Category: nanoblock Review - Page 6 - Shy Gal's Building Blog

Review of nanoblock Nile Crocodile NBC_058

February 15, 2024November 28, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBC_058

Number of Pieces: 100

Difficulty Rating: 1

I built the main body section of the crocodile on my nanoblock pad. The base layer of the body is so long that I’m not sure it would fit on the smaller pad. The rest of the main body goes up in straightforward layers.

The next step is to attach the legs and lower jaw. Centering the lower jaw was a little difficult because it was an odd/even situation.

The final step is to add the top of the head and the tail. Getting the teeth lined up was a little tricky since the middle teeth didn’t have a wall to push against to line them up. The tail is a chain of bricks that are 2 tall. It is cool that the tail is posable, like the head and legs.

Things I liked:

I like that the head and legs are posable

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like that to get the legs to be posable. There are gaps in the side of the crocodile

Review of nanoblock Salamence NBPM_100

February 13, 2024December 7, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBPM_100

Number of Pieces: 210

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Salamence is a Dragon/Flying type Pokemon that was introduced in generation 3. It’s the final evolution of Bagon. I feel that the finished build is highly recognizable as the Pokemon. I think its wings look very bulky, but I’m unsure how to make things less bulky and keep the shape.

Salamence is built in several different sections that are combined bit by bit to create the Pokemon.

Salamence begins with a layer of grey bricks that need to be laid out. I lay the layer out on my nanoblock pad to begin the build. The body is built in layers. There are a few points where a layer takes multiple steps, making the instructions much more readable.

After building the body section, it’s time to build the head. Once again, it begins with a base layer. I once again used my nanoblock pad to build the head. The head is straightforward. After building the head, it is attached to the body.

The next step is to build the 4 legs. The legs are then added to the body section. Then a few bricks are added to the tail on the body.

The final step is to build the wings. I was surprised that the wings were identical. They are the correct shape, but in order to create the shape, the wings need to be 2 layers thick which causes the wings to look a little blocky. Once the wings are added, the build is complete.

Things I liked:

I like that the colors of the build match the Pokemon
I like the fact that some of the layers are in 2 steps, which makes the steps clearer

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like that the wings look blocky

Review of nanoblock Sheep NBC_054

February 8, 2024November 28, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBC_054

Number of Pieces: 120

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The first thing I noticed about this kit was the color that was provided for the body of the sheep. The bricks were cream which at a quick glance could be a damaged white brick. In looking at the directions, it became clear that the body of the sheep is off-white, not white.

The build begins by building the round body. Building the body is straightforward because it is just adding layers without too many sections overlapping the edges of the build. I built this section on my nanoblock pad.

The next step is to build the head. I had some difficulty figuring out where exactly to put the bricks because there are some gaps. I was able to figure it out by looking at the current and next steps. After building the head, it is attached to the body.

The next step is to flip the body and close up the bottom of the body.

The final step is to attach the four legs to the bottom of the body. The sheep comes with a base that the build can be placed on.

Things I liked:

I like how round the sheep is. It looks like a super puffy sheep

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like the cream-colored bricks. It made me think the bricks were miscolored or damaged since the color is so rare

Review of nanoblock Tyranitar NBPM_099

February 6, 2024December 7, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBPM_099

Number of Pieces: 210

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Tyranitar is a Rock/Dragon type Pokemon introduced in generation 2. It’s the final evolution of Larvitar. I feel that the final build is highly recognizable. My only complaint is the color of the stomach plate. I think the plate should be a grey instead of the bright blue.

The build begins with creating the base of the Tyranitar. It takes 2 steps to create the entire base. From there, the bottom spreads out to create the widest point of the base.

The body goes up in a very straightforward fashion. In general, each layer takes 2 steps in the instructions. The fact that each step takes so much space means that it is very clear which bricks to add.

The build goes from the widest point and goes up in layers. Each layer is mostly green, but sometimes additional colors are added to create the claws, stomach plate, and details.

Tyranitar is a solid collection of layers of bricks. This includes the head. The only things not built into the main build are the legs. The legs are built separately and added to the bottom of the build.

Things I liked:

I loved how clear the instructions were and how much space each step has

Things I didn’t like:

I wish the stomach plate was grey, not bright blue, to be closer to the actual Pokemon

Review of nanoblock Red-Eared Slider NBC_033

February 1, 2024November 28, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Red-Eared Slider build. The Red-Eared Slider is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_033

Number of Pieces: 70

Difficulty Rating: 1/5

The Red-Eared Slider is a turtle that has difficulty level 1. This means that the build is very straightforward.

The build begins by creating the shell. I built the small pyramid of bricks that made up the shell on my nanoblock pad.

After building the shell, the build is flipped over, and the underside of the turtle is added. The head is also built and added to the build. I like how the orange bricks add the details of the cheeks.

The last step is to add the feet.

Like most of the early builds, the Red-Eared Slider has a base. In this case, it is a clear blue square. Sadly I wasn’t able to get my turtle to line up at the angle to make the turtle look like the one in the photo.

Things I liked:

The color selected to create the cheeks

Things I didn’t like:

I wasn’t able to angle the turtle like how it is shown in the final build photo

Review of nanoblock Grand Piano NBC_017

January 25, 2024November 20, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBC_017

Number of Pieces: 150

Difficulty Rating: 2

The build begins with creating the main body of the piano. It is a simple 3 layers of bricks that can easily be built on the nanoblock pad.

