Shy Gal’s Building Blog

Review of nanoblock Shaun the Sheep NBH_040

January 16, 2025August 11, 2024shygal

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This post is a review of the nanoblock Shaun the Sheep build. Shaun the Sheep is part of the nanoblock Sights to See collection. Wondering what else is part of the Sights to See collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBH_040

Country: UK

Difficulty Rating: 2

This build is divided into four sections: the head, the body, the tail, and the base.

The tail is a very straightforward 4 layers of white bricks.

The head begins with a layer of black bricks. The head goes up in layers, leaving gaps that create the nose. To create the eyes, you take a socket and put a round 1×1 into the socket. I’m not a fan of this technique, but it does get the job done by creating the eyes. After adding the eyes, you add the white to the top of Shaun’s head. The last part of the head is adding the ears.

I started the body on my pad but after a couple layers, I did most of the building in my hands. The body section is straightforward and creates a hollow tube for the body.

At this point, I connected the head, body, and tail together to create one complete unit.

The last section is adding the legs to the base. Creating each leg was very straightforward since all I needed to do was count 10 1x1s. The hardest part was making sure that I counted where exactly to put the build so that it was properly centered.

The last step was to add the body unit to the legs. I was surprised by how easy it was to get the body attached to the legs.

Things I liked:

How easy it was to connect the body to the legs

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like the technique for creating the eyes

Review of nanoblock Shaun the Sheep – Shaun NBH_067

January 9, 2025August 11, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Shaun the Sheep – Shaun build. Shaun is part of the nanoblock Sights to See collection. Wondering what else is part of the Sights to See collection? Click here for a list.

This is the second Shaun build. The first build was NBH_040, and Shaun stands on all 4 legs. This build has Shaun standing on 2 legs.

Number: NBH_067

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Shaun is one of the many characters in the Shaun the Sheep tv series. This build is created by connecting sets of ball joints together to create a posable sheep.

This build is broken up into 5 sections. There is the head, body, tail, arms, and legs.

The body is the first major section of the build. It begins with creating smaller builds A-E. Each section is made up of white bricks and is very straightforward. The next step is to connect sections A-E to create the actual body of the sheep. I think this is a creative way to build the body instead of it being a solid layer of bricks.

After connecting all the sections, it is time to build the tail. The tail has very simple instructions. After building the tail, it is attached to the body.

The next step is to build the head. I was able to easily build the head using my pad. The hardest part was getting the eyes in place because getting the 1×1 in the socket was a bit challenging. I really like the poof of wool on Shaun’s head.

The final 2 sections can be built in unison. The sections are the arms and legs. Both sections are simple chains of bricks that require counting the number of bricks properly.

The final step is to connect all the sections with the ball joints. The hardest part is keeping the head attached because the top brick doesn’t have bricks on top of it to lock it into place.

Things I liked:

I really like how the main body is created by creating the various sections that are all connected

Things I didn’t like:

I think the eyes would have been better if it had been a black socket with a colored eye instead of a white socket
The socket that holds the head in place isn’t locked in place, so it can easily fall off.

Review of nanoblock Daruma NBC_045

January 2, 2025March 20, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Daruma build. Daruma is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_045

Number of Pieces: 180

Difficulty Rating: 2

This build begins with a layer of red bricks that I lay out on my nanoblock pad. The body goes up in layers of red and, eventually, yellow. It is a bit tricky to follow what exactly happens because, in several places, pieces are added to the underside of a brick that is being added.

After a few layers, the base of the face is added. From that point, only the side and back are added to the build until the sections begin to curve in.

The next step is to build the face. This was by far the hardest part of the build because the instructions aren’t clear as to what size brick to use. It took my quite a bit of guessing and trial and error to find the right combination.

After building the face, the face section gets added to the body section. The body section is then closed up, and the build is complete.

This kit comes with 3 Kanji stickers. Since I’m not sure what the stickers say and I don’t normally put stickers on my builds, I chose not to put a sticker on this build.

Things I liked:

I really like how the finished face looks for so small of a build

Things I didn’t like:

I wish that the instructions had been clearer in several places

Review of nanoblock Snowman NBC_064

December 26, 2024March 12, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Snowman build. Snowman is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_064

Number of Pieces: 160

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The build begins with a layer of white bricks that I laid out on my nanoblock pad. Layers were added to create a round bottom of the Snowman.

Next is creating the head. The head is once again layered with white bricks with different colors to create the scarf, mouth, nose, and eyes.

The final layers are to create the hat. Most of the bricks are black, but there is a blue ribbon around the base of the hat.

The final step is to add some details. First, there are the arms with mittens on the end. The mittens look a little odd with the section just sticking out from the red square. The last detail is to add some more layers to the scarf.

Things I liked:

I like the details, like the blue ribbon on the hat and the stripes of the scarf

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t love how the mittens on the arms look

Review of nanoblock Santa Claus NBC_041

December 19, 2024March 12, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Santa Claus build. Santa Claus is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_041

Number of Pieces: 140

Difficulty Rating: 2

I bought this kit used, knowing I would at least get the instructions. I also ended up getting all the bricks to complete the kit. Sadly, however, the white has become yellow with age. The discolored bricks may be visible in my photographs.

This build goes straight up from the bottom of the shoes on the base. The first step is to place the feet on the base. Then, legs are added to the feet.

Next, the lower hips are added. Then the bag that Santa Claus is holding is built and added to the build. From there, the build continues to go up, creating the head and hat.

The final step is to add the left arm holding a gift. The gift has a lot of detail, considering how small the gift is.

Things I liked:

I like the box that Santa is holding. There are nice details, like how the ribbon goes around and goes up to create a bow.

