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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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Rayquaza build. Rayquaza is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBPM_064
Number of Pieces: 240
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Rayquaza is one of the 3 legendary Pokemon from generation 3. The 3 legendary pokemon from generation 3 are extremely popular and have appeared in most games since gen 3. The three legendary Pokemon, Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza, all remind me a little bit of the traditional art of the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest with how their lines are drawn and the use of rings.
In my opinion, this build should be a 4/5, not a 3/5, because of how tricky it is to get everything up. Rayquaza is a very long narrow Pokemon, more like a snake than anything else. Things are different from an average Pokemon build from the beginning because the base is in the shape of an L instead of a square or rectangle. As you build up from the bottom, you constantly have one or 2 studs hanging over. Next, you build another chain of brick similar to the base. Then you add the chunk of the body that is straight up and down to hold the head. This includes adding the arms that are chains connected by single studs. The final step is to add the head. The head is a much more straightforward build than getting the body together. You then connect the body to the base and have completed Rayquaza.
Rayquaza is a highly detailed Pokemon; generally, it is green with red and yellow markings. I really like how the build includes those details. The build is more complicated than many of the level 3s I have completed because of the balancing act of creating the build.
Things I liked:
The amount of detail in the final build from the use of color
Things I didn’t like:
The final build feels flimsy, so I’m always nervous about moving it.
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 .
Number: NB-022
Number of Pieces: 1420
Difficulty Rating: 5/5
Tokyo Tower is one of the more recognizable sites in Tokyo, Japan. It is the landmark you often see in movies or anime that tells you that the events are happening in Tokyo. It is a red and white radio tower. I haven’t had the chance to see it in person, but it is on my travel list when I go to Tokyo. The Deluxe build for Tokyo Tower is like no other nanoblock kit I have made before. I’m sure there are similar builds in the other deluxe builds, but I haven’t gotten there yet.
The build is broken up into sections A-E. Each section is the base or a section of the tower that is similar. I built things a section at a time. Overall, steps A and B included the most areas that I had to rebuild.
The first thing I had to figure out was how to organize all the nanoblocks. While working on the build, I tried several different methods. I’ll share my opinions on brick storage for just standard storage and working on large builds in another post.
Section A is the base of the tower. Unlike the lego builds I have done, nanoblock doesn’t have baseplates, so you need to make your own. You do this by laying out 2 by something size bricks in squares and placing 10x1o squares on top. This part was a bit tricky because it doesn’t like to lie flat, so I ended up investing in one of the rubber hammers that people use to make sure LEGOs are together. Section A includes the building at the base. The building requires excellent attention to detail because it can be hard to distinguish between the clear and light grey brick. Section A also includes the brinks to connect the tower to the base.
Section B is the first part of building the tower. You begin by making a square that ends up being at the top of Section B. You then build the legs that connect the tower to the base. I found this part to be tricky because the legs are flexible and shift from side to side. It was also tricky getting all four legs into the exact spot needed to attach to the base.
Section C is a reasonably straightforward build. It is working to build the height of the tower. You start with a square outline and build up from there. The directions to make the lattice are clear, so you know that you build the right thing.
Section D has the observation level and the first white stripe that gives Tokyo Tower its distinctive look. Once you build the observation deck, you continue to build up the tower’s height.
Section E is the top of the tower. It is primarily a pillar made of 1×1 nanoblocks.
Overall I really enjoyed each layer of the tower. I really enjoy the lattice on the tower and how it really looks like the actual tower. I’m saddened that my base doesn’t sit flat, even though I was really careful while building.
Things I liked:
The amount of detail and how it looks like the lattice of the real tower
Things I didn’t like:
The top of the tower is a line of single bricks so it is hard to get it straight.
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 Pikachu Deluxe Edition 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_036
Number of Pieces: 560
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Deluxe Pikachu was the first deluxe Pokemon kit. I love my giant Pikachu, and he usually sits ready to stomp on one of my Lego cityscapes.
Deluxe Pikachu is similar to normal Pikachu (NBPM_001), but it uses much larger bricks. The largest brick is 2 X 8, which is larger than anything in most non-deluxe Pokemon sets. Overall, Deluxe Pikachu starts with a solid base and builds up in layers from the bottom up. Bricks of various colors create the stripes and the cheeks. I find that the most challenging part of Pikachu, and the thing I keep fixing, is his tail. The tail itself stays together without a problem. The problem is that the tail doesn’t want to remain attached to the 2×2 brick it is supposed to stay on.
