Month: January 2023

Review of nanoblock Mega Venusaur NBPM_092

January 31, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Mega Venusaur
Japanese: Mega Fushigibana

Number: NBPM_092

Number of Pieces: 250

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Mega Venusaur is the mega evolution of Venusaur. This build is similar in size to the original Venusaur build. Mega Venusaur looks like a normal Venusaur, except the flower on its back is taller and much larger.

This build has 2 major sections. There is the body and the flower on Mega Venusaur’s back.

The first section you build is the body. The first few steps create a large base. from there, the body is built in straightforward layers. The hardest part is noticing there is a dark red and dark brown brick, and the red is used to create the eyes. I didn’t notice the colors, so I needed to take sections of the build apart to fix the mistake.

The body adds details to the build, such as the shadows under the leaves and the pink from the flowers on Venusaur.

After building the body, it’s time to build the flower on Mega Venusaur’s back.

The flower’s first steps create the leaves on one side of the flower. Next, you build leaves for the other side. Then you build the center stem of the flower. The first 3 parts of the flower are combined to create the base of the flower.

After building the base, it’s time to build the actual flower. The directions for building the flower are very straightforward.

The final step is to connect the flower to the body.

Things I liked:

I really like that the side is pretty close to the original Venusaur
I like the amount of detail in the flower

Things I didn’t like:

The flower in the final build is a little flimsy

Review of nanoblock Mitsuri Kanroji NBCC_112

January 26, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBCC_112

Number of Pieces: 200

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Mitsuri Kanroj is a member of the Demon Slayer Corps in the Demon Slayer Anime. For more information about him, check out the fandom wiki page. For more information about the nanoblock builds, check out my collections page for links to other reviews.

This nanoblock build is split into 2 parts. There is the head and the body.

The build begins with a layer of skin-tone brick on the base with pink for the hair on the back of her head. I built the head on my nanoblock pad. Her head is more tricky than a lot of the other Demon Slayer builds because of the detail in her hair. Other than the hair, the head goes up in straightforward layers.

Once you build the main unit of the head, you add the detail to the front of the head. I found these to be confusing instructions, but I figured it out.

After finishing the head, it’s time to move on to the body.

The body begins with a layer of smaller bricks. There are 2 bricks with studs on the sides, so the layer doesn’t lie flat, so you can’t build the body on the nanoblock pad. The next layer connects all the bricks in the base layer so the body can easily be held.

The next couple of layers are straightforward.

Mitsuri Kanroji wears her jacket open. This means that her breasts are visible. There is a step where you add her breasts. The fact that the bricks aren’t lined up with the other body bricks isn’t clear from the instructions. After adding the breasts, there is a final step to complete the body.

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

There are a few more steps to add some details. First, there is her hair in front. The instructions for these hair bits were a bit rough. By looking at the picture on the box, I could figure out how the hair should look. The last step is to add her sword to the front and back of the body.

So far, I have built 10 of the Demon Slayer nanoblock builds, which is by the most challenging of the figures. Mitsuri Kanroji has the most complicated hair in terms of various bricks used to create both while building the head and in the final details. She also has a lot more detail in her body than a lot of the other builds.

Things I liked:

I really like her hair and how much detail was put into creating it
I really appreciated that you could adjust and make her breasts larger and smaller. Some of the older builds for busty female characters had breasts that seemed huge compared to the rest of the build

Things I didn’t like:

I wish the hilt of the sword was a short brick or that the back was 2 bricks long so that the hilt and sword were different lengths

Review of nanoblock Mega Blastoise NBPM_093

January 24, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Mega Blastoise
Japanese: Mega Kamex

Number: NBPM_093

Number of Pieces: 360

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Mega Blastoise is the mega evolution of Blastoise. This build is similar in size to the original Blastoise build. Mega Blastoise looks like a normal Blastoise, except its cannons are on its hands and the center of the back.

The build begins by creating the base layers of cream and blue. Each section is built separately and connected together to create a complete base.

The next several steps are building the body in layers. It was a bit tricky because the base and layers were flexible for the first several steps, so the build kept sliding apart. After a few layers, there was enough overlap, so the build was much more solid.

The next step is to build the arm cannons. The cannons are straightforward and attached easily. The next step is to lock the arms in place and begin working on the head.

The main section of the build is completed in layers. Once you start working on the head, the build will tip over if you set the build down.

The next step is to build the cannon on Mega Blastoise’s back. The cannon is fairly straightforward but flexible, so it is tricky to line up in the first couple of steps.

The final step is to finish off the feet. This step is by far the hardest of the build. It is hard to see where exactly you need to put the bricks. I could figure it out by looking at the box and the instructions.

