LEGO® Monkie Kid review & MOCs: 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring

80034 Nezha's Fire Ring was part of the January 2022 wave of the LEGO® Monkie Kid theme. Let's take a look at the interesting elements to and build the set, before we have a play with some of the parts.

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO® Monkie Kid 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring
US$99.99/ £69.99/ 79.99€/ AU$129.99
929 parts
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New Mould in 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring

I was a little surprised that this set contains a unique new mould, and have not seen mention of it anywhere else despite this element being around for almost 12 months now:

• 6x Brick Special 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with Four Studs on 2 Sides in Transparent Bright Orange/Trans-Orange (6370565 | 80796)

It looks to be a useful element for changing the build direction and will give added stability compared to using the 1x1 equivalent which only has studs on one side (32952). Transparent orange is a good choice for this model and I would assume that we may start to see it appear in other colours in due course.

Exclusive Recoloured Elements

Apart from the round 3x3 brick, the following are all recolours which are unique to this set:

• 8x Vehicle Track, Roller Coaster, Curve in Warm Gold/Pearl Gold (6355720 | 25061)
• 1x Windscreen 6 x 4 x 1 1/3 Pointed in Trans-Orange (6371467 | 35372) - has appeared in Trans-Neon Orange before, but never in the regular Trans Orange until now
• 8x Wave/Flame Rounded Large [Plain] in Trans-Orange (6371449 | 28577) - the first time this element has appeared as a single transparent colour, previously seen in 8 different dual-moulded colourways
• 4x Brick Round 3 x 3 x 2 with Recessed Center with 2 x 2 Studs and Axle Hole in Black (6375973 | 73111) - first appeared in this set, but now also subsequently in 75336 Inquisitor Transport Scythe 

Rare Elements

The following have all appeared in just one other set:

• 1x Neckwear Cape, Two Long Tails, Pointed in Bright Red/Red (6375190 | 84433) - also in 80039 The Heavenly Realms
• 1x Neckwear Cape, Two Long Tails, One Hole in Dark Red (6379424 | 60463) - in 80033 Evil Macaque’s Mech 
• 1x Minifig Neckwear Armor Shoulder Pads in Medium Lilac/Dark Purple (6353889 | 41637) - also seen in 80028 The Bone Demon
• 1x Minifig Neckwear Armor Shoulder Pads in Lavender (6377670 | 41637) - also in The Heavenly Realms
• 1x Minifig Neckwear Cloth in Dark Red (6372263 | 34685) - also in Evil Macaque’s Mech 
• 2x Cloud/Dust with Bar in Transparent Bright Bluish Violet/Trans-Purple (6375972 | 68547) - also in 80035 Monkie Kid's Galactic Explorer
• 1x Minifig Hipwear Tail, Monkey in Black (6342023 | 75513) - additionally in 80024 The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain
• 1x Animal Body Part, Dog Bone [Short] in Glow in Dark White (6345509 | 93160) - also in The Bone Demon

These elements have appeared in two other sets:

• 2x Large Figure Armor Plate, Small in Titanium Metallic/Pearl Dark Gray (6266130 | 28220) - in 76902 McLaren Elva and 76139 1989 Batmobile
• 1x Chain 16L in Transparent Light Blue/Trans-Light Blue (6365807 | 39763) - also in 76216 Iron Man Armory and The Bone Demon

These elements have been seen in three other sets, having both appeared in 80031 Mei’s Dragon Car and Evil Macaque’s Mech as well as the sets listed below:

• 13x Wave/Flame with Clip in Trans-Orange (6375788 | 80519) - also in 80036 The City of Lanterns
• 1x Wave/Flame with Clip in Trans-Purple (6375783 | 80519) - also in Monkie Kid's Galactic Explorer

Minifigs in 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring

The set includes six minifigures and a skeleton who wanted to get in on the photoshoot. The unusual parts for each are as follows:

Monkey King

The Monkey King's elements have all appeared in several other Monkie Kid sets.