Overall I really like Deluxe Pikachu. I think he looks super cute, especially for where nanoblocks were at the time. Based on the other Pokemon kits that came out at similar times to when Deluxe Pikachu was released, the slanted blocks didn’t really exist, so Pikachu had no choice but to be blocky. If the kit came out today, I could see Pikachu being more curved.
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 Taxi of London build. The Taxi of London 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_141
Country: UK
Number of Pieces: 320
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Overall this was a relatively simple build. Since the taxi is black, it was good practice to read directions that use the white lines between bricks, which I’ve had problems reading in the past. Overall there are a lot of little smaller builds that build up into one larger build. I liked the use of clear for the windows when and how the slant of the windshield is created.
I think that the taxi is a cute little build. I’m not sure that it looks like the London cabs I’ve been in; they tend to be much curvier.
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 Venusaur build. Venusaur is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBPM_018
Number of Pieces: 160
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Venusaur is the 3rd evolution of Bulbasaur. At first glance, the build is more involved than the Bulbasaur build because of the detail in the flower on Venusaur’s back.
Overall I feel like this should be a 3/5 build since it is more challenging than most of the other 2/5s I have done. Overall there were 2 parts of the build I found difficult. In both of these spots, you build smaller pieces and connect them using a couple of single studs. The first step was difficult because of the size of the base and getting everything lined up. This was before I bought my pad so getting things lined up was a little challenging.
I liked how Venusaur turned out overall. He is super recognizable, which is excellent, and I liked how it worked and looked once I got it built.
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 London Tour Bus build. The London Tour Bus 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_080
Country: UK
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
It used to be that you couldn’t travel anywhere in London without seeing the classic double-decker bus. Over the years, they have slowly been replaced by greener single-deck buses. However, you can still find the double-decker tour buses all over. The bus rides are amazing on days with good weather with the open-top deck. While this kit says London, I have seen tour busses like this worldwide.
The first 6 steps are creating the central base of the bus. You then build the layers to build the sides of the bus. Each layer adds either red or details to the build. Eventually, you create the floor of the top layer. Then you add the seat bottom and seat backs. Then you add the walls to finish off the top of the build. Then you flip over the build to add the wheels. After building the London taxi, I was disappointed that the wheels didn’t move. The final steps of the bus part of the build are to add the poll at the back of the bus and the front of the bus. If you want to, there are people that you can add to the top of the bus. The last step in the directions is to add the stickers to the side of the bus. I did not add the people due to scale and didn’t add the stickers for the reasons in my post here.
Overall, I enjoyed the build. I liked the detail nanoblock adds with bricks getting from the bottom to the top with different colors. I don’t feel that the stickers would have added a lot to the build, so I didn’t add it.
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 Sylveon build. Sylveon is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Names:
English: Sylveon
Japanese: Nymphia
Number: NBPM_073
Number of Pieces: 170
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
As of this posting, nanoblock has released kits for all 9 eeveelutions. The builds have gotten more detailed as time has passed, so the first 3 builds are a bit simpler. I find that all the kits are recognizable for the pokemon they are supposed to be. Sylveon is the fairy type of eeveelution from generation 6. Sylveon is a white pokemon with ribbons with pink and blue tips.
After completing all 9 eeveelutions I had the most trouble with Sylveon due to a couple hanging bricks not wanting to stay in place.
This nanoblock build begins with a base of white bricks. You then build up a few layers of white and add the pink details. To finish off the body, you need to add a simple tail.
Next, you build the head. In general, the head is pretty straightforward other than the fact it isn’t symmetrical. The head begins with a white base like the body. You then add layers of bricks that add the details for the nose and eyes. After adding several layers, you add a stack of bricks to form the end of one of Sylveon’s ribbons. There are the bricks I had a hard time keeping attached for the rest of the build. Once you add on the stack of bricks, you continue adding the ears and the ribbons in white, pink, and blue bricks. Once the head is completed, you attach the head to the body.
The final steps are to add the final details. You add feet and the ends of more ribbons.
Overall I got frustrated with the build. While the directions were easy to follow, I had difficulty getting some of the bricks to stay connected. This can be a common problem with nanoblocks if bricks are only held up by a single stud.
Things I liked:
I love the amount of detail in the build
Things I didn’t like:
I had a hard time getting the bricks at the end of the head ribbon to hold.
