LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant review

Breaking ground for LEGO elephants, Monkie Kid’s 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant is aptly-named and makes smart use of the limited space available.

While 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant isn’t the first brick-built animal creation in LEGO Monkie Kid, it’s the first time that such a massive number of pieces have been dedicated to an elephant model. You’ll likely be surprised at how well 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant depicts the animal while remaining a fundamentally enjoyable build, if a bit repetitive at times.

As the biggest LEGO Monkie Kid 2023 set for the new villains so far, 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant is another addition to a continually-impressive theme.

— LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant set details —

Theme: LEGO Monkie Kid Set name: 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant Release date: January 1, 2023

Price: £59.99 / $79.99 / €69.99 Pieces: 844 Minifigures: 5

LEGO: Available now

— Where to buy LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant —

LEGO Monkie Kid is likely to be reliably available at LEGO.com in all regions, though you may be able to find some models in-store too. To more likely guarantee a copy, we suggest heading to the official online store for 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant.

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— LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant build —

There are four models included in 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant but the vast majority of the 844 elements are used in the giant elephant. This scaled recreation has a great amount of curvature and natural shapes but with a distinctly mechanical look thanks to gaps in the trunk and head. It’s not clear whether this is a normal elephant or a robotic one since either would fit into the world of LEGO Monkie Kid, but even with the gaps in the head it’s a convincing depiction of an elephant entirely using non-specialised LEGO bricks.

The size of 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant is believable compared to minifigures too, able to crush a hero underneath its foot and fit at least three on its back, though not with much room to spare. It’s worth stating that this set is filled with stickers and some of them may be challenging to apply, but as long as you take your time to line them up, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

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With everything added to the elephant, there’s no space for standing any more than three or four minifigures but that seems generous given the amount of room the LEGO designers gave themselves to work with.

Atop the elephant is a wooden platform with spikes, and there’s also a folded mech with legs tucked inside the animal. It’s a clever use of what would otherwise be empty space and helps with the suitably bulky appearance of the model.

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Most of the limbs on this build are poseable too, but don’t expect to be able to balance it on one foot – in fact, most poses you experiment with will likely look the same. However, it’s still an intimidating and impressive recreation in any pose.

It’s not entirely lifeless, either, with the head providing plenty of options for posing. Moving from left to right, wiggling the ears and forcefully lifting the trunk should lead to some interesting moments, but they are unlikely to contribute a huge amount to its display value.

— LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant characters —

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There are five minifigures in 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant, with this being the only way to pick up the Yellow Tusk Elephant minifigure and its new element (other than in 80045 Monkey King Ultra Mech). For an elephant minifigure, it’s pretty convincing – though it’s possibly a bit too specific for wider use, unless you happen to like Legends of Chima, Dungeons & Dragons or another world where a bipedal elephant makes sense. (Just ignore the four extra tusks.)

Otherwise, the rest of the included minifigures help populate the model with Pigsy captured, Mei in new armour and two more Ink Demons to bolster your army of the latest villains. It’s not exactly a fair fight, but to be fair the name and subject matter of the set are heavily implying a one-sided battle. Mei will want to focus on a stealthy approach for this mission.

— LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant price —

Similar to 80044 Monkie Kid’s Team Hideout, we didn’t have immediate access to the pricing of 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant during its review but were pleasantly surprised to see the £59.99 / $79.99 / €69.99 price tag. The piece count aligns with a potentially higher price and the volume of models is near that point too, but a lower price makes this set a good deal – and as the only build dedicated to the villains in LEGO Monkie Kid 2023 so far, it’s good to see it being more accessible at a lower price point, but still suitably intimidating.

— LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant pictures —

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— LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant pros and cons —

80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant offers something new for the LEGO Group: an impressively-detailed brick-built elephant that’s genuinely fun to play with, rich with thoughtful features and presents a great use of all available space, even if it’s not a fair fight for Mei.

Those looking for a more realistic elephant may be better heading elsewhere in the LEGO portfolio, but you’d be remiss for overlooking 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant as its colourful decorations and play features only add to the appeal of the set. On top of that, the array of minifigures – some of which are harder to find – complete a great LEGO Monkie Kid 2023 set that’s absolutely worth considering.

80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant pros	80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant cons
Makes use of space for easier display, without sacrificing appearance	It’s not exactly a fair fight for Mei
Surprisingly affordable price for the volume of bricks	The hoverboard is forgettable, but it’s not a huge loss
A genuinely great LEGO elephant without using specialised pieces

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group

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— LEGO Monkie Kid 80043 Yellow Tusk Elephant FAQs —