Review: LEGO Monkie Kid 80025 Sandy's Power Loader Mech

Today we are quickly interested in one of the three novelties expected in the LEGO Monkie Kid range from July 1: the set 80025 Sandy's Power Loader Mech, with its 520 pieces and its retail price set at 44.99 €.

As with the rest of this range vaguely inspired by the popular legend of the Monkey King and tailor-made for the Asian market, you will have to go through the official online store to afford these three new products. LEGO does not allow resellers to market these products in France and it is only available elsewhere than in Asia because the manufacturer has one day made a commitment to no longer offer geographic exclusivity.

The purpose of the set is here to assemble an exoskeleton piloted by Sandy while the cat Mo plays the DJ at the top of the machine. Why not. The robot, about twenty centimeters high, is obviously in the colors of its pilot and the level of detail is very satisfactory. The points of articulation are numerous, rather well integrated and the members of the "loader robot" are sufficiently dressed not to look too rickety. The stability of the machine is exemplary, and the Sandy figurine does not look ridiculous under its support hoop.

The exoskeleton is equipped to go and knock out Spider Queen's men with a large combat stick on one side (Crescent Staff) "held" by three pliers but which is in fact fixed on a rotary axis via a Technic pin, and on the other a fist which can be extended to strike the enemy with a rubber band which ensures the return of the fingers towards the rest of the hand. The mechanism is basic, the designer has not made any particular effort to hide the white elastic, but the functionality is fun.

I was recently able to talk to two designers about these elastics that I find a little petty, they replied that their presence is often linked to the age group targeted by the product concerned and that their role is to offer a functionality that is easy to assemble without the need for a more complex part-based mechanism. Of which act. I also logically asked the question of the absence of a replacement copy in the box. I was simply told that these silicone rubber bands are strong and durable enough that they do not need to provide extra copies.

The back of the exoskeleton is often less detailed than the front face but we still have a retractable reactor which confirms that the machine can also fly. The two pairs of loudspeakers placed on either side of Mo's console and mounted on ball joints can be turned over to also become reactors.

In the camp opposite, the two henchmen of Spider Queen are a little under-equipped with a very small robot which is only used here as a foil to have fun with the elastic fist. The designer has added something vaguely to retaliate with a Stud Shooter but this relatively stable mini-robot will not convince many people and will encourage the acquisition of other sets with more extensive content to have enough to face Sandy with more or less equal weapons.

We stick a large handful of stickers on the two exoskeletons, difficult to escape these stickers which are graphically very successful here.

As with the sets launched at the start of the year, these new boxes feature the various heroes of this universe struggling with the minions of the evil Spider Queen. We therefore logically find two nasty henchmen in this box, Huntsman and Syntax, characters already seen identically in other sets.

The figurine of Sandy is also the one already seen in other boxes and there is only Mo the Cat who is unseen here with a satchel on the chest which replaces the white fur seen since 2020 on the previous versions of the animal.

In the end, it is beautifully executed and Sandy's exoskeleton imposes it with sufficiently bushy limbs to hide a little the different points of articulation, even if the duo of villains is struggling to find a place in this box.

We can't really blame LEGO for offering almost balanced content that invites the acquisition of other sets to improve the balance of power. As it is, it's playable, but you will have to go back to the cash register so as not to have to draw lots who will have to deal with the slightly ridiculous mini-robot. Business is business.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 27th June 2021 next at 23pm. For newcomers, know that you just need to post a comment to participate in the draw.

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.