Shy Gal’s Building Blog - Page 19 - Your reference for LEGO and nanoblock builds

Review of nanoblock Galar Ponyta NBPM_067

August 16, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBPM_067

Number of Pieces: 200

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Ponyta is a pokemon that was initially introduced in generation 1. In generation 1, it is a fire-type Pokemon. However, this isn’t the build for the generation 1 Pokemon; this build is for the generation 8 psychic-type Ponyta. The psychic type is a unicorn with fluffy pink and turquoise hair.

The build is slightly different because many smaller chunks need to be built and added on. First, you start with the usual base, and from the second step, you create exterior pieces connected to the base. Then you build the majority of the tail and attach it. Then you build up the rest of the body in regular layers.

Next, it’s time to make the head by layering from the bottom of the head to the top. Next, you flip the build over and add details for the mane and tail. Finally, you add the legs, complete with details.

Overall I think that this is an adorable build. I really like the colors they picked and how the mane and tail look soft and changing color. There were a lot of bits where if you don’t get things just so, then the build wouldn’t line up.

Things I liked:

The colors that were used for this build

Review of nanoblock Big Bird

August 11, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Big Bird build. Big Bird is one of the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) nanoblock kits. Wondering what else is part of the USJ builds collection? Click here for a list.

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Big Bird is one of the many puppets from Sesame Street. He is a 6-year-old bird who has been a cast member for decades. He is most known for his childlike wonder and wanting to learn about everything.

This nanoblock set would have originally only been available at Universal Studios Japan, so I had to get it on eBay.

This build comprises 2 significant parts, the head, and the body. Big Bird comes on with a green 10×10 base. You first add legs to the base. I appreciate the fact that they kept the stripes on the legs. After you build the legs, you make the base for the body. Next, you add the rest of the body, including the wings, in layers to create the body.

Then it is time to build the head. For the head, you begin with the base and add layers. You will change from yellow to add the eyes and eyelids. After several layers, you will add the feathers at the top of Big Bird’s head.

Things I liked:

The color details on the legs and eyelids

Review of nanoblock Galar Farfetch’d NBPM_066

August 9, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Farfetch’d
Japanese: Kamonagi

Number: NBPM_066

Number of Pieces: 190

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Farfetch’d is a pokemon that looks like a little brown duck. It is known to always to be carrying a leek and was introduced in generation 1. Farfetch’d is one of the few Pokemon to have multiple forms turned into nanoblock. This review is for the Galar variant of Farfetch’d, a Fighting-type and introduced in generation 8. To read my review of the generation 1, Farfetch’d click here.

I think that getting between steps 1 and 2 may be the trickiest part of the entire build. You start with a base of 2 bricks and then add 8 bricks in step two. Since you can’t really see how the second layer connects, making sure everything is lined up can be tricky. After completing step 2, the build is very straightforward, building up layers like a nor nanoblocks build. You’ll want to be careful with the wing holding the leek as you create the body because there is more detail on that side. Continue building up layers until you close up the ducks head. Once you have completed the duck, you need to add the detail to the top of the leek. The leek is straightforward and will sit on the table, not hanging.

Overall I enjoyed the Farfetch’d build. The darker brown is too dark for the actual Pokemon, but I do like the color.

Things I liked:

The giant leek

Things I didn’t like:

I had some difficulties getting the details of the leek to line up

Link to order:

Review of nanoblock Moppy

August 4, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Moppy build. Moppy is one of the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) nanoblock kits. Wondering what else is part of the USJ builds collection? Click here for a list.

Number of Pieces: 160

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Moppy is a muppet that was created especially for Universal Studios Japan. He is a light pink furry muppet with dark pink spots and what appears to be pink hair. For more information about this little-known muppet, check out Muppet Wiki.

This nanoblock set would have originally only been available at Universal Studios Japan, so I had to get it on eBay. I mainly got this set to have a complete set for Sesame Street Universal Studios Japan.

Moppy is broken up into 3 different builds. There is the head, body, and feet on a base. This build has several random dark pink spots representing the dark pink spots Moppy has. The feet are the most straightforward feature, 3 layers of each foot on a 10×10 base.

The second build for this muppet is the body. You start with a base layer of bricks and build up the body in layers. There is a pair of 2×2 bricks that create a tail puff. The top of the body is a little tricky at the top layers. This is because of the arms hanging off the body that you add.

The final part you get to build is the head. The head begins with a base layer and builds up to create a sphere. In addition to the pink spots, you add the eyes, nose, and pink hair.

Things I liked:

The detail of adding the tail puff

Things I didn’t like:

Doesn’t really capture the muppet’s cuteness

Review of nanoblock Farfetch’d NBPM_013

August 2, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

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

Names:

English: Farfetch’d
Japanese: Kamonegi

Number: NBPM_013

Number of Pieces: 160

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Farfetch’d is a pokemon that looks like a little brown duck. It is known to always to be carrying a leek and was introduced in generation 1. Farfetch’d is one of the few pokemon to have multiple forms turned into nanoblock. This review is for the original normal/flying introduced in gen 1, not the fighting type from gen 8.

Farfetch’d like many pokemon builds; there are 2 builds the head and the body.

For the head, it is generally pretty straightforward; however, getting the second layer attached can be a bit tricky. There is a 360-degree overhang between the layers which means there isn’t a place to line up the layer. Other than the top layer, the rest of the head is simple.

