Shy Gal’s Building Blog - Page 11 - Your reference for LEGO and nanoblock builds

Review of nanoblock Ashuraman NBCC_131

April 6, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

This post may contain affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. This commission allows me to give you more information about brick builds by enabling me to buy more sets. See my full disclosure here .

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

Number: NBCC_131

Number of Pieces: 260

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Ashuraman is a character in the Kinnikuman series. He is based on the Hindu god Ashura and has 3 faces. For more information about him, check out his fandom wiki page here.

Since Ashuraman has 3 faces, building the head is very different from any of the other Kinnikuman figures.

The build begins by creating the center section of the head that divides the 3 faces.

The next section is building the front face. This head is very straightforward and adds the mouth and eyes to the build.

The next several sections is to build Ashuraman’s crown. It takes several steps to build the outline of the crown. After building the outline, the crown goes up in layers with details around the edge. After building the crown, the crown is connected to the main face piece.

The next collection of steps is building the rest of the head. This includes building the 2 other faces in orange and blue and connecting them in the ball joints. There is also some decorative framing around the main face.

Now it is time to start the body. There are a few layers of maroon and skin tone that create the core of the body. This section is fragile and didn’t really get more solid as I added more bricks.

Then 6 arms are added to the build. After adding the arms, the top of the body is topped off, and the bricks to attach the head are added.

The legs and feet are added. Compared to the rest of the build, adding the feet is very straightforward.

Next, each of the arms receives a hand. They are only tricky to ensure the thumbs are in the right place.

The final step of the build is to add the head onto the body section.

Things I liked:

I enjoyed building the head because it was so unique

Things I didn’t like:

The body never got super stable while I was building it up. It was frustrating to be building on such a flexible part.
Based on his wiki page, he is supposed to be blue. It would have been cool if he had been blue instead of skin tone.

Review of nanoblock Litten NBPM_049

April 4, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Litten
Japanese: Nyabby

Number: NBPM_049

Number of Pieces: 170

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Litten is the fire starter Pokemon from generation 7. Initially released under NBPM_25, it was only available at Japanese Pokemon Centers.

Litten is a unique build compared to almost all the Pokemon builds. It starts like normal with a base layer that is built up. Then start building parts separately and adding them back to the build.

In step seven, there is something I don’t remember seeing in any other builds. You start by building the face as a separate piece, but then you have a shot looking in from the back of Litten, and you need to figure out how exactly to connect the face. I had some difficulty, but I made it work. After attaching the face, the rest of the build is straightforward.

Overall I find the final Litten recognizable, and I think it looks like a cute kitty.

Review of nanoblock Terryman NBCC_130

March 30, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBCC_130

Number of Pieces: 180

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Terryman is a character in the Kinnikuman series. He is the best friend of Kinnikuman. For more information about him, check out his fandom wiki page here.

The head begins by creating a staggered base layer. This means you can’t build the head on the nanoblock pad. These staggered layers create the mouth, the center of the head, and the base of his hair. However, all the steps for building the head are fairly straightforward.

The head then goes up in layers adding the nose, eyes, and more hair. The Chinese character custom brick is also added to the head. (I really like that the brick is custom and doesn’t require a sticker.

After completing the face, the final step of the head is to complete the hair.

After completing the head, it is time to body. The body is a straightforward 4 layers of bricks.

The next step is to create the hips, legs, and feet. The hips are fairly straightforward. When I attached the thighs to the hip, I had difficulty getting things lined up when I tried to attach the arms. The lower legs and feet are also straightforward.

Then the head is attached to the body. I had a hard time getting the head lined up properly and attached. This means the head isn’t at the angle it is supposed to be.

The final step is to build the arms. The arms also have a custom-printed brick, but it is a little hard to see the printing due to how light the printing is. The arms are fairly straightforward and easy to complete. Once the arms are built, they are added to the body. When I attached one of the arms, I needed to move one of the legs for all the body parts to be attached.

Overall the build is pretty straightforward, but many angles in my finished model don’t match the photos.

Things I liked:

I really like the custom-printed bricks and apricate that stickers were not required

Things I didn’t like:

When I was building, things just in general didn’t line up to match the picture, which is annoying

Review of nanoblock Mimikyu NBPM_052

March 28, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Mimikyu
Japanese: Mimikkyu

Number: NBPM_052

Number of Pieces: 200

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Mimikyu is a ghost/fairy Pokemon that was introduced in generation 7. Mimikyu is a Pokemon that wears a costume, so no one knows what the real form looks like.

