LEGO® Monkie Kid™ review: 80048 The Mighty Azure Lion

The next set we are going to look at from the June 2023 wave of LEGO® Monkie Kid releases is 80048 The Mighty Azure Lion. As you will see, that's a bit of a misnomer, since a lot of the interesting new pieces are actually Dark Turquoise, but I'm splitting lion hairs here and really ought to get on with the review!

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO® Monkie Kid 80048 The Mighty Azure Lion
US$79.99/ £64.99/ 74.99€/ AU$102.99
789 parts
Released 1 June 2023
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Reloured elements in 80048 The Mighty Azure Lion

There are no new moulds in this set, but we are treated to half a dozen interesting recolours, all of which are unique to this set at time of release:

• 3x Creature Body Part, Dragon Head Lower Jaw with Pointy Chin in Bright Light Orange (6437981 | 80017)
• 1x Windscreen 4x4x4 2/3 with Handle in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6443074 | 11289) 
• 5x Garage Roller Door Section without Handle in Earth Blue/Dark  Blue (6443841 | 4218)
• 2x Large Figure Weapon, Barrel with 2 Pin Holes and 3 Axle Holes in Dark Azure (6443849 | 98585)
• 1x Weapon Hilt Symmetric in Warm Gold/Pearl Gold (6378168 | 66909) - previously seen in Matallic Gold in several other Monkie Kid sets but now also in Pearl Gold 
• 1x Brick Special 1x2x1 2/3 with 4 Studs on 2 Sides in Transparent Clear (6411394 | 80796)

The latter piece is interesting: this is only the second appearance of this double-sided SNOT brick. The first was a Trans-Orange version in 80034 Nezha's Fire Ring which I reviewed last year. Surprisingly, it is yet to appear in an opaque colour. (EDITOR - Brick Special 1x2x1 2/3 with 4 Studs on 2 Sides (80796) actually appeared in Med Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Grey in Ninjago City Markets as we highlighted. There were a LOT of new elements in that set to keep track of!)

Rare elements in 80048

Moving on to the rare parts included, these have all been seen in one other set to date:

• 1x Wave/Flame Small with Pin in Black (6426595 | 37775) - in 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech
• 4x Technic Axle and Pin Connector Angled #4 - 135° in Dark Blue (6434417 | 42156) - just in 42154 2022 Ford GT
• 2x Wedge Sloped 45° 2x4 Triple in Pearl Gold  (6357783 | 47759) - also appears in 71757 Lloyd's Ninja Mech
• 1x Hair with Long Sideburns/Sides in Bright Light Orange (6414818 | 3157) - in the Monkey King Ultra Mech
• 1x Neckwear Cape, 1 Hole, 9 Points, Black Back Print in Medium Lilac/Dark Purple (6421058 | 101636) - also in  Monkey King Ultra Mech
• 1x Animal Body Part/Plant, Tail/Neck/Branch/Trunk, Middle Section with Pin in Dark Turquoise (6410519 | 51274) - also seen in 75572 Jake & Neytiri's First Banshee Flight
• 4x Brick Curved, 3x1 with 1/3 Inverted Cutout in Dark Turquoise (6425443 | 70681) - previously came in 80044 Monkie Kid's Team Hideout
• 4x Wedge Plate 6x6 Cut Corner in Dark Turquoise (6427404 | 6106) - also in 41730 Autumn's House

The parts in the top half of the image have been seen in two other releases:

• 1x Minifig Neckwear Armor Shoulder Pads in Light Bluish Gray (6426615 | 41637) - just in Yellow Tusk Elephant and Monkey King Ultra Mech
• 2x Wedge 2x2 Facet in Bright Reddish Violet/Magenta (6208522 | 87620) - also in 60357 Stunt Truck & Ring of Fire Challenge and 43205 Ultimate Adventure Castle
• 2x Plate Special 1x2 [Side Handle Closed Ends] in Dark Turquoise (6210775 | 48336) - seen in 10312 Jazz Club and Jake & Neytiri's First Banshee Flight
• 1x Launcher Trigger, Weapon Rapid Shooter, Ridge Around Axle Hole in Medium Stone Grey/Light Bluish Gray (6361703 | 77258) - also in 76243 Rocket Mech Armor and 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant
• 1x Launcher, Weapon Rapid Shooter Six Barrel, 2 Fingers in Black (6360819 | 77257) - additionally in Rocket Mech Armor and Yellow Tusk Elephant 
• 1x Large Figure Weapon Sword with Axle in Pearl Gold (6408777 | 2601) - introduced in January 2023 in Monkey King Ultra Mech and 80040 Monkie Kid's Combi Mech

The elements in the bottom row have been included in three other releases:

• 1x Food Egg with 1.5mm Hole [Plain] in Gold Laquered/ Metallic Gold (6264068 | 53677) - previously seen in 76406 Hungarian Horntail Dragon, 75981 Harry Potter Advent Calendar 2020 and 75946 Hungarian Horntail Triwizard Challenge
• 1x Weapon Sword with Thick Crossguard (Roman Gladius) in Black (6349964 | 18034) - in Yellow Tusk Elephant, Monkie Kid's Combi Mech and 76392 Hogwarts Wizard's Chess
• 1x Wedge Plate 4x2 Left (6227662 | 41770) and Right (6227663 | 41769) in Flame Yellowish Orange/Bright Light Orange - also in 76254 Baby Rocket's Ship, 77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb and 71783 Kai's Mech Rider EVO
• 3x Slope Curved 2x2 with Stud Notches in Dark Turquoise (6344861 | 66956) - available in Monkey King Ultra Mech, 80037 Dragon of the East and 41671 Andrea's Swimming Cube 