Like the head, the base of the body is also tricky. Again, the bottom layer is much smaller than the second layer. However, the directions are very clear, so it is easy to know things are right. Once you get the bottom couple of layers built, it is a fairly straightforward build.

Overall I really enjoyed the build and think the final model is cute. I agree that it should be a level 3 build even though the final product looks super simple.

Things I liked:

I think his leek is cute

Things I didn’t like:

The first direction for the head is hard to read and line up

Review of Nanoblock Ernie

July 28, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Ernie build. Ernie is one of the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) nanoblock kits. Wondering what else is part of the USJ builds collection? Click here for a list.

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Ernie is one of the muppets that live on Sesame Street. He lives with Bert and constantly annoys him. Ernie is always connected with rubber ducks because of his friend Rubber Ducky.

This set would have originally only been available at Universal Studios Japan, so I had to get it on eBay.

This nanoblock build is broken into 2 parts, the head, and the body. The body begins by building the white sneakers on a 10×10 base. Next, you build up the blue pants by adding layers of bricks. Then you add the stripy shirt with a yellow shirt collar. You also add the arms, which expands the stripes and the hands.

Then it is time to build the head. You begin with a base layer of bricks. Next, you add on more layers of bricks. By adding these bricks, you will create the inset mouth. Continue adding layers until you close up the head. Once you close the head, the final step is to add Ernie’s messy hair.

Things I liked:

The messy hair detail
The fact they kept his striped shirt

Review of nanoblock Scorbunny NBPM_060

July 26, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBPM_060

Number of Pieces: 180

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Scorbunny is the fire-type starter from generation 8. Scorbunny has orange ear tips in the games, which are very different from the maroon in the model.

As to the build, there are the body and head to build. In an unusual style for nanoblock, it is hard to tell the difference between what gets added in the current step and what was there in the step before. I think this is so much of Scorbunny is white. If you can keep the layers apart, it is pretty easy to build both the body and the head. I was worried that the model would have difficulty standing on his feet because his head was so large. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he could stand just fine. The colors don’t look right to me, and I find Scorbunny highly muted.

Things I liked:

He manages to stand on his feet

Things I didn’t like:

The coloring is all wrong for Scorbunny

Link to order: Amazon

Review of nanoblock Bert

July 21, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Bert build. Bert is one of the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) nanoblock kits. Wondering what else is part of the USJ builds collection? Click here for a list.

Number of Pieces: 130

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Bert is one of the muppets that live on Sesame Street. He likes paperclips and pigeons. Bert lives with the overly energetic Ernie and is regularly annoyed by Ernie.

This nanoblock set would have originally only been available at Universal Studios Japan, so I had to get it on eBay.

There are 2 parts to this build: the head and the body. Bert’s body begins by putting shoes on a 10×10 green base. Next, you layer up the legs using just green bricks. Then you build the striped shirt out of orange and dark green bricks. The final step of the body build is to attach the arms and hands.

After you finish the body, you need to build Bert’s head. The head starts with a base of yellow bricks. You then build up layers creating an inset mouth. After making the mouth, you go directly to Bert’s massive nose in the next layer. You continue adding layers and details like eyes until you reach the top of the yellow head. The last step for this build is to add the hair, which is basically a pyramid stacked on the top. Now that you have the completed head attach it to the body and have a completed build.

Things I liked:

The detail of the stripy shirt

Things I didn’t like:

The pyramid of hair

Review of nanoblock Grookey NBPM_059

July 19, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

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

Number: NBPM_059

Number of Pieces: 190

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Grookey is the grass starter from generation 8. It’s known for poking things which shouldn’t be much of a surprise because its final evolution is a drummer.

The build is broken up into 2 builds the body and the head. It is hard to tell the difference between the brown and golden brown in the directions. The body is a straightforward build that is built up by adding layers of bricks to create a hunched-over body. It can be a bit tippy when it’s done if you don’t attach the base feet quick enough. The head is an average sphere build where you start with a base and build around the outside and eventually close up the sphere. Then you add Grookey’s branch and top fur.

Overall I really like the build, and I feel that Grookey is highly recognizable. I think that the colors match the pokemon overall very well.

Things I liked:

The coloring for the whole build

Things I didn’t like:

Fighting to perfectly line up the tail

Review of nanoblock Elmo

July 14, 2022March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Elmo build. Elmo is one of the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) nanoblock kits. Wondering what else is part of the USJ builds collection? Click here for a list.

Number of Pieces: 90

Difficulty Rating: 1/5

Elmo is a muppet monster that lives with his parents on Sesame Street. He is a very curious little monster.

This nanoblock set would have originally only been available at Universal Studios Japan, so I had to get it on eBay.

This build is broken into 2 parts: a body and a head. Elmo stands on a brown 10×10 base. The first step is to add the feet to the base. After adding the feet, you add the legs and the torso to the bottom. Then you add the little arms and lock the arms to the body with a brick.

Once you have completed the body, it’s time to move on to the head. The head starts with a base of red bricks. You then build the head up in layers. Unlike the other Sesame Street builds, the mouth isn’t inset and is flat with the rest of the mouth. So you simply build up the head by adding layers. They add the details of the mouth, nose, and eyes.

Things I liked:

Simple build
Unique base from the other Sesame Street