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This post is a review of the nanoblock Cathedrale Notre-Dame De Paris build. Notre-Dame 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_093
Country: France
Number of Pieces: 400
Difficulty Rating: 2/3
Notre-Dame is a medieval Catholic Cathedral on an island on the Seine River. This is the original build that only shows the front of the cathedral. There is a second set that shows the whole cathedral.
This build shows the front of Notre-Dame with the 2 large bell towers and the plaza in front of it.
This nanoblock build begins with a clear blue base to create the Seine. The first plaza is added in the first layer of bricks.
After creating the plaza, construction on the actual cathedral begins. The building goes up in layers. The biggest problem is both the round and square 1x1s are in the same bag, so it’s tricky to get the exact brick you need.
Eventually, you add the stained glass window at the front. It is unusual because you build the window and slide it into place.
After making the window, the rest of the building is very straightforward and goes up in layers.
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.
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This post is a review of the nanoblock Great Wall of China build. The Great Wall of China 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_136
Country: China
Number of Pieces: 640
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
This build is different than most of the buildings in the Sights to See Collection; instead of having 1 large plate, there are 5 smaller plates that are staggered to create the base.
The build begins with setting the plates up and laying out the base of the hills in green. The darker green is actually a much bluer green which looked a little funny building but looks ok in the finished build. Then the 3rd green and tree stumps are added in the second step to create a complete base where all the base plates are connected.
Over the next several steps, the walls are built up using yellow or tan bricks. I’ve been to the Great Wall, and as far as I remember, the grey went all the way down the wall, not just on top of the wall, so I find the color change confusing.
The build is straightforward as long as you are careful to make sure to count between 1, 2, 3, and 4 on each layer added. Sometimes the 1s can be a bit tough to see.
There are 2 towers in the build. They are both made of shades of grey. I feel like the towers are reasonably close to how the towers actually look in real life.
The build also comes with a couple nanoids. I didn’t include them in my build because I don’t feel like they match the scale.
Things I liked:
I like the collection of greens to create the illusion of hills at the base of the walls
Things I didn’t like:
I don’t like the yellow/tan bricks as a base for the wall
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This post is a review of the nanoblock Himeji Castle build. The Himeji 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_197
Number of Pieces: 490
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Himeji Castle is one of the significant landmarks in Japan. It’s a white castle with a grey roof. While there is a deluxe edition, I also wanted to try the smaller model because there is a collection of miniature castles built on the same size base.
As to the build, there is a collection of white and light grey bricks to create the building. In terms of the directions, it is easy to tell what shape brick goes where. However, I personally had some difficulty telling where the white bricks were in the previous layer and which were light grey in the current layer. I also had challenges with the outer wall. I think I had to rebuild it like 3 times until it was there and ready to keep going.
To me, it was a really lovely building of a castle. I’m not how much it looks like Himeiji, but it is still clearly a Japanese castle.
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This post is a review of the nanoblock Dorami build. Dorami is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBCC_042
Number of Pieces: 290
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Dorami is the younger sister of Doraemon. She is bright yellow with a red bow. For more information about Dorami, check out her wiki page here.
Dorami’s nanoblock build has 2 pieces. There is a head and a body. She also has a gadget that she can hold.
The body starts with a base layer of mostly yellow bricks. As you build the body, you add her pouch and her arms. Once you have made the core of the body, you add the feet and the tail.
After building the body, you make the head. Building the head is basically building a sphere while adding the facial details. Dorami has eyes, cheeks, nose, and a mouth. You also add the base for her bow. Once you build the sphere, you add the bow to the back of her head.
Dorami has a gadget that she can hold. I think it is the Small Light that is also included in the Dokodemo Door. It is a very straightforward build.
Things I liked:
I loved that they made one of the other Robot Cats from the series. I wish they would make more.
Things I didn’t like:
Dorami has a pocket unlike Doraemon, but I’m not sure that is clear what it is in this build
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This post is a review of the nanoblock Shizuka build. Shizuka is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBCC_041
Number of Pieces: 220
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Shizuka is the main female in the Doraemon series. She is also the main love interest for Nobita. For more information about her and her changes over the years, check out her wiki page here.
This build is made up the 2 parts. There is the head and the body.
The build starts with a base layer of dark pink bricks to make the base of the skirt. The skirt is built up in layers, and eventually, you build the shirt with light pink bricks. I really like the detail of Shizuka holding the violin. Lining up the bricks for the violin was a bit tricky.
After you build the body, you need to build the head. The head begins with a base layer and builds up in layers. As you build the head up, you add the ears, nose, and eyes. Flip it over once you close the head and add the pigtails and mouth. Then you connect the head to the body and finish the build.
Things I liked:
The fact Shizuka is playing the violin
Things I didn’t like:
The bricks used for the skin seem to have an orangish tint
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This post is a review of the nanoblock Suneo build. Suneo is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBCC_040
Number of Pieces: 200
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Suneo is one of the main characters in the Doraemon series. He often hangs out with Gian and picks on Nobita. For more information about Suneo, check out his wiki page here.
This build is different from many of the Doraemon builds. This is because it is all built together instead of 2 pieces.
