The latest wave of Monkie Kid sets from LEGO includes three sets of various sizes, which for the most part, are similar to previous sets that include wacky overpowered vehicles and an array of villains and their bumbling minions. But this newest villain LEGO 80028 The Bone Demon is certainly one of the biggest, most uncanny creations so far. The set comes with several smaller structures and critters, from spiders to a scorpion that combines together in a nightmare Voltron-inspired monstrosity. And as if that wasn’t cool enough, there are several glow-in-the-dark elements that appear in this set for the first time that add a wow factor to an already impressive set. 80028 The Bone Demon includes 1,373 pieces and will be available on July 1 for US $119.99 | CAN $159.99 | UK £89.99.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

The box and contents

The front of the vertical box shows the assembled Bone Demon swinging its two swords at the Monkie Kid in his mech and Mei flying around with her jetpack, while the two minions stand around the gate. In addition to the usual Minifig line-up in the lower right corner, there is also an inset showing some of the glow-in-the-dark elements. Another inset in the lower left shows all of the parts involved in the final morphed form. The line-up includes two bone demon minions, the Bone Demon itself, Mei, and the Monkie Kid.

The back of the box shows the Bone Demon facing forward with three large insets showing detailed photos of the various individual models, including the Monkie Kid in his mech and Mei in her jetpack from different angles.

Inside the box are 10 numbered bags, many containing additional bags for smaller parts.

The final bag contains 3 instruction booklets, a vinyl sheet for the pennants, and a sticker sheet.

Before we get into the build, let’s take a moment to review the significant number of glow-in-the-dark elements that come in this set. First off, there are a bunch of small parts, consisting of the angled bow part, a quarter circle tile, printed skeleton heads, and 1×1 cylinders. There are also several larger sloped bricks and 8 3×3 curved quarter circle slopes as well.

The build

We start out with two identical bone spiders. Each spider has an axle protruding out where an abdomen would be which is how they attach to the shoulders of the uber demon later.

The spiders each have a black cauldron filled with bones.

Next is a small gate, which is the only part of the bone demon collection that is not involved in the final form, with the exception of the head, which attaches to the top of the gate.

[filler bag]

We’ll take a short break from assembling bone monsters to build a mech for our hero. The mech starts out with a simple pilot section with a transparent book cover used for the display panel. The arms and legs use small ball and socket joints, as well as the tail.

The mech wields one of three Monkey King staves, the largest one in the set. The Monkie Kid mech glides through the sky on a cloud-shaped powerboard. The wings of the cloud board detach and fit into Mei’s jetpack to give her a boost in the upcoming battle.

The next bag is a mix of minions and weapons, including two giant swords for the Bone Demon, and a coffin-like box that holds the Minifig of the Bone Demon in its normal form (more on that later). LAst in this batch is a smaller spider with an angled shield part for an abdomen.

The next section of the set is the torso of the Bone Demon, which also serves as a sort of throne when not assembled in the final form. There is an interesting technique to attach the socket for the tail of the scorpion, which forms the base of the completed Bone Demon.

The rest of the central torso assembly is pretty standard and includes several attachment points for the many parts of the assembled Bone Demon.

Next, we build and attach the two halves of the rib cage. Finally, there are two horn-shaped bones attached with ball joints which will rotate later to become the clavicle.

The Torso section ends with a pair of long, multi-pronged antlers that hold the two vinyl pennants and some transparent blue chains. The protective box that holds the Bone Demon in its smaller form fits in the center.

With the torso completed, we move on to the final creature in the set, a large scorpion that will be both the base of the final form, as well as the arms. The scorpion starts with a central structure with sockets at the front end for the arms to attach, along with multiple attachment points for the legs.

A number of stickers adorn the front, including a similar face to the other spider creatures in the set.

The base of the tail, which will also be the best place to hold the Bone Demon when you want to pick it up, has a very secure attachment with Technic bricks and axles. There are also a number of the angled bow glow-in-the-dark elements that give a ridged look to the finished form.

With the base complete, we move on to the tail, which is made up of some very sturdy segments. The tail is topped by two bony barbs, which flank a central ball socket that will connect to the Bone Demon torso.

Before moving on to the arms, we round out the base with 6 legs.

The Scorpion arms are made up of two sections of approximately equal length with a set of pincers at the end, along with another angled white shield element and another set of transparent blue chains.

And that brings us to the end of the final creature in the set. The scorpion is now ready to join the ranks of the soon-to-be combined Bone Demon.

The Minifigures

The set comes with a total of 5 Minifigs: The Bone Demon in human-sized form, two bone minions with the ghost base in place of legs, the Monkie Kid, and Mei. The Bone Demon includes a neutral face and a much more menacing expression.

Monkie Kid and Mei have their standard ready for action faces, along with a casual expression.

The finished model

The completed model sets the stage for a fearsome showdown between Monlie Kid and Mei against the many forces of the Bone Demon.

But wait… just because we finished building all the models, we are not done yet. Let’s put this bad boy together and see how it stacks up to the other large models in the theme, like the original Demon Bull and the mighty Monkey King.

First, we flip all the legs around on the two spiders with the bone bowls. These will become the most deadly shoulder pads ever imagined. Next, we pull the arms off of the scorpion. Then, with a flip of the end of the scorpion’s tail, the base of the Bone Demon snaps into place.

Next, the small spider fits at the top of the base, wrapping its legs around the scorpion’s tail.

After this, it’s time to add the torso, clipping the hidden ball socket at the base of the torso onto the end of the scorpion’s tail. Rotating the horns from the torso around forms the collarbones, and then we add the head from the gate.

The rib panels fold up on either side. Then the antlers with the pennants move down to attach just behind the shoulders. Finally, we add the arms and the inverted spiders just above the arms.

The fully assembled Bone Demon is quite impressive and can be easily picked up by the base and moved around. The arms are fully possible, and the model can also swivel at the waist. But I know what you are wondering… with all those glow-in-the-dark elements, how does this bad boy look in the dark? I could tell you it looks freaking awesome, but you know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words…

Conclusions and recommendations

I can honestly say that this set was as much fun to build as it is to display, and I would recommend this set to anyone who is either a fan of the Monkie Kid franchise or, is looking for a great parts pack. The price point is pretty good considering how many glow-in-the-dark elements are included, in such a wide variety of small and large curved parts. The individual components of the set are really fun, and somehow much less creepy than the spiders from the previous wave. And the Voltron-style assembled monster is well constructed, and super-cool when the lights go off. 80028 The Bone Demon will be available on July 1 for US $119.99 | CAN $159.99 | UK £89.99.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

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