Monkie Kid

Monkie Kid has a unique head, torso and legs in this set, although the hair is fairly common in other releases from the theme:

• 1x Minifig Head Monkie Kid, Red Visor with Gold Frame/Angry Open Mouth Print in Bright Yellow/Yellow (6366649 | 81242)
• 1x Torso Armor, Gold and Dark Red Plating, Circle with Chinese Character Print, Bright Light Orange Arms with Gold, Dark Red, and Dark Turquoise Armor Print, Yellow Hands in Red (6375861 | 76382)
• 1x Hips and Red Legs with Dark Red, Gold, and Dark Turquoise Armor, Gold Toes Print in Red (6366646 | 81280)

Nezha

Nezha has unique head & legs for this set, while the hair & torso have also been in 80039 The Heavenly Realms.

• 1x Hair Two Top Buns in Black (6370564 | 80792)
• 1x Minifig Head Nezha, Big Eyebrows, Red Forehead Markings, Stern/Smirk with Raise Left Eyebrow Print in Yellow (6366645 | 81209)
• 1x Torso Armor, Gold, Lavender, and Dark Turquoise Panels Print, Yellow Arms and Hands in Red (6376476 | 76382)
• 1x Hips and Dark Turquoise Legs with Gold and Lavender Armor Print in Bright Bluish Green/ Dark Turquoise (6366648 | 81241)

Evil Macaque

These have also appeared in one other set, Evil Macaque’s Mech, apart from the tail

• 1x Hair and Sideburns, Messy with Nougat Ears Print in Black (6366665 | 81270)
• 1x Minifig Head Evil Macaque, Dark Red Around Gold Eyes, Smirk Showing 1 Fang/Angry Showing Teeth Print in Nougat (6366636 | 81169)
• 1x Torso Armor, Ornate with Silver, Gold, and Dark Red Panels Print, Black Arms, Nougat Hands in Black (6375837 | 76382)
• 1x Minifig Hipwear Tail, Monkey in Black (6342023 | 75513) - also in The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain
• 1x Hips and Black Legs with Dark Red and Gold Armor, Bright Light Orange Sash, Ornate Belt Print in Black (6366638 | 81178)

Savage

The Savage's elements have all appeared in quite a few other Monkie Kid releases.

White Bone Demon

These elements have all appeared in just one other set, The Bone Demon:

• 1x Hair 6 Spikes, High Bun, Long Sides in White (6351757 | 77374) 
• 1x Minifig Head White Bone Demon, Magenta Lips, Red Eyes and Smile with Teeth/Black Eyes and Closed Mouth Smile Print in White (6349736 | 78924)
• 1x Torso Armor, White Bones, Dark Purple and Lavender Stomach Print, White Arms and Hands in Black  (6356549 | 76382)
• 1x Hips and Legs Under Dress/Robe with Light Bluish grey Chains, White/Dark Purple Decorations (Spider Queen) in Black (6349738 | 78926)

Skeleton

Just a regular skelly! But I thought it should get a mention in the minifigure section since you can never have too many skeletons!

The Build & Play Features

As an 8+ set, the build didn't involve anything too difficult, with most of the steps in the instructions adding just a handful of pieces each time. Bag 1 builds a little hovering craft for Monkey Kid and the fuselage of the menacing-looking craft piloted by the Evil Macaque. The engine pods are finished off in bag 2, and bag 3 sees the beginnings of Nezha's Fire Ring - namely constructing the ring itself. It was a bit repetitive to build and not easy on the fingers with lots of clip pieces and small fiddly flames that kept falling off. Bags 4, 5 and 6 build the fuselage and two sides to finish off this unusual monowheel. Bags 7 and 8 give us a staircase up to the imposing throne of the White Bone Demon complete with jail cell underneath and a cage from which to suspend an unsuspecting Monkey King as prisoner.

The flames and engines of the Fire Ring were also rather fiddly to position and the ones attached via Plate Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud and Bar on Underside (79194) were particularly prone to being knocked off. I wonder how well they will survive during normal kids' play.  

The fire ring has a cool rolling motion which I was hoping for when I first saw the box art. It takes a bit of a push to get it going and the fuselage sways a bit in the process, but is fine once it gets going.

