Shy Gal’s Building Blog

Review of nanoblock Mother & Baby Giant Panda NBC_236

September 11, 2025November 28, 2024shygal

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Mother & Baby Giant Panda build and package

This post is a review of the nanoblock Mother & Baby Giant Panda build. Mother & Baby Giant Panda is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_236

Number of Pieces: 220

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

This kit contains 2 builds: the mother and the baby.

Mother

The mother panda begins with a layer of black and white bricks. I laid the base layer out on my nanoblock pad. Each direction adds 2 more layers to the build. I had to take my panda off the pad to add the front paw, but I was able to place it back on the pad to complete the build.

Overall, the mother panda is straightforward, with simple layers of bricks. I enjoyed how quickly I could tell I was building a panda instead of feeling like I was blindly placing bricks.

After the top layers of the panda were added I added the other front arm, which is holding bamboo.

Baby

I actually found the baby harder to build than the mother panda. This is because, in the later steps, a lot of bricks with different sizes of tops and bottoms were used. Each time, I needed to make sure the top stud was lined up with with studs for the next layer, which meant stages weren’t always square.

Mother & Baby Giant Panda build front 3/4 view

Things I liked:

I like that the mother is actually doing something active
I liked the creative brick usage to create the compact build

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t love how the baby panda looks. The black sections are simply too large

Review of nanoblock Pompompurin NBCC_182

September 9, 2025January 29, 2025shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Pompompurin build. Pompompurin is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBCC_182

Number of Pieces: 140

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

This build begins with the building of the bottom of Pompompurin’s body. It starts by building a base layer that includes the custom printed brick.

Then, the body goes up in layers. There are a ton of slanted bricks to create Pompompurin’s curves.

After the body is built, the head is built directly on the body in continuing layers. The head includes adding the eyes, ears, and mouth.

The final step is to build Pompompurin’s hat, which is built directly on his head.

Things I liked:

I like how the curves are created

Things I didn’t like:

Compared to the other Sanrio builds that came out at the same time (nearby NBCC numbers), I feel that Pompompurin has a lot less detail

Review of nanoblock Giant Panda NBC_019

September 4, 2025August 21, 2024shygal

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

Number: NBC_019

Number of Pieces: 150

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

I bought this kit used, knowing I would at least get the instructions. I ended up additionally 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.

The build begins with a layer of block making the bottom of the Panda. Then, a couple layers of bricks are added. These layers are a bit fragile, so I built this section on my nanoblock pad.

The next step is to build the base of the head in a few layers of bricks. The bottom of the head is then added to the body section. The build is fairly stable at this point, so I could hold it to finish it.

The next several layers create the back of the panda. It is fairly straightforward to add each layer.

Next, all 4 legs are added. The instructions are a bit compressed, and everything is upside down, so getting the legs lined up is a bit tricky.

At this point, I put the panda on the included base and added the ears. I think the fact the ears are at an angle gives a bit of variety to a very static build.

Things I liked:

I like how the ears are at an angle

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like how simple of a build this is. (I feel this way knowing more detailed pandas have been released since this original panda was released.)

Review of nanoblock Pochacco NBCC_181

September 2, 2025January 29, 2025shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Pochacco build. Pochacco is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBCC_181

Number of Pieces: 130

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The kit begins by building the head. The first step is to create the base. The second step adds the nose and the first layer of the eyes. I like that the nose is 3d and sticks out a bit. I needed to be careful because the piece with the nose kept liking to pop off the main head section. The rest of the head went up in straightforward layers.

After building to the top of the head, I flipped the head over and added the details at the bottom of the head.

The next section is to build the body. Pochacco wears a red shirt, so the body uses white and red bricks. I like how the arms are created and stick out.

The next step is to attach the body to the head.

Next, I built and added the ears.

The final step was to attach Pochacco’s little tail.

Things I liked:

I like how Pochacco’s nose is 3d and pokes out a bit

Things I didn’t like:

The final build is tippy and is difficult to make it stand up straight

Review of nanoblock Violin NBC_018

August 28, 2025August 21, 2024shygal

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

Number: NBC_018

Number of Pieces: 180

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

I began building the violin from the base of the instrument. I didn’t pay much attention and goofed up lining up studs in the first step. I needed to redo the step, carefully following the arrows as the bottom of the violin grew larger.

The next couple of steps are straightforward layers that were simple to follow. The hardest part is there are a few bricks that aren’t pinned between layers, so they can easily fall off.

The next step is to build the black neck and the strings of the violin. These are tall stacks of bricks in either black or clear. Since each is a multiple of 3, I built sections of 3 and connected the sections together to make sure I had tall enough stacks.

The next step is to build and attach the scroll of the violin.

