LEGO® Monkie Kid™ review & MOC: 80037 Dragon of the East

Released as the smallest set in the mid-2022 wave of LEGO® Monkie Kid™ Series 3, 80037 Dragon of the East is a fun playset featuring two baddies pitted against our hero Monkie Kid and Mr Tang. Let's take a look at the interesting elements found in the set, before I use some of them in a creation of my own!

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO® Monkie Kid™ 80037 Dragon of the East
US$79.99/ £54.99/ 59.99€/ AU$99.99
880 parts
1 June 2022
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New moulds, printed parts & recolours

We have one new mould in this set, in the form of minifigure headwear for the Dragon of the East:

• 1x Hair and Crown, Long Curly with Beard, Golden Crown print in Bright Reddish Violet/Magenta (6396625 | 1893) - unique to this set

We get one printed element (all other decorations are by means of stickers):

• 2x Tile Round 1 x 1 with Red/Yellow Eye print in Black (6379711 | 90468) - also in 76207 Attack on New Asgard besides this release

The set also includes three unique recolored elements:

• 1x Windscreen 6 x 6 x 3 Dome with Dual 2 Fingers in Transparent Medium Reddish Violet/Trans-Dark Pink (6391774 | 52979)
• 5x Animal/Plant, Coral/Sea Weed in Magenta (6390725 | 49577)
• 1x Weapon Sword, Blade with Bar, Double Edge in Trans-Dark Pink (6389863 | 23860)

Rare Elements

There are four elements which have only been seen in one other set:

• 1x Dish 4 x 4 with 4 Studs in Dark Stone Grey/Dark Bluish Gray (6381788 | 65138) - previously in 75322 Hoth AT-ST
• 2x Plate Round 1 x 1 with Hollow Stud and Horizontal Bar 1L in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6333124 | 32828) - was a new recolour when this was released, but now also appears in 80040 Monkie Kid's Combi Mech which I recently reviewed
• 5x Propeller 3 Blade 3 Diameter with Pin Hole in Warm Gold/Pearl Gold (6322046 | 65768) - previously seen in 10294 Titanic, which only contained 3
• 2x Plate Special 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal [Thick Open O Clip] in Flame Yellowish Orange/Bright Light Orange (6360108 | 52738) - seen in 21173 The Sky Tower from 2021

There are five elements which have only been seen in two other sets:

• 2x Plate Round Corner 2 x 6 Double in Magenta (6133853 | 18980) - in 41699 Pet Adoption Café and 40648 Money Tree
• 4x Bar Holder with Clip in Magenta (6291413 | 11090) - just in two other Trolls: World Tour sets from 2020
• 8x Slope Curved 2 x 2 with Stud Notches in Dark Turquoise (6344861 | 66956) - first appeared in A Friends release in 2021, now also in 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech which Thomas Jenkins recently reviewed for us
• 1x Tile 3 x 3 Curved, Macaroni in Medium Stone Grey/Light Bluish Gray (6385740 | 79393)
• 2x Minifig Neckwear Scuba Breathing Regulator in Dark Turquoise (6368330 | 24135) - found singly in two other Monkie Kid releases, we get two here

The following have been seen in three other sets: 

• 2x Hinge Plate 2 x 4 with Articulated Joint - Female in White (6310912 | 3640)
• 6x Tile 45° Cut 2 x 2 in Dark Turquoise (6334128 | 35787)
• 7x Tile Special 1 x 2 with Sloped Walls AKA Money/Gold Bar [Ingot] in Dark Turquoise (6391344 | 99563)
• 1x Wave / Flame with Clip in Transparent Bright Green/Trans-Bright Green (6375785 | 80519)

Minifigures

The notable parts from the four minifigures are as follows:

Monkie Kid

The hair is common, while the torso & legs are found in 4 other Monkie Kid releases from 2022.