Next, the legs are added. It is a little hard to see where exactly to connect the bricks to the main body. Getting things lined up is important because the main piano can be connected to a 10×10 base that is provided with the kit.

The next part is the trickiest part of the build. It is building the piano cover. It is tricky because it isn’t actually connected to the main body of the piano. The large section can be built on the nanoblock pad. It was straightforward, but getting a clean line at the edge of the top section was a bit tricky. The top section lays at angles on the top of the piano. It creates the image that the Grand Piano is open.

The final step is to build the stool for the piano. It is very straightforward.

Things I liked:

I like how the piano appears to be open even though it is created by just laying a section on top of another section

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t like how there is a base for the piano but not the stool, so the matching set is at different heights

Review of nanoblock Cockatiel NBC_009

January 18, 2024November 20, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBC_009

Number of Pieces: 90

Difficulty Rating: 1

This was a kit that I bought used, knowing I would get the bricks and instructions. However, due to their age and used nature, the white bricks are a bit discolored. The slight yellowing of the white bricks can be seen in some of the photos.

This kit is unusual for an NBC kit compared to the other kits I have purchased. The instructions are completely in Japanese. For most other kits I have bought, the colors are at least in English. I think that this could be one of the original kits from one of the early production runs.

I know some Japanese from school, and there is a photo on the package, so I worked to build the kit and was able to match the colors to be able to build the Cockatiel.

The build begins with a base layer of white bricks. I built the layers using my nanoblock pad. The main body of the bird is white.

The body narrows to create a head. At this point, the head changes to yellow with additional colors to create details.

At this point, the build is flipped upside down, and the legs and feet are added to finish the build. The Cockatiel came with a 10×10 display stand that holds the finished bird.

Things I liked:

It was a nice, simple build, and a cute little bird model was created. There is also a nice amount of detail, considering how low of an NBC number it has.

Things I didn’t like:

Reading the Japanese was a bit hard, but again, I think it’s because I got such an early production run kit

Review of nanoblock Blue Parakeet or Budgerigar NBC_016

January 11, 2024November 20, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBC_016

Number of Pieces: 80

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

I’m not sure which name to identify this kit as. This is because I have 2 kits that both have the number NBC_016; however, each kit has a different name. I think the name may depend on where the kits were sold. I’m not sure where in the world these kits came from. I’ve chosen to identify this kit more as Blue Parakeet since I’m pretty sure there are multiple kits named Budgerigar.

The kit begins with bricks in two shades of blue. The parakeet goes up in layers, shifting between blues and brown to build the body.

After building the body, the head is built in white. Details like the beak and eyes are added while the head is being built.

The final step is to add the legs and feet. The parakeet comes with a base to place the finished bird on.

Things I liked:

I like the number of colors that go into the build between the shades of blue, brown, and white.

Things I didn’t like:

The fact that the kit has multiple names is confusing

Review of nanoblock Geoffrey NBC_165

January 4, 2024November 20, 2023shygal

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

Geoffrey is a very famous Giraffe. He is the mascot for Toys R Us.

Number: NBC_165

Number of Pieces: 160

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Geoffrey was a kit that I bought totally opened; I did make sure there were bricks and instructions. Before starting the build, I pulled the kit that arrived apart and split all the bricks by size and color. I then started the build.

The nanoblock set has several different sections. There is the head, neck, arms, legs, and body.

A common technique in this build is to put round 1×1 into the non-ball section of the ball joint. I generally don’t care for this technique because it makes the builds much harder to put away later.

The head I was able to start building on my nanoblock pad. It went up in simple straightforward layers. The hardest part was getting the ears lined up because there was only one stud on top. After building the top of the head, it’s flipped over, and the bottom jaw and mouth are attached.

The neck is a very straightforward 2 layer chain of bricks.

The legs are very straightforward. Attention to detail is required to make sure that the legs line up straight.

The body I once again built on my pad. I enjoyed all the ways that the layers were arranged differently to create gaps in the yellow for the orange spots. After building to the top of the body, you flip the body over and add the hips and tail.

The arms are straightforward. It creates elbows in the layers of bricks.

The last step is to connect all the sections at the ball joints.

I was surprised that the final build was able to stand on its own. I’ve had a hard time posing Geoffrey to make him look like the photo on the package.

Things I liked:

That the final build is able to stand

Things I didn’t like:

I think his arms look really funny and are hard to pose well.

Review of nanoblock Moominmamma MOM-101

December 28, 2023December 7, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Moominmamma build. Moominmamma is part of the nanoblock Moomin collection.

Number: MOM-101

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Moominmamma is one of the Moomins that live in Moominvalley. She is Moomintroll’s mother. In images, she is recognizable by the striped apron that she wears.

The build is broken up into 3 parts. There are the feet, the body, and the head.

The feet section is straightforward and is completed by adding the feet to the 10×10 base.

The next segment is the body. That portion of the body is building the striped apron. This is done using a lot of 1×1 bricks so it is important to keep the bricks straight. I really like that Moominmamma has the details of her tail and the ties for the apron. Other than making sure that the bricks are straight, the body goes up in straightforward layers.

The last segment is the head. Like the body, the directions are very straightforward. Keeping the depth of the head is a bit tricky from the directions.

The final step is to put all the segments together. I really liked the side view diagram that is in the directions. It made it very clear where to line up the body and head.

Things I liked:

The side view diagram for finishing the build
All the little details like the tail, apron ties, and handbag

Things I didn’t like:

I think the front of her stomach looks a little odd with how it sticks out