Things I liked:

I really like that the side is pretty close to the original Blastoise
I like the amount of detail in the build overall

Things I didn’t like:

How hard the last step is to figure out

Review of nanoblock Pikachu in Lunar New Year Costume NBPM_081

January 22, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

Pikachu in Lunar New Year Costume build and box

This post reviews the nanoblock Pikachu in Lunar New Year Costume build. Pikachu in Lunar New Year Costume is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBPM_081

Number of Pieces: 140

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Pikachu in Lunar New Year Costume front view

This Pikachu looks similar to the original NBPM_001 Pikachu, except this Pikachu is wearing a Chinese-style jacket, hat, and hat. I like that the front of the jacket has grey bricks representing Chinese-style jacket ties.

Pikachu in Lunar New Year Costume side view

Since it has been so long since I’ve built NBPM_001, I can’t really compare the 2 builds, but the final Pikachus are similar.

The first step is to lay out the base layer, Pikachu’s pants. I built most of Pikachu on my nanoblock pad.

The next 5 steps are to create the Chinese-style jacket. The details building jacket includes having dark grey for the fasteners in the front. You also add Pikachu’s front paws.

Pikachu in Lunar New Year Costume back view

After building the jacket, it is time to build Pikachu’s head. The head is straightforward and has simple layers but adds a lot of detail. You add the nose and the eyes. The other thing that makes this build unique is that Pikachu wears a hat. The hat is straightforward. I’m not a fan of the brown in the hat and wish it had been a different color.

Then it’s time to finish the details by adding the feet, ears, and tail. The feet are simply 2×4 bricks attached to the bottom of the build. There is also a clear block to keep the build from tipping. The ears are each a simple 3 layers of bricks attached to the head. The tail is by far the trickiest part of the build. Several layers of bricks are stacked together to create the zig-zag tail. It was also hard to tell how exactly to connect the tail to the body.

Things I liked:

I think the costume is a cute and creative detail and is unique to the build

Things I didn’t like:

It was hard to figure out how to attach the tail
The brown on the hat is a little random compared to all the other colors in the build

Review of nanoblock Muichiro Tokito NBCC_111

January 19, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBCC_111

Number of Pieces: 170

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Muichiro Tokito is a member of the Demon Slayer Corps in the Demon Slayer Anime. For more information about him, check out the fandom wiki page. For more information about the nanoblock builds, check out my collections page for links to other reviews.

Normally when there are both navy and black bricks, it can be hard to tell which color which. There is enough navy in this build in this kit, so it is clear which color is which.

This nanoblock build is split into 2 parts. There is the head and the body.

The build begins with a layer of skin-tone brick on the base. I build the head on my nanoblock pad. The main sections goes up in straightforward layers. There are some bricks just hanging out off the head, which looks a bit odd until the build is completed.

The next step is to build the hair at the front of the head. It can be a bit tricky to get the center section completely centered. Then you add the front hair fringe.

The last section of the head is the hair in the back. I started by doing the reversed steps, so I needed to rebuild the section. Once I was paying full attention, it was very straightforward.

After finishing the head, it’s time to move on to the body.

The body begins with a layer of navy and white. in goes up in layers adding details to the outfit. Once you add his left arm onto the build, you can no longer use the nanoblock pad because of the studs coming out the side.

At one point, you flip the build over. I have problems reading instructions when the build is upside down. I had problems getting the legs lined up because I mirrored things around several times. After adding the legs, you add the feet and the stabilizer brick.

Then you attach the sword to Muichiro Tokito’s left side. These connect to the front and back of the build.

The final step is to connect the head to the body.

Things I liked:

I really like the multi-colored hair and how the hair is built

Things I didn’t like:

I wish the hilt of the sword was a short black or that the back was 2 blacks long so that the hilt and sword were different lengths

Review of nanoblock Mega Charizard X NBPM_057

January 17, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Mega Charizard X build. Mega Charizard X is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.

Names:

English: Mega Charizard X
Japanese: Mega Lizardon X

Number: NBPM_057

Number of Pieces: 320

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Mega Charizard X was originally in Pokemon X. Mega is used to describe Pokemon that have mega evolved, which was introduced in generation 6. Pokemon X has its own mega evolution named Mega Charizard X. Mega Charizard is grey with blue flames instead of the standard orange.

This built is breaks the building focus into several parts. There is the body, wings, tail flame, and head. Overall the directions are clear as to which colors to use and when.

You begin by building the body. You start with a base layer and build up. The arms on my build are a bit loose and feel like they want to fall off the studs holding them in place. The build is straightforward other than the last step when you flip the build upside down. It is hard to tell where exactly where the underside bricks go.

The next step is to build the pair of wings. I have trouble getting wings to line up because they are so narrow. The directions are clear as to when and where to use each brick. They nicely and solidly attached to the body and didn’t cause the body to tip, which was nice.

Then you build the tail flame using clear blue and pastel blue bricks. It was tricky to attach to the body because it’s a 2×2 brick going onto a single stud.

The final part of the build is the head. You begin with a base layer and build up in layers. As you build up the main section of the head, you will also add the flames coming out of the Charizard’s mouth. The flames are one of several brick chains on the head that you will build in the process of creating the head.

