, but there are a couple in each wave that are truly awesome!