Month: August 2023

This post is a review of the nanoblock Kaminarimon build. Kaminarimon 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_115

Country: Japan 

Number of Pieces: 390

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

The Kaminarimon is part of the outer gate leading to Senso-ji, which is a Buddist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. For more information, check out the wiki page here.

This is the second Kaminarimon build that I have done. The other is a lit version that you can read my review of here.

This build has an unusual base. While most of the landlocked buildings are on grey or green plates, this build is built up from a clear brown base. 

The first step is to lay out the base layer. This creates the base for the two sides of the gate, the base for a fence, and some bushes around the edge.

The next few steps build the sides of the gate. Building the gate adds the details of the statues that live inside and creates the base to attach the roof.

There are a few more steps to prepare everything so that you can attach the roof. The trickiest part is the triangles are off-center, so getting everything centered is tricky. This is also the step where you build and attach the large lantern. The lantern is straightforward, with a sticker to create the Kanji. I don’t normally like to use stickers on builds, but the kanji on the lantern is so important to completing the build I went ahead and added the stickers.

The final step is to build and attach the roof and add the final details. It is very straightforward.

The build also comes with a nanoid. I didn’t include them in my build because I don’t feel like it matches the scale. There is also a rickshaw that I didn’t include because it doesn’t attach to the build.

Things I liked:

• The difference between the red and clear red added a nice detail

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t really like all the extras that got added to the build. The scale doesn’t seem right

This post is a review of the nanoblock Musee du Louvre build. Musee du Louvre 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_086

Country: France 

Number of Pieces: 320

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

The Louvre is one of the largest museums in Paris, France. It is best known as being the home of the Mona Lisa. The other thing that makes the Louvre famous is the huge glass pyramid out front of the museum.

This build focuses on the front of the building and the glass pyramid. Since I haven’t seen the Louvre in person, I can’t speak to how accurate the building in the background looks.

The Louvre comes with a clear base plate. The first layer of the build creates a mostly grey base that becomes the path around the pyramid. There is a gap where the pyramid goes, which means you could light the glass pyramid with the LED base plate.

There is a lot of detail at the ground level that is created in the 3rd layer of bricks. After adding this detail, you build the background building. The building is very straightforward.

To create the actual pyramid, first, you create the center columns with ball joints that will eventually hold up the side. The next step is to build the 4 sides of the pyramid. Each side is attached to the center post with a ball joint. I really like how it created the look of the finished pyramid.

The build also comes with a couple of nanoids. I didn’t include them in my build because I don’t feel like it matches the scale.

Things I liked:

• The finished pyramid looks cool
• I liked that they made it lightable using the LED baseplate

Things I didn’t like:

• The building in the back is a little bland

This post is a review of the nanoblock Saint Basil’s Cathedral build. Saint Basil’s Cathedral 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_051

Country: Russia 

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

I think Saint Basil’s Cathedral is probably the most famous building in Russia. The building is just off the Red Square in Moscow. While it was originally a Cathedral, today it is a museum. It is famous for the multi-colored domes that are at the top of the building.

The first part of the build is to create the main body of the Cathedral. It begins with laying out an outline of the building on the 20/20 board. The building goes up in layers.

In the 5th step, you add a roof that covers the entire building. Unlike a lot of other builds, the main 10×10 section of the roof fits on the outline instead of the bricks under just hanging out.

After adding the roofs, the next step is to build the bases for the various domes. There are a lot of nice details in the building between the various colors used and the style of bricks used.

Once the core of the building is completed, it’s time to build and create the various domes.

Each step adds several domes. In general, the directions are straightforward. However, the base of many of the domes are 3x1s crossed on each other on the center stud. This means that the bricks can act like a teeter-totter, so it can be tricky to get the bricks to be square.

Things I liked:

• While it doesn’t have the detail of the actual Saint Basil’s Cathedral, I feel the building is recognizable
• I really like all the colors in the domes

Things I didn’t like:

• Several of the domes are held on by one stud so it can be tricky to get them straight

This post is a review of the nanoblock Osaka Castle build. The Osaka Castle is part of the nanoblock Sights to See series. Wondering what else is part of the Sights to See series? Click here for a list.

Number: NBH_173

Number of Pieces: 520

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Osaka Castle is one of the many castles in Japan. As far as the castles in Japan go, Osaka is unique because of its green/teal roof. They create this roof by using turquoise bricks.

Overall the build is straightforward from starting with an outline on the solid 20×20 base. You build up the base that creates the actual castle’s base. Then you build the castle. Making sure you are using the correctly slanted pieces is tricky because it can be tricky to tell it is one or two bricks wide. Overall the details in the layer in between the roof layers also look really lovely.

I really like the build. I think it is recognizable as a traditional Japanese Castle. I think the use of the teal does an excellent job of giving it the correct color roof.