Original Builds Inspired by 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring

Monkie Kid Habitats

My first thought was to build a little stack of Minifigure Habitats for most of the main characters, since they have such interesting printing and I wanted to keep a flavour of the set with each one. The White Bone Demon's throne is a cut-down version from the original, with a few extra embellishments, while the Evil Macaque and his buddy Savage are standing in a habitat made to match their outfits.  Monkey Kid can be seen flying above on an enlarged cloud, with a fiery background.

Holiday Wreath

I thought the golden roller coaster track would make the perfect frame for a Holiday Wreath. I've had the big spiky leaves in my parts collection for ages and have been wondering what to do with them, so this looked like a good opportunity to use them for something appropriate. Below I show the various steps needed to make one for yourself, with a parts list at the end. 

The leaves are attached to the ring via a minifigure posing stand and 1x1 plate with clip on top. A 1x1 round red tile adds some holly berry colour. You will need 16 of these to build one yourself. I added another couple of round tiles to each of the "holly" clumps to break up the symmetry once the leaves were all in place.

I still have loads of these pearl gold flourishes left from those I found at a Pick A Brick wall a while ago. You will need 8 of these for decorating the top, bottom and sides of the wreath.

The spiky leaves and curly adornments are attached to the ring with their clips as shown above. Some fiddling around was needed with the positions of the clip and bent bar combination to get the leaves to sit nicely on top of the ring, but it worked out in the end. The rear of the ring is held together at each joint by the 2x2 pearl gold plates which were included in the set. I attached a string element to two of these to hang the wreath.

 

The spaces between the spiky leaves are filled with more greenery made from 4 of the small limb elements. They sit on a 1x1 rounded-end plate and are secured with a carrot top. Add some flowers and then attach the whole thing to the ring by connecting the plate's middle hollow antistud to the 2x2 jumper holding the ring together. You will need 4 of these assemblies.

Parts needed for the Wreath:

The following are all to be found in the original set's inventory:

• 4x Vehicle Track, Roller Coaster, Curve in Pearl Gold (6355720 | 25061)
• 4x Plate 2 x 2 in Pearl Gold (6347982 | 3022)
• 4x Plate Special 2 x 2 with Groove and Center Stud (Jumper) in Pearl Gold (6186383 | 87580)

These parts were taken from my own collection:

• 16x Plant, Palm Leaf Large 10 x 5 in Green (4160957 | 2518)
• 16x Bar, Angled with Stud on End in Green  (6382575 | 65578)
• 24x Tile Special 1 x 1 with Clip with Rounded Edges in Sand Green (6348059 | 15712)
• 24x Tile Round 1 x 1 in Red (98138 | 6284574)
• 8x Plate Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud in Pearl Gold (6190252 | 85861)
• 8x Ornament with Bar in Pearl Gold (6172437 | 28870)
• 16x Plant, Leaves 4 x 3 in Green (6268814 | 2423)
• 4x Plate Special 1 x 2 Rounded with 2 Open Studs in Green (picture shows Dark Tan) (6210271 | 35480)
• 8x Plant, Carrot Top in Reddish Brown (6078605 | 33183)
• 20x Plant, Flower, Minifig Accessory with 7 Thick Petals and Pin in White (6338913 | 32606)
• 1x String with End Studs and Minifig Grips 21L in White (6096959| 14210)

Conclusion

The monowheel is certainly a substantial vehicle and the set also features the baddies' ride and some decent-sized side builds. But even then it does not seem to feel quite like a £70 set - and the price is even more steep for US customers, giving a price to part value of 7.5p/10.8c ($)/8.6c (€). Having said that, there are some interesting exclusive recolours and a new mould which promises to be useful. The minifigure selection is good with a nice mix of characters we've seen before and some containing exclusive prints.

As it stands, I feel the set is a bit on the expensive side but if you can find it at a healthy discount or wait for some interesting GWPs then it will be worth picking up.

Editor: Chris Baginski

READ MORE: What are the new LEGO® parts for December 2022 and which sets contain the most?

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