The final step is to build the bow. This is a basic 2 layers of bricks and is very straightforward.

Next, I attached the violin to the base. It isn’t possible to connect the bow to the base how the instructions show the bow connected to the base. I wish nanoblock didn’t show builds on bases in impossible formats.

Things I liked:

I like how the scroll looks. I feel like it is the most accurate part of the build

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like how the bow is “attached” to the base in the instructions since I can’t connect my bow to the base that way
The sides of the build are very blocky, and it makes the violin look like it has random sections popping out

Review of nanoblock Cinnamoroll NBCC_180

August 26, 2025January 29, 2025shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Cinnamoroll build. Cinnamoroll is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBCC_180

Number of Pieces: 130

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The first step is to build the head. It takes about 6 to make the main section of the head. At that time, I added the mouth, cheeks, and eyes.

The next step is to build the ears. They are very straightforward and are built and attached in 1 step.

The next step is to build the body. This was fairly straightforward. When I added the legs and the clear brick to stabilize the build.

The last step is to attach the head to the body. When I added the head, the body became very tippy.

Things I liked:

I think Cinnamoroll turned out super cutely

Things I didn’t like:

The build is tippy and likes to fall over

Review of nanoblock Magellanic Penguins NBC_068

August 21, 2025August 21, 2024shygal

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

Number: NBC_068

Number of Pieces: 130

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

This kit has 3 penguins. There are 2 baby penguins and an adult. This build is unusual because the finished build’s front is on an angle.

First, I’ll discuss the adult penguin. I began by laying the base layer of bricks on my nanoblock pad. Then, I added the layers to build the body.

Magellanic Penguins build front 3/4 view

The next step is to add the wings. The wings hung down and added more layers, so it was tricky not to push the bottom of the wings out of place.

The rest of the adult penguin goes up in fairly straightforward layers. Then, the feet are added to the bottom of the build.

Next, there are 2 penguin chicks. They are built completely the same. Each chick is a straightforward collection of layers of bricks.

Things I liked:

I really like how many penguins are a part of this build

Things I didn’t like:

The area with the breaks is a bit funny because the whole build is on an angle

Review of nanoblock Kuromi NBCC_179

August 19, 2025January 29, 2025shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Kuromi build. Kuromi is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBCC_179

Number of Pieces: 160

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

All of the details for Kuromi are in the head.

Kuromi begins with building the head. The first step creates the base of the head, and the next step locks everything into place. The rest of the top of the head goes up in straightforward layers.

Then, the head is flipped over, and a ton of detail is added. First, the nose is added. Then, the head is rounded out. Then, the details of Kuromi’s hood’s collar are added.

The next step is to build the body. Since there isn’t any detail, the steps are very straightforward.

Then, the head is attached to the body.

Next, the tail is added.

The final step is to build and attach the ears. I really like how the ears are at an angle.

Things I liked:

I like how the ears are at an angle

Things I didn’t like:

I wish they had used black bricks instead of light purple for Kuromi’s hood

Review of nanoblock Acoustic Guitar NBC_096

August 14, 2025August 21, 2024shygal

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

Number: NBC_096

Number of Pieces: 150

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

I began by laying the may layer of bricks on my nanoblock pad. It had a light brown front and a dark brown back.

I built the body of the guitar in layers. The layers added more details to make the guitar very recognizable. I was surprised that the sound hole in the center of the garage was hollow because it didn’t look that way in the pictures.

The next step was to add the neck. I really like the use of clear bricks to create strings because it adds depth to the strings.

The final step was to build the head of the guitar. I found these instructions slightly confusing for some reason, but I was able to build the head.

Things I liked:

I liked the use of clear bricks to represent the strings
I liked the fact that the guitar is hollow with a hole in the main body

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t love the random brown brick in the middle of the strings. In my head, the strings go all the way along without being interrupted

Review of nanoblock My Melody NBCC_178

August 12, 2025January 29, 2025shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock My Melody build. My Melody is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBCC_178

Number of Pieces: 170

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

All of the details for this build are in My Melody’s head. Their body is very simple.

The build begins with creating the base couple layers of the head. Then more layers are added to make the main face and hood covering My Melody’s head.

Then you add her bow.

Then, you build the ears onto the head. First, you make the floppy ear. This ear looks a little funny, in my opinion, depending on the angle from which you look at it. Then, you build the ear that stands up.

The second section to build is the body. The body is very straightforward until the final layer. The final layer is a bit tricky because bits overhang and are placed on gap-filled platforms.

Then, the back of the arms and legs are added.

Next, the head is attached to the body.

The final step is to add the little tail.

Things I liked:

I like how the bow is created for My Melody

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t love how the ear falling forward looks. I think it looks a little stumpy