• 1x Minifig Head Monkie Kid, Goggles and Angry Mouth/Dirt Stains and Open Mouth Smile Print in Bright Yellow/Yellow (6289339 | 66721) - additionally just in 80038 Monkie Kid's Team Van

Mr Tang

The head and legs are in 4 other sets, the hair is also common.

• 1x Torso Wetsuit, Dark Turquoise Belt with Buckle, Zipper, and Circle Print, Yellow Arms and Hands in Bright Red/Red (6396814 | 76382) - unique to this set

Dragon Of The East

All pieces were unique to this set on release, with the new headgear mould detailed above. The torso has since been spotted in some Build A Minifigure stations at LEGO Brand Retail stores in Q1 2023.

• 1x Minifig Head Dragon of the East, Bushy Magenta Eyebrows and Beard, Bright Light Blue Eyes, Open Mouth/Closed Mouth Print in Yellow (6388228 | 66059)
• 1x Torso Tunic, Dark Turquoise Panel, Gold Trim print, White Arms, Yellow Hands in White - (6396788 | 76382)
• 1x Hips and Legs Under Dress/Robe with Dark Turquoise Dress, Gold Trim print in White (6289338 | 66720)

Savage/Rumble

The hair, head and torso came in several Monkie Kid sets in 2022, and the legs are very common.

Build & Play Features

The set is aimed at an 8+ audience, so there are no particularly taxing techniques on display, but it was an enjoyable build experience. 

Bag 1 contains the parts to build Monkie Kid's submarine. It's a nicely designed craft that has enough room inside the cockpit to fit Monkie Kid even while wearing his scuba flippers, and the canopy will still close. Clips along the undersides provide him with a spot to stow his staff while he's piloting the sub.

Bag 2 builds the little underwater shrine for Mr Tang to dive down to, along with the stingray-inspired craft for Rumble the Savage to pilot, both of which can be seen in the main image at the start of the article.

Bag 3 makes up the smaller submarine for the Dragon of the East minifigure while bags 4-7 construct various parts of the large dragon mech. 

I decided not to apply the stickers to the 10x10 quarter-circle curved wedge elements as I knew I wanted to use them for a MOC later. The image above shows the stickers which were meant to be applied to the wedges.

The submarine fits neatly into the rear of the dragon mech, which can be seen in the video above. The legs and tail do have a little bit of articulation but the head will easily twist around to watch you with its beady eye - so beware!

I like the colours of the mech. White, teal and magenta provide an eye-catching combination, which is set off nicely by the pearl gold accents.

The mech and both submarines are equipped with various shooters to provide some conflict if you so wish, which I'm sure quite a few of the younger Monkie Kid fans will take advantage of during play.

Torus Place: an original MOC by Caz Mockett inspired by 80037 Dragon Of The East

Those chunky 10x10 quarter round wedge elements were crying out to be used as a roof on a microscale building, at least that was my first thought when I saw them in the bag of parts. 

So I put together this Micropolis block called Torus Place, the downtown office of a cutting-edge technology firm in the heart of Micropolis.

The central courtyard houses a large fountain and some landscaping which gives the workers in the inner offices a pleasant outlook from their desks, and provides a sheltered space for getting some fresh air during their lunch break. I used the various teal tiles that also came in the set as decorative elements on the roof.

The areas outside the donut on the plot are also extensively planted with various shrubs and trees, including some vary rare Magenta specimens. I'm sure the remaining parts from this set will fuel some more MOCs in the future, and I'm looking forward to finding inspiration from them.

Conclusion

As the smallest set in the Q3 wave of Monkie Kid releases during 2022, this offers some fun play features and a well-designed mech at reasonable value for money - especially in the UK and Europe, with price to part values of 6.2p and 6.8c respectively. The noticeably higher cost in the US market pushes this up to 9.1c. I feel the set will offer plenty of play potential for younger fans and an interesting selection of unique or rare parts for those who prefer to use them for MOCs.

 

Editor: Chris Baginski

READ MORE: What are the new LEGO® parts for March 2023?

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