Mimikyu is made up of 2 main sections the body and the head. The last layer and current tend to be similar in color in the directions, so you want to make sure you have good light to tell the difference. The body starts as a base that you build up until you reach the top of the body. The build is pretty straightforward with clear directions. The head is similar to a sphere other than the ears at different heights.

Overall, Mimikyu is a pleasant build that produces a model that matches the Pokemon well.

Things I liked:

One Thing

Things I didn’t like:

One Thing

Link to order: Amazon

Review of nanoblock Warsman NBCC_123

March 23, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBCC_123

Number of Pieces: 200

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Warsman is a character in the Kinnikuman series. He is an antagonist, but he soon becomes a protagonist and a friend of Kinnikuman. For more information about him, check out his fandom wiki page here.

Warsman is different from a typical nanoblock build because his head is at an angle instead of being built straight on.

The first step is to build the face section of the head. The face goes up in layers, originally in an angle then the angle is closed off. The next step is to build the back of Warsman’s helmet. The helmet is U-shaped as you build it in layers. After several layers, the face is attached to the helmet. The helmet goes up a few more layers and closes up to finish the head.

The next step is to build the body and hands. Unlike most builds, I was unable to see how what I was building and simply blindly followed the directions to build the body. The body is created by adding layers and connecting externally built chunks to the main body section. The directions for building are pretty clear. I didn’t notice that where you connect the right arm is brick with 1 stud on top so I needed to rip the build apart and build it again.

The last step is to build Warsman is to build his legs and feet. The legs are fairly easy to build. The problem is the directions don’t clearly show to connect the legs to the body to get the feet in the right direction. If the legs are not lined up the build doesn’t stand well. Even if a position where the build will stand is found it is still fairly tippy.

Things I liked:

I like little yellow and red details in the build

Things I didn’t like:

Getting the build to stand on its own is tricky, and any movement to the table causes the build to move

Review of nanoblock Bewear NBPM_053

March 21, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Bewear
Japanese: Kiteruguma

Number: NBPM_053

Number of Pieces: 190

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Bewear is a normal/fighting type that was introduced in generation 7.

Overall the Bewear build is straightforward. You start with a base and build up. The only place you break off is the decoration on his head. There are also more steps in making his legs than in most Pokemon builds.

Overall this is such a straightforward build I don’t really have much to say about it. However, I do like how the final build turned out.

Review of nanoblock Robin Mask NBCC_122

March 16, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBCC_122

Number of Pieces: 190

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Robin Mask is a character in the Kinnikuman series. He is an antagonist, but he soon becomes a protagonist and a friend of Kinnikuman. For more information about him, check out his fandom wiki page here.

Robin Mask is different from a typical nanoblock build because his head is at an angle instead of being built straight on.

Robin Mask’s head begins will a layer of Pastel Blue bricks. I was able to build the entire head on my nanoblock pad. The head goes up in very straightforward layers. The hardest part of building the head is getting all the edges to be perfectly square. I like how the head is built around to cover the eyes in a way that they are still barely visible.

The next section is to build the arms and body. I built the body on my nanoblock pad. It is a simple 4 layers of bricks. After building the body from the base up, I flipped the build upside down. Then I added his hands and his hips. I feel that the hands are just blocks, and there isn’t as much detail as there is in some of the other Kinnikuman builds.

The last step is to build Robin Mask’s legs. Each leg is a tower of bricks that are straightforward to build. The only real difference is what brick is on the top of the leg.

After building the legs, the legs need to be attached to the body. It was a little hard to tell where exactly the legs were attached. However, once I attached the legs, the build could stand without problems.

Things I liked:

I liked how solidly the finished build stood. This seems to be uncommon for the Kinnikuman build
I like how the eyes look in the mask of the build

Things I didn’t like:

I didn’t like how tricky it was to get the 1×1 perfectly lined up
I feel like his arms and hands are weak and missing details compared to the rest of the Kinnikuman builds

Review of nanoblock Charizard DX NBPM_080

March 14, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Charizard DX
Japanese: Lizardon DX

Number: NBPM_080

Number of Pieces: 860

Difficulty Rating: 4/5

This is the deluxe build for Charizard. It has a lot more detail than the original Charizard build. It is a much larger build made in pieces and held together with ball joints. I did the build over a few days, so I recommend having a safe place to leave the build spread out while you are working on it.

The nanoblock build begins by creating a base for the body. It takes about 6 steps to make the entire base of cream and orange bricks. You then continue the body by building up rings that get smaller until it closes the body. This build includes slanted pieces that I find stab my fingers when I push them into place.