The build begins with a base of golden bricking to create the pants. Layers are then added to make the pants and then the top. Once you finish the shirt, you go directly into building the head.
The head is a bit more complicated by adding bits of bricks to enlarge the head and add details. You will add the eyes, nose, and ears when adding the details. The most dramatic part of this build is the hair. Suneo has hair that sticks out in front of his head, and the build captures the hair nicely while allowing the build to still stand.
Once you have built the head, you need to add the arms and legs. The arms are straightforward, but make sure you are careful when you attach the hands to the arms because if you don’t, the build won’t complete properly. The placement of the finished legs is a bit tricky. If you don’t place them just right the build will tip over.
The final step is to build the little remote control car. It is very straightforward.
Things I liked:
The added detail of the little car
The detail in the hair
Things I didn’t like:
I wish they had used the skin-tone bricks from the Demon Slayer builds. The skin tone is a little orange for my liking.
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This post is a review of the nanoblock Gian build. Gian is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBCC_039
Number of Pieces: 220
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Gian is the main antagonist in the Doraemon series. He is a bully that picks on the other kids in the neighborhood, especially Nobita. For more information, check out his wiki page here.
The build is made up of 2 segments: the body and the head.
The first part is building the body. You begin with a layer of navy bricks to make up the legs. You build the body up in layers and rings while adding the outstretched arms. Once you close up the body, you add the details for the hands. This includes Gian holding a microphone in his right hand. The final step of the body is to add the legs and feet to the bottom of the body build.
The second segment of the nanoblock build is the head. Like the body, it because with a layer of bricks. It is built up in rings, basically creating a sphere. As you add the rings, you will add the details of the mouth, ears, and eyes.
Once you finish the head and close up the sphere, you attach it to the body to complete the build.
Things I liked:
The detail of adding the microphone being held in his hand
Things I didn’t like:
The color of the skin tone bricks is very close to the orange so it was a bit difficult to tell which bricks to use while building
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 Dialga Deluxe Edition build. Dialga is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon collection? Click here for a list.
Number: NBPM_094
Number of Pieces: 1020
Difficulty Rating: 4/5
Dialga is one of the generation 4 box legendary Pokemon. It is the master of time. Dialga and Palkia are the only Deluxe nanoblock Pokemon that don’t have also have standard builds.
When I opened the box, I was sad to see that the instructions were printed on a huge piece of paper instead of a booklet. Some of the deluxe kits I’ve built have had booklets and I prefer those. There were 13 bags of bricks so I knew I needed to build the Dialga on my table instead of my tray table.
Dialga is built primarily made from navy bricks. While building, the navy bricks appear to be black when I’m digging around in the bags to find the bricks. There are handful of black brciks in the head. After I realized there was black I checked each bag with a flashlight to find the black and noted which bricks were black.
The first section is the main body. The body is very straightforward and I could easily build the body on my nanoblock pad. I was surprised by how many ball joints were in the body while I was building it. I waited until the end to connect the large section together so that I was trying to balance a build and could attach them in a way that made sense.
The second section is the gem on Dialga’s chest. It is a bit tricky to keep track of which slanty pieces are needed for each step. All of the grey slanty pieces are in the bag so it’s a bit tricky to find the right piece. Once again I built this section on my nanoblock pad.
The next section is the fin on Dialga’s back. Each large section of the fin is a tower of nanoblocks. The hardest part of the tower is making sure the layers are properly overlaid so gaps are minimal. However, what makes the fin truly tricky is the center core where all the towers attach. Getting the fins properly spaced out and not overlapping or pushing on each other depends on having everything centered perfectly which is tricky.
The next step is the base of the 4 feet. Each foot is identical and goes up in layers. Each foot is a solid tower of bricks. I was able to lay all 4 feet out on my large nanoblock pad which made it easier to make sure I didn’t miss any steps on any foot because I was looking at all 4 feet at once.
The next step is to build all 4 of Dialga’s legs. Each leg is a combination of adding the leg connection to the foot and the actual leg itself. all of the brick work is fairly straightforward. The biggest problem I had was getting the leg and foot to nicely attach due to how the ball joint was lined up. I wanted the moveable areas on the socket to be at angles but the actual socket only allows for 90 degree movements.
The next 2 sections are the tail and the neck. Both are fairly straightforward with the only real difference being the tail is 3 sections connected with ball joints.
The head is very straightforward to build. The instructions also make it very clear the couple of steps that used black bricks instead of the navy. I really like that the initial head build has studs sticking out the front which allows for building on and creating Dialga’s curved face instead of it being a block.
The final step is to build the head decorations on both sides of Dialga’s head. They are identical other than 1 brick which has a side stud that is used to connect the piece to the head. Both pieces are connected by inserting a round 1×1 into a socket. This is my favorite way of connecting bricks, but I think it works in this case.
After building all the sections I needed to connect them. I would recommend getting a second pair of hands for this part so that each ball joint can be added but pressure can be kept off the already connected ball joints. First I connected the head to the neck and added the head decorations. Next, I connected the tail to the body. Then I attached the fin. Next, I attached the feet. Finally, I attached the head unit to the body.