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like the bag that Santa Claus is holding on his back. It seems to just float there instead of being held

Review of nanoblock X’mas Tree NBC_029

December 12, 2024March 12, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock X’mas Tree build. X’mas Tree is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_029

Difficulty Rating: 1

This is a limited-release kit that was available at only George’s. I’m not sure what kind of shop it is, but several of the early nanoblock kits were only at George’s.

I bought this kit used, so I don’t have the package. When I purchased the kit, I knew I would be getting the instructions, which was the key thing I was looking for. I ended up getting the instructions and all the bricks to build the kit.

The first step is to build the truck of the tree. It starts with a 10×10 base. Brown bricks are added in layers to create the trunk.

The next step is to build the green main section of the tree. The tree begins with a small section that spreads out after a couple of layers.

Once the tree reaches its maximum diameter, the tree goes up in layers. Every couple of layers, the circumference gets a bit smaller. In every layer, a few tree decorations are added using 1×1 clear round pieces. It is important not to accidentally rotate the tree because the tree decorations wouldn’t be in the right place.

The tree is then connected to the trunk.

The final step is to build the star on top of the tree. In my opinion, the star is too big for the overall tree. The star is very straightforward to build.

Things I liked:

I like how many decorations are on the tree. Each layer seems to have some decorations on every edge

Things I didn’t like:

The star is way too big for the rest of the tree. I’m not sure how to make it smaller, but it is just too big

Review of nanoblock X’mas Wreath NBC_046

December 5, 2024March 19, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock X’mas Wreath build. X’mas Wreath is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection Series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_046

Number of Pieces: 120

Difficulty Rating: 1

The sale of this kit was limited to George’s, which I understand is a store in Japan.

The wreath is a few layers of bricks tall. I lay the base layer of green bricks on my nanoblock pad. It would need to be the larger pad to be able to lay out the base layer.

When I got to the second layer, I built the bell in the center of the wreath. After adding the bell, I added the second and third layers of green.

The final layer is all the decorations on the wreath. They are spread out around the wreath in a matter that looks somewhat random.

The final step is to add the bow on the top of the wealth.

Things I liked:

I like how nanoblock creates the curved circle. Creating circles with squares isn’t super easy

Things I didn’t like:

I’m not sure what the brown decorations are supposed to be. They seem really large and random

Review of nanoblock Greater Flamingo NBC_055

November 28, 2024March 20, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Greater Flamingo build. Greater Flamingo is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_055

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 3

I bought this kit used, which meant it had been opened and possibly built before. I wasn’t sure if all the pieces were included when I bought the kit. Sadly when I opened the kit, I learned that I had all the pieces, but there was some discoloration of the white and light pink bricks.

The instructions for this kit are unusual because instead of step-by-step instructions, there is a picture of the finished flamingo and instructions for how to build each section: the body, head, and leg.

The leg is the most simple section. It is simply a stack of 1×1 bricks on the base.

I built the body on my nanoblock pad. I laid out the base layer and added the layers to create and close up the top of the build. Then, I flipped the build over, added some more detail, and added the second leg. The second leg is a stack of bricks built to look like stairs.

The head and neck are very straightforward. The neck is a stack of 1x1s broken in the middle by a 2×1. The head is simply a few layers of bricks.

To complete the build, all three sections are combined to complete the finished flamingo.

Things I liked:

I find the fact that the build is fairly stable; standing just one leg is impressive.

Things I didn’t like:

Sadly since this is a kit I bought used, there is some discoloration of the white and light pink bricks

Review of nanoblock Dinonix NBC_182

November 21, 2024March 20, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Dinonix build. Dinonix is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_182

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The build begins by building the body. Unlike a lot of builds, the legs are not symmetrical, so the body isn’t the same from side to side. The build goes up in fairly straightforward layers, including adding the front arms.

There is a step where the tail is added. I initially missed there was more to the step than just the tail, so I needed to go back and finish the step. I think it’s because the additional instructions were on the edge; I missed them.

Then, the head is built. The head is fairly straightforward, other than most of the build being off-center. The head is then attached to the head. I found the directions for where to add the head as really rough. It wasn’t clear where to attach the head to the body. I think if they had given a different view of the Dinonix, it would be much clearer how to attach the head.

The last step is to build the legs. They are a bit tricky because there are bricks just hanging out and hanging off the legs. The legs are not symmetrical, which is a nice detail to the build.

Things I liked:

I like that the legs are not symmetrical. This is a nice detail to the build

Things I didn’t like:

I didn’t like the directions for attaching the head to the body

Review of nanoblock Raccoon Dog NBC_303

November 14, 2024March 20, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Racoon Dog build. Raccoon Dog is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_303

Number of Pieces: 150

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

This build has 2 major sections, the head, and the body.

I began the body by laying my base layer on my nanoblock pad. I was able to easily follow the directions for all the layers. The layers seemed a bit haphazard, and it was hard to tell what I was creating as I put the bricks together.

The top of the body has a layer of flat bricks where the head will be attached. Because there is a flat layer with only 1 stud to hold the head, the head can rotate around.

I wasn’t able to figure out how to lay the head out on my nanoblock pad, so I just built it on the table. Other than lining up the front and back sections, the head is fairly straightforward.

The final steps are to add the front legs and attach the head. The front legs are very straightforward. Figuring out exactly where to attach the head was a bit tricky but the instructions did make sense on close inspection.

Things I liked:

I really like the stripy tail and how the head looks
I like that the head is posable

Things I didn’t like:

When I picked the build off my pad, I kept popping off the hind legs