Monkie Kid

Erlang's Celestial Mech

The mech legs alone nearly sold me on the whole box.

Brick Rated Score

3.9/5

Set 80065 · 2025

Pieces806

Minifigs5

Year2025

Set number80065

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The verdict

This is one of those sets where the engineering quietly outshines the box art.

The legs are genuinely some of the best mech legs I have built, the minifigure lineup pulls straight from Journey to the West, and for 806 pieces you get a lot of poseable presence. It sits on the pricey side per piece, and Monkie Kid is a niche theme that not everyone connects with, so it lands squarely as a very good set with a couple of honest caveats. If you love articulated mechs or Chinese mythology, this one will make you happy.

Best for: mech builders and fans of Journey to the West mythology

The full review

What it is

The first thing that got me with Erlang's Celestial Mech was the stance. This is a genuinely well engineered mech, and the legs are the part I keep coming back to, because they hold a pose without flopping and give the whole figure a sense of weight that a lot of LEGO mechs miss. It stands about as a proper action figure should, with an articulated body, a cockpit, two stud shooters, a giant golden spear and a fabric cape that finishes the silhouette. Add the hoverbike with its floating cloud and the little Celestial Dog, and you have a set built around one hero model that actually earns the spotlight. It draws straight from the legend of Erlang, the three eyed warrior god of Journey to the West, and that mythology runs right through the design.

The catch

There are two things I owe you straight. At an 89.99 recommended price for 806 pieces, this is not the cheapest way to fill a shelf, and the price per piece runs a touch high for what you get in raw brick count. The saving grace is the minifigures, which reviewers value at roughly 48 dollars, so more than half the sticker is essentially the five figures and the dog. The other thing worth saying plainly is that the mech is so clearly the centerpiece that the hoverbike and cloud feel like modest sidekicks rather than equal builds. And Monkie Kid is a niche theme. If the characters and the Chinese mythology behind them do not speak to you, some of the appeal simply will not connect the way it does for fans of the show.

Who it's for

The people I would hand this to are easy to picture. If you love mechs, especially poseable ones with real articulation, the build alone justifies a spot in your collection, and the legs are worth experiencing for the technique. If you have any affection for Journey to the West or the Monkie Kid series, the minifigure selection is a small treasure, with Erlang Shen and the Monkey King anchoring a lineup that leans hard into the source myth. The people I would gently steer away are collectors chasing pure part count value or anyone cool on the theme, because the price rewards enthusiasm more than it rewards bargain hunting. For everyone in the sweet spot, though, this is an easy set to enjoy.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building this is a satisfying two hours or so, and the pacing is smart. You spend the early bags on the mech's core and legs, which is exactly where the good engineering lives, so the reward comes before your attention wanders. The articulation work in the lower half uses clever joint construction that lets the finished figure actually stand and pose rather than just look the part, and it is the kind of section you slow down to appreciate. The hoverbike and cloud come together quickly afterward as lighter palate cleansers.

For parts, the draw here is more about characters than exotic elements. The five minifigures carry the value, with Erlang Shen, the Monkey King, Mr. Tang and a Celestial General bringing printed detail, and four of the figures are exclusive to this set at release. The golden spear and the fabric cape add texture you do not see in every box, and the Celestial Dog figure is a lovely mythological touch. It is not a set you buy purely to strip for rare molds, but the printed pieces and the trans and gold accent elements pull their weight, and the minifig heavy value ratio is what keeps the price honest.

Fun facts

01The set is based on Erlang Shen, the three eyed warrior god of Journey to the West who, in the legend, helped capture Sun Wukong the Monkey King with the aid of his celestial dog.
02That dog has a name in the myth, Xiaotian Quan, the howling celestial hound, and it appears here as its own small figure rather than a minifigure.
03Reviewers singled out the mech legs as some of the best they have built, a rare compliment for a set aimed at the 9 and up age range.
04The five minifigures are valued at roughly 48 dollars, more than half of the set's 89.99 recommended price.