Review: LEGO 80023 Monkie Kid's Team Dronecopter

Today we quickly follow up with another 2021 novelty from the LEGO Monkie Kid range: the set 80023 Monkie Kid's Team Dronecopter (1462 - 139.99 €) which offers us, as the title of the product indicates, to assemble a drone capable of transporting the young hero and his friends.

And the model actually looks like a drone with its four propellers that the designer has chosen to present in a protective arch like, for example, a Helicarrier. The colored drone can take the two containers which serve as a mobile den for the Monkie Kid and his friends and we find here the principle of modular playset already seen in the large box of the range marketed since 2020, the set 80013 Monkie Kid's Team Secret HQ (1959 - 169.99 €). The two containers open to free access to a living space and an arcade room, you can also store a few minifigs.

A third container is included, it hides a cannon under the orders of Spider Queen. LEGO provides the minimum union in terms of opposition in this box, it will be necessary to invest in the set 80022 Spider Queen's Arachnoid (1170 - 109.99 €) to obtain an enemy machine at the height of this very large drone.

Be careful with the game phases with the two containers attached to the drone, they only hold via two simple clips at the CLuch Power a bit hit and miss. While handling the product, one of the two containers of the copy presented here, for example, came off.

It is possible to easily remove the four legs of the drone to play without being encumbered by these appendages. I often criticize LEGO for not providing a suitable exhibition solution for certain products, I will not complain here that I find something to present this drone in a more interesting position than to let it rest on the edge of the wings and on the integrated handle at the back.

The machine is a bit heavy, especially when it loads the two containers, but the designer has planned everything to facilitate the handling of the thing. As for the apparatus of the set 80019 Red Son's Inferno Jet (299 - 29.99 €), this drone is both a vehicle for minifigs and a handgun. The large black handle placed at the back of the construction makes it possible to grab the drone and use it like a pistol thanks to the trigger integrated under the body of the machine which triggers the expulsion of the two ammunition placed in Spring-Shooters.

The functionality seemed very interesting to me on the Red Son jet but the two ammunition here seem too undersized to really stick to the wingspan of the machine which measures 40 x40 cm. Projectiles identical to the one seen for example recently in the LEGO Marvel set 76170 Iron Man vs. Thanos would have been welcome.

One can ask the question of the interest of transforming machines for minifigs into weapons on a human scale via the integrated functionalities. We know the success of the product line that Hasbro marketed under the NERF name that turns lethal weapons into colorful children's toys, and LEGO is clearly trying to go into that field with these sets.

The look of these handguns in the LEGO version is obviously much more diluted so that they do not look like machine guns or shotguns but the principle of the grip and the trigger remains present and clearly visible. Whether this drone or the Red Son jet goes too far in this area or not is up to everyone to see, knowing that for many children the functionality will be immediately understood and used extensively.

The assembly phase of the model is rather pleasant, we alternate between a little repetitive sequences and construction of the a little more complex mechanism which allows to put the central turret in rotation and to trigger the firing of the ammunition. The instruction booklets are also really very well designed with readable perspectives and extremely detailed assembly sequences which increases the number of pages in the process. We feel that LEGO wants to take care of its new Asian clientele by fine-tuning these types of details.

We do not escape a very large sheet of stickers but most of them are easily applied and even if they greatly contribute to the aesthetics of the model, it is possible to do without some of these stickers without disfiguring too much. the machine.

The grip of the drone also makes it possible to manage the orientation of the upper turret via the integrated dial just above the handle. It is well done, the wheel falls just under the thumb even with children's hands. My son immediately thought of NERF's Terradrone with which he had fun for a long time tracking my dog ​​through the apartment.

The minifig endowment is fairly balanced with Monkie Kid, Mei, Mr Tang, Fei, Sandy and Mo the cat on one side and Spider Queen, Huntsman, Syntax and Red Son on the other. There is plenty of fun without having to go back to the cash register immediately even if Spider Queen seems a little helpless without her mechanical spider.

As with the other sets in the range, LEGO deploys all its know-how in pad printing and molding here. The usual technical faults such as the pallor of certain white pad-printed areas on dark parts are there, but the finish is generally very satisfactory. The Spider Queen cape is a rigid plastic element, the rendering is and the lifespan of this accessories take advantage of this technical choice.

Again, it will be difficult to really get attached to the different characters without seeing the animated series that features them and develops their personality a bit. As it stands, we understand who the good guys and the bad guys are, but the real issues will no doubt escape the youngsters beyond the relationship between the forces of good very colorful and those of evil with darker and threatening hues.

The products in the Monkie Kid range are also a bit expensive and you will have to pay 140 € to afford this box. Note that this wave of sets will not be marketed in LEGO stores, it will only be sold online and only on the official store.

It's creative, the subject dealt with here is interesting and it mimics a modern machine rather well converted to make a transport drone more attractive than the usual ships or classic planes. The modularity allowed by the fixing of the two containers on the sides of the drone will appeal to the youngest even if the fixing system seems a little light to me. Now it's up to you to see if the barely "hidden" function of this drone fits your philosophy when it comes to children's toys.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 12, 2021 next at 23pm. "The" I try, I participate "are automatically deleted, make an effort.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.