Things I liked:

The use of multiple shades of blue

Things I didn’t like:

I’m not sure I needed another Charizard build I would rather have had a different Pokemon

Review of nanoblock Tengen Uzui NBCC_110

January 12, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBCC_110

Number of Pieces: 180

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Tengen Uzui used to be a member of the Demon Slayer Corps in the Demon Slayer Anime. For more information about him, check out the fandom wiki page. For more information about the nanoblock builds, check out my collections page for links to other reviews.

This nanoblock build is split into 2 parts. There is the head and the body.

The build begins with a layer of skin-tone brick on the base. I build the head on my nanoblock pad. The head goes up in layers. each layer is different between the eyes, hair, and face markings. I was very confused by the face marking while I was building them because they don’t really look like the character in the photo on the box.

Once the main head section is built, it’s time to add the details. Tengen Uzui has his hair up in the back, so you add the hair in the back. You also add blue trails that are coming off his headband. The last detail in the head is to add the headband.

After finishing the head, it’s time to move on to the body.

The body begins with a white brick that goes up in layers. After a few layers, the main torso is completed.

The next step is to build and add the arms. The arms are very straightforward. Then you attach the head. At this point, the build won’t be able to stand on its own until you add the clear base at the end.

Then, you build and create the legs. I missed that the large round brick was centered on the smaller round brick, so I needed to fix that later. After adding the hips, the legs were easy to attach.

The next step is to build and attach Tengen Uzui’s sword. The swords are very straightforward to build and are easy to attach to the build.

The final step is to build the base of clear bricks. This allows the build to stand on its own.

Things I liked:

The double sword on his back is unique compared to the original build

Things I didn’t like:

The mark around his eye doesn’t really look like the mark from the anime

Review of nanoblock Mega Charizard Y NBPM_058

January 10, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Mega Charizard Y build. Mega Charizard Y is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.

Names:

English: Mega Charizard Y
Japanese: Mega Lizardon Y

Number: NBPM_058

Number of Pieces: 310

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Mega Charizard Y was originally in Pokemon Y. Mega is used to describe Pokemon that have mega evolved, which was introduced in generation 6. Pokemon X has its own mega evolution named Mega Charizard X. Mega Charizard Y looks like a more powerful version of a regular Charizard.

Overall the build for Charizard Y is quite similar to regular Charizard. You first build your body which is the normal start with a base layer and build up. Next, you make the wings which are the most detailed part of the build. This is because of the layering of blue and orange so that you don’t see how the blue and orange are held together. Finally, you build a tail flame and a head with straightforward directions.

Things I liked:

The use of clear blocks for the tail

Things I didn’t like:

I’m not sure I needed another Charizard build

Review of nanoblock Time Machine NBCC_076

January 5, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Time Machine build. The Time Machine is part of the nanoblock Character Collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character Collection series? Click Here for a list.

Number: NBCC_076

Number of Pieces: 240

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Doraemon is known for having all kinds of tools. One of these is a Time Machine. You can use the Doraemon model NBCC_074 to have Doraemon sitting and controlling the machine.

The build begins by starting with a base and extending on the base. From there, you add additional detailed outlines on the base. You continue to build the details of the time machine. You build up the chair and the console as you build on each layer. I really like that the chair is set up so it’s compatible with the Doraemon build. I really like the details of the console and the use of clear bricks in the details.

Once you have created most of the machine, you flip it over and add the supports to tie the base bricks together. I think this step should have been earlier because I had problems with the base staying connected when I was building. The last thing you add is the lamp. Stacking 24 1×1 round pieces on top of each over is difficult to get straight. The final detail is the lamp. It was tricky to get the lamp on and getting the lamp set straight.

In general, I wasn’t super excited when I completed this build. The Time Machine by itself is a little boring because it is just a seat and a lamp. I did get excited; however, when I added the Sitting Doraemon (NBCC_074), I did in another build because it made it look a lot less empty.

Things I liked:

The playability of the set

Things I didn’t like:

The light is hard to get perfectly straight
The build is a little boring by itself

Review of nanoblock Suicune NBPM_091

January 3, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Suicune build. Suicune is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.

Number: NBPM_091

Number of Pieces: 220

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Suicune is one of the elemental legendary Pokemon along with Raikou and Entei from generation 2. It is the water elemental Pokemon.

The nanoblock builds for the generation 2 legendaries are all very detailed, so I’m excited to build them all. Suicune has what appears to be delicate ribbons surrounding it. I was sure the ribbons would look good because of how Slyveon’s ribbons looked.

This build begins by laying out the entire body in layers. I love the teal bricks that they used for the main body of Suicune.

The build was mostly straightforward. The head details are simply attached to the front of the body. I really like how Suicune’s face turned out.

Then you add the legs, which is very straightforward.

The final details are creating the ribbons over the head and down the sides. Since it is just chains of bricks, it was a bit tricky to get things to line up perfectly. There are optional clear bricks to support the ribbons. Since I don’t move my finished builds, I didn’t feel like it was necessary to add them.

Things I liked:

The ribbons and how they look flowy

Things I didn’t like:

How the build would have looked if I had added the extra support bricks