Printed parts in 80048

There is just one unique new printed part in the set:

• 2x Tile Round 1x1 with new print in Black (6433548 | 98138pr) 

Minifigures in LEGO Monkie Kid set 80048

There are five minifigures included, three of our favourite heroes, and two adversaries. Besides a couple of the parts mentioned in the rare section above, the notable elements in these characters are as follows:

Monkie Kid

• Hair Short, Swept Up with Red Head Band Pattern in Black (6460984 | 66912pat0001) - also appears in 80046 Monkie Kid's Cloud Airship and 80049 Dragon of the East Palace from this wave, but seems to be a new Element ID for an existing part
• Head has already been in several Monkie Kid sets from the January 2023 wave
• Torso is a new print (6439706) on Bright Light Orange with black and red arms, and also appears in Monkie Kid's Cloud Airship and Dragon of the East Palace
• Legs are common to quite a few Monkie Kid sets

Monkey King

The following have already all appeared in 1 other set, Monkey King Ultra Mech:

• Minifig Head Monkie King, Gold Eyes, Headband, Medium Nougat Eyemask/Eyeshadow, Lopsided Grin/Crying print in Brick Yellow/Tan (6420291 | 101453) - additionally in 30656 Monkey King Marketplace polybag
• Torso, Tiger Fur, Yellow Robe, Black Trim print, Yellow Arms, Dark Tan Hands in Bright Light Orange (6430010 | 76382)
• Hips and White Legs with Torn Orange Pants, Black Belt, Toes print in Bright Orange/Orange  (6417776 | 101337)

Pigsy

Head and legs are fairly common in other Monkie Kid sets.

• New printed torso in Flat Silver with white arms (6445006 | 973c00pr) - unique here, although a very similar print with dfferent hightlight colours also appears as Sandy's torso in Monkie Kid's Cloud Airship, and two other Monkie Kid team members' torsos in 80047 Mei's Guardian Dragon

Azure Lion

The elements below have also been seen once before when the character appeared in Monkey King Ultra Mech:

• 1x Minifig Head Azure Lion, Yellow and Bright Light Orange Ornate Eyebrows, Magenta Eyes, Dark Purple Eyeshadow, Whist Fangs Print in Dark Turquoise (6420286 | 101448)
• 1x Hips and Black Legs with Gold/Yellow/Dark Purple Robe, Claws print in Pearl Gold (6420288 | 101450)
• 1x  Torso, Odd Arms and Hands, Dark Purple/Gold Decorations print, Left Dark Turquoise Arm and Hand, Right Black Arm and Hand in Dark Turquoise (6429288 | 76382)

Ink Demon

The Ink Demons appear to be the baddies' henchmen in the current season of Monkie Kid, and all the elements making up the minifigure have already appeared in several different releases during 2023.

Building the Mighty Azure Lion

I'm not much of a mech expert, but the fearsome feline definitely has an imposing presence once it is completed. Some of the building steps are a little bit repetitive, but that didn't spoil the enjoyment of seeing it progress as each new module was finished. The stickers definitely enhance the overall look here, and I'm glad I decided to apply them in this case. 

Pigsy, Monkie Kid and Monkey King don't appear to have much in the way of defences against this beastly creation, but I'm sure they can use their fighting skills to overcome their foes (and I have provided a tip on how to defeat the mech a little later on!)

The minifigure version of the Azure Lion can either be played with alongside the other figures, or stowed in the space for him to "drive" the mech version of the Lion. This is found by folding down the front chest panel. The figure is a snug fit, and the hatch will only close if the arms are down, but it provides a nice extra play feature.

The mech has fixed knees, a little bit of articulation at the shoulders and ankles and more freedom of movement at the hips and elbows. The head has a bit of movement, which is slightly limited in some directions mainly due to the three large bright light orange Dragon Head Lower Jaws used to depict the flowing mane. The fingers will happily curl around either the over-sized sword or mulit-barrel shooter weapon. It's also quite heavy when completed, but surprisingly sturdy and can be posed in a few action positions. Here it looks like it's about to step on a LEGO brick - careful there, fella! (Brick not included.)

Conclusion

The build was enjoyable and the resulting mech is certainly a fearsome foe for the Monkie Kid team to battle with. I am impressed by the stability of the model which I assume means it will be very durable during play. It also looks great if you choose to use it as a display piece, with the judicious use of stickers enhancing the overall finished product. 

With a price per part value of 8.2p / 10.1c ($) / 9.5c (€) for 789 pieces, it seems to be slightly more expensive than other recent LEGO Monkie Kid sets of similar size: 

• 80037 Dragon of the East (880 pieces) was 6.2p / 9.1c / 6.8c, 
• 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant (844 pieces) was 7.1p / 9.5c / 8.3c and 
• 80033 Evil Macaque's Mech (893 pieces) was 6.7p / 10.1c / 7.3c. 

Let's hope that fewer pieces for more money isn't a trend that will continue too far over the coming months. The full LEGO Monkie Kid range is now available from LEGO.com. If you enjoy our work, please consider using our affiliate links, we may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop.

READ MORE: Caz's review of LEGO® 80046 Monkie Kid's Cloud Airship

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