Things I liked:
The batch builds. Building multiple identical items at once instead of having split-up identical directions.
Things I didn’t like:
I wish the instructions had been in a booklet instead of a huge piece of paper.
I wish the handful of black had been marked in some way. There are so many bricks that the few black ones were difficult to find.
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 Dokodemo Door & Small Light & Take Copter build. Dokodemo Door & Small Light & Take Copter is part of the nanoblock Character collection. Wondering what else is part of the Character Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBCC-038
Number of Pieces: 200
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
The Dokodemo Door (or Anywhere Door in English) is one of Doraemon’s many gadgets. It is one of the most popular and frequently used gadgets in the series. For information check out the Doraemon wiki page.
The main part of the kit is the door. Overall the door needs to be put together very cleanly or else the top of the door won’t attach cleanly. There are also 2 mini builds for the light and copter.
The door begins with creating the base of the door. It is a bit hard to tell how much overhang there should be past the clear bricks with the first layer of pink in the instructions. Next, you build the door frame. The door frame can be tricky because you want all 27 1×1 bricks to line up so that the frame is square.
After building the outside frame, you build the actual door. The door is built in repeating layers of pink bricks. One layer is different because that is where you add the doorknobs. A nice detail is that the knob is on both sides. After building the door you attach it to the frame.
Once you’ve completed the door, you need to add the top of the door. The build is very straightforward. Be careful attaching the top because if you haven’t done the build tightly, the top won’t attach cleanly.
The final step is to do the two mini builds for the Small Light & Take Copter which are quick and straightforward.
Things I liked:
The bonus items are nice
The fact that the door opens and closes
Things I didn’t like:
Getting the sides of the door lined up was tricky
My door is very fragile because the door is a bit taller than the sides
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 Brilliant Shining ver Pokemon builds. These builds are numbers NBPM_082 to NBPM_088. Each of these builds is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon collection? Click here for a list.
With the release of the Brillant Diamond and Shining Pearl video games, nanoblock released Pokemon from generation 4 as Brilliant Shining versions. These builds are identical to the original builds but are built using clear glitter bricks. The Pokemon in this rerelease are Lucario, Leafeon, Glaceon, Garchomp, Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup.
I’m reviewing the Brilliant Shining ver as a group because these builds are the same as the original builds, except each build is built with glitter bricks. Each build will have photos of the glitter builds and a link to the review of the original builds.
Overall I really liked building these. The clear glitter bricks fit together very nicely and tightly. In general, I find clear bricks hard to use because they seem to be tighter fitting, so I had been avoiding building the Brilliant Shining ver builds. I didn’t have this problem with the glitter version of the clear bricks, which was a pleasant surprise.
I really liked the cream bricks that were created for this build to make the main section of the body. It was also easy to tell the difference between the white and cream bricks. It was harder to tell which bricks were white in some of the later builds.
While building this build, I noticed some errors I had made in the original Lucario build, so I was able to fix my original build. I’m not sure what the difference is, but the glitter Lucario can stand on its own, while the original build isn’t able to even after making the corrections. The Brilliant Shining ver stands, but it is still a little tippy, so you want to ensure that the surface you put the finished build on is flat.
I found the Leafeon build super easy to put together. The only real difficulty I had building Leafeon was that the clear glitter white bricks got lost in all the clear glitter beige bricks.
I like the finished build, but many details are lost because of the clear bricks. I feel that the white in the eyes gets lost. It is also hard to see all the details in the ears because of how the light flows through the bricks.
Glaceon is very similar to Leafeon for a building process, so it was also easy to put together. However, it was really hard to tell the clear glitter blue and the clear glitter light blue apart, so I kept needing to recheck the color and take bits apart because I had picked the wrong color.
Overall I like the original build significantly more. This is because I can’t see the details in the build because the blues are similar.
Garchomp is generally a tricky build. This is because so many sections are built unattached to the body and attached once the section is completed. The arms are also easy to pop off as the layers that create the head.
Overall I feel that most of the details of Garchomp are lost with the clear glitter blocks. This is because the body is so dark it seems that all the yellow bricks are much darker, so the color isn’t clear. It is even hard to tell the clear black glitter from the clear dark blue glitter bricks in the actual build.
There was no real noticeable difference between building the original Turtwig and the Brilliant Shining ver.
I personally don’t really like the color of the Light Clear Green Glitter bricks. These bricks make up the main body of Turtwig. The color of the bricks is very close to the color from Leafeon, which is supposed to be more yellow.
There was no real noticeable difference between building the original Chimchar and the Brilliant Shining ver. The hands are still very fragile.
I don’t really like how the final Chimchar looks. The only way I can describe the final build is fuzzy. There are few places where the clear bricks are backed by a dark color, making the edges and color changes unclear. This makes the entire build seem fuzzy and unclear, which is an effect I don’t care for.
Like Chimchar, I can only really describe the finished Piplup build as fuzzy. This is because of the see-through nature of the bricks. I also think it’s a shame that Piplup’s eyes get lost in the dark blue that makes up most of the head.
