Animals

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

Number: NBC_055

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 3

I bought this kit used, which meant it had been opened and possibly built before. I wasn’t sure if all the pieces were included when I bought the kit. Sadly when I opened the kit, I learned that I had all the pieces, but there was some discoloration of the white and light pink bricks.

The instructions for this kit are unusual because instead of step-by-step instructions, there is a picture of the finished flamingo and instructions for how to build each section: the body, head, and leg.

The leg is the most simple section. It is simply a stack of 1×1 bricks on the base.

I built the body on my nanoblock pad. I laid out the base layer and added the layers to create and close up the top of the build. Then, I flipped the build over, added some more detail, and added the second leg. The second leg is a stack of bricks built to look like stairs.

The head and neck are very straightforward. The neck is a stack of 1x1s broken in the middle by a 2×1. The head is simply a few layers of bricks.

To complete the build, all three sections are combined to complete the finished flamingo.

Things I liked:

• I find the fact that the build is fairly stable; standing just one leg is impressive.

Things I didn’t like:

• Sadly since this is a kit I bought used, there is some discoloration of the white and light pink bricks

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

Number: NBC_303

Number of Pieces: 150

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

This build has 2 major sections, the head, and the body.

I began the body by laying my base layer on my nanoblock pad. I was able to easily follow the directions for all the layers. The layers seemed a bit haphazard, and it was hard to tell what I was creating as I put the bricks together.

The top of the body has a layer of flat bricks where the head will be attached. Because there is a flat layer with only 1 stud to hold the head, the head can rotate around.

I wasn’t able to figure out how to lay the head out on my nanoblock pad, so I just built it on the table. Other than lining up the front and back sections, the head is fairly straightforward.

The final steps are to add the front legs and attach the head. The front legs are very straightforward. Figuring out exactly where to attach the head was a bit tricky but the instructions did make sense on close inspection.

Things I liked:

• I really like the stripy tail and how the head looks
• I like that the head is posable

Things I didn’t like:

• When I picked the build off my pad, I kept popping off the hind legs

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

Number: NBC_012

Number of Pieces: 120

Difficulty Rating: 2

I bought this kit used, knowing I would at least get the instructions. I ended additionally getting all the bricks to complete the kit. Sadly, however, the white has become yellow with age. The discolored bricks may be visible in my photographs.

The build begins with a layer of white bricks that I lay out on my nanoblock pad. It goes up in fairly straightforward layers, and the head of the polar bear is built into the layers.

After building the body, the feet and legs are added to the bottom of the build. For some reason, the front of the feet is black, which makes me think the paws look funny.

Things I liked:

• I feel that the polar bear is very recognizable for how early of a build this kit

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t like the feet because the black on the feet stands out so much because the front of the feet are black

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

Number: NBC_002 

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2/3

This build is fairly unusual because the nanoblocks in the set are on their sides.

This kit contains instructions and materials to make 2 clown fish, one large and one smaller fish. They follow the same pattern for creating the fish.

Each fish begins at the back of the tail. The body is then built as a single stack of bricks. At some point, there is a 2×2 that widens the fish. Each layer adds the stripes of the clown fish.

Each fish is held up by a 1×4 clear brick on its side. It is placed at the bottom of the fish.

The kit comes with a clear blue base plate. Since there isn’t a way to attach the base, I haven’t used the provided base.

Things I liked:

• I feel that both of the fish are highly recognizable as clown fish.

Things I didn’t like:

• I wish there was a way to attach the fish to the base

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

Number: NBC_059 

Number of Pieces: 140

Difficulty Rating: 2

This build is unique because it sits on a little perch. Most nanoblock builds just have the animal, but this one has a perch that holds the animal.

This build has 3 major sections. There is the body of the owl, the head, and the perch.

The body was a layer of cream bricks that I laid out on my nanoblock pad. The body of the owl goes out in layers. The trickiest part is telling whether to use cream or white bricks. The colors look very similar both printed and as bricks, so at a quick glance, it is easy to pick the wrong color.

After building the owl’s body, I flipped it over and added the feet. I also added the bar for the perch to the body section because I knew it would be easier to add it now than later.

The head section is also very straightforward. I built it easily on my nanoblock pad. I really like the yellow in the eyes, which gives them extra depth.

I finished the build by creating the perch. On the perch, there is a simple stack of grey bricks. Unlike most nanoblock builds, this set of instructions doesn’t say how many grey bricks are in the tower.

Things I liked:

• I like that the bird is raised on a perch
• I like how the eyes have extra depth due to the yellow bricks behind the black brick

Things I didn’t like:

• There wasn’t a count for how many bricks to use for the perch, which is unusual for nanoblock directions

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

Number: NBC_039 

Number of Pieces: 80

Difficulty Rating: 2

This kit’s instructions were in black and white with the colors labeled in Japanese. It was still fairly easy to put the kit together because most of the build is the golden brick color.

The build begins with a layer of golden yellow bricks. I lay the bricks out on my nanoblock pad. The body of the dog goes up in layers to create the entire body.

The next step is to build the head. The head is constructed in straightforward layers. Black details create the eyes and nose. The head is flipped over, and the ears are added.

The dog’s body is flipped over, and the legs and paws are added. I attached the head to the body, and then I attached the finished dog to the build.

The final step is to build the food bowl and bone. The bowl is very straightforward, and the bone is loose and can fall out.

Things I liked:

• I really like the color of the Dachshund

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t like that the bone is loose. I never like it when there are loose parts to the build

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

Number: NBC_066

Number of Pieces: 180

Difficulty Rating: 1

This kit is part of the original Zodiac collection and was rereleased in the Zodiac Collection.

I bought this kit used, knowing I would at least get the instructions. I also ended up getting all the bricks to complete the kit. Sadly, however, the white has become yellow with age. The discolored bricks may be visible in my photographs.

This build has 2 sections. There is a snake and a bamboo decoration.

The bamboo decoration is very pretty straightforward. The most difficult part is counting the various sections of bamboo.

The snake has three sections, each very straightforward. There is a head and tail section. The main body is made of 15 sections. All of these body sections have yellow details that make the snake’s scales. All of the sections are connected with ball-and-socket joints.

The photo of the completed snake shows a highly posed snake. I’m unsure if it’s because my kit had older joints, but my finished build wasn’t very posable.

Things I liked:

• I like the little detail in the main sections of the body of the snake

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t like that the snake isn’t posable

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

Number: NBC_133

Number of Pieces: 130

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

This build has both a momma seal and a baby seal. The momma seal is the main part of this build.

The momma seal’s build begins with laying out the cream stomach. I used my nanoblock pad to lay out the bricks. The main body goes up in layers, adding ball joints, eyes, and spots.

Then, the build is flipped over. At this point, the nose is added, and the stomach is closed. Lining up the nose was a bit tricky to get centered.

The final step to finishing the momma seal is to add the flippers and tail. Each section is slightly different, so I needed to be careful when building and attaching each section.

The baby seal is a simple 4 layers of bricks. Because of how the base layer is added, I couldn’t use my nanoblock pad. However, because the seal is so small, it was easy to keep everything lined up.

Things I liked:

• I like that there is a momma seal and a baby seal
• I like that the flippers and tail are posable

Things I didn’t like:

• I wish the baby seal was a bit bigger so that the eyes and nose didn’t seem as huge