The next step is to add the feet and arms via ball joints. The feet are built by stacking bricks to create a base to stand on. You attach the feet to a ball joint attached to the body. I had a hard time getting the ball joints lined up to stabilize the feet. You also build arms through a chain of ball joins. The hands are pretty fragile.

Now it is time to build the main section of the head. It is tricky because the head is generally only 3 bricks thick, so there isn’t much overlap, so it’s easy to push the bricks apart. The head is generally just building chunks of bricks onto other chunks until you have a completed head. When I attached the neck, I realized that I had attached the lower jaw in the wrong place, and the whole head fell apart when I moved it.

The following stages are to add the neck and tail. Both are very straightforward builds. The neck is a solid build that you eventually attach the head onto. The tail is a chain of bricks held together by ball joints. The tail includes the clear flame, which is a stack of clear bricks. As a warning, the tail likes to fall off the 1×2 brick that holds the flame.

The final stage of the build is to build the mirrored wings. These are large pieces that are 2-3 layers thick. They are built by creating smaller pieces that connect to the base. The directions are very straightforward and easy to follow. Once you make the wings, you attach them to the body, completing your build.

Overall I’m not sure how I feel about the build. This is the second deluxe Pokemon I’ve done, the other being Pikachu, and the detail is excellent. This is the 4th Charizard type build that nanoblock has made, and while it has the most detail, I would have rather had a different Pokemon. I found the final build to be very fragile and had difficulty posing it to get the photos because the flame kept falling off.

Things I liked:

The amount of detail in the build

Things I didn’t like:

The head isn’t layered super stable and tended to fall apart

Review of nanoblock Buffaloman NBCC_118

March 9, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBCC_118

Number of Pieces: 230

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Buffaloman is a character in the Kinnikuman series. He is a Devil that changes and becomes friends with Kinnikuman. For more information about him, check out his fandom wiki page here.

The build for Buffaloman begins with the head. I was able to lay the build on my nanoblock pad. The head goes up in simple layers, which are fairly straightforward. I needed to be careful to get the round connected properly because, in a few places, the bricks hang on by a single brick. I also noticed that the color of the gold brown bricks looked very different in the direction and in real life.

The next section is to build the torso and arms. The beginning of the torso is a simple 3 layers of bricks. Once again, I built the layers on my nanoblock pad. Then I built the arms and started to build the torso in my hands since one of the arms is at an angle. After adding the arms, I added the top layer, mostly flat pieces. The round piece in the center isn’t squared, which I didn’t notice at first.

The torso’s last step is adding the hands to the build. The hands are straightforward.

Once the hands are attached, it’s time to attach the head. I hadn’t noticed originally that the head is at an angle. This angle is created by having the 2×2 round piece at an angle. I needed to rotate the piece to attach the head, which was an easy update to make.

The next step was to create the hips, legs, and feet.

Buffaloman’s right leg is bent down so he rests on his toes and spikes. The leg is a stack of black bricks with some additional details. The foot is straightforward and connected to the base of the black bricks.

The final step of the right leg is to begin building the hips. The hips are very fragile and are tricky to line up.

Buffaloman is putting his weight on the base of the left foot. The left leg begins with a stack of black bricks. The thighs are added to the black bricks.

The left leg is attached to the right leg, which finishes the hips.

The final step is to connect the torso to the hips.

Things I liked:

How the head is positioned to be tilted instead of straight on

Things I didn’t like:

Getting the build to stand on its own is tricky, and any movement to the table causes the build to move

Review of nanoblock Lucario NBPM_068

March 7, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBPM_068

Number of Pieces: 160

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Lucario is one of the most popular fighting pokemon. I’m pretty sure it’s been in the regional Pokedex of every generation 4. At least, it feels like that is the situation.

The build for Lucario is very detailed, with over 20 steps. Generally, the number of steps on a pokemon, in my experience, is 10-15 steps. Lucario is tall, so it’s building up the height. There is a lot of detail in the head to create the face.

I was surprised to learn that nanoblock was making Lucario. He has a very trim body, basically an hourglass, in the game and I imagined it would not translate into blocks well. Sadly, in this case, the body is much thicker than it is in the games. I also noticed that Lucario’s tail is heavy and knocks the model off balance. I put mine on a base so that it can stand up safely.

Things I liked:

The amount of detail in the build overall

Things I didn’t like:

He didn’t stand, so needed a base plate
Attaching his head was really finicky

Link to order: Amazon