This post is a review of the nanoblock Mimic build. Mimic is part of the nanoblock Dragon Quest collection. Wondering what else is part of the Dragon Quest Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number of Pieces: 160
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Mimics are a monster that appears in most Square Enix games. Unlike most monsters in these games where you have random encounters, Mimics appear to be treasure chests on the map. When you open the chest, instead of getting treasure, you enter a battle with a monster that looks like a treasure chest.
The Mimic build uses turquoise and purple, which are 2 colors you don’t see very much. The build is split into 2 parts: the chest’s top and bottom. The base is pretty solid, and a standard build. I really like the details of the eyes and teeth on the top section of the bottom. The top is building a stretched pyramid and straightforward. The 2 pieces are held together with a clear ball joint so you can position the lid exactly where you want it.
This post is a review of the nanoblock Monotone Charmander build. Monotone Charmander is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Names:
English: Monotone Charmander
Japanese: Hitokage Monotone
Number: NBPM_0175
Number of Pieces: 130
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Monotone Charmander is a version of the Pokemon that uses greyscale instead of various colors to create the build. Since the build is identical to that of the original, I’m going to direct you there for a review of the building process. I’m only going to review the final build of the Monotone Charmander build here. For more information about the Monotone line please check out this post.
Overall the build is primarily grey. The creature has a white stomach. I still really like the detail in the tail, which uses white and dark grey to create the variation in the flames. Overall, the Pokemon is still super recognizable and looks like it could have come from the original Gameboy games. I really liked the monotone line and wish nanoblock would make more.
A surprise is that the 4 monotone starters (this build along there are builds for Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur) all come with a few extra bricks to make a Monotone Mew. This build comes with:
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pokemon nanoblock released a collection of monotone pokemon. There are a total of 4 builds that come in normal box kits, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Pikachu. These sets were only released in Japan so the kits have Japanese names, not English names. These kits are numbered in the main nanoblock Pokemon (NBPM) line. The steps to build each of these kits are identical to the original kits 1-4 but used grey tones instead of colored bricks.
If you collect all four sets, you will get the codes needed to access the pattern for a monotone Mew. The four kits also come with spare blocks so that you can build a Mew. I’ve written reviews comparing the colored build to the grayscale builds. Here are links to the monotone reviews.
This post is a review of the nanoblock Monotone Pikachu build. Monotone Pikachu is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBPM_014
Number of Pieces: 150
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
Monotone Pikachu is a version of the Pokemon that uses greyscale instead of various colors to create the figure. Since the build is identical to that of the original colored build, I’m going to direct you there for a review of the building process. I’m only going to review the final build of the Monotone Pikachu build here. For more information about the monotone collection please click here.
Overall the build is primarily light grey. The back stripes are normal grey, and its cheeks are dark grey. I like he still has all of his details even though everything is grayscale. Overall, Pikachu is still super recognizable and looks like it could have come from the original Gameboy games. I really liked the monotone line and wish nanoblock would make more.
A surprise is that the 4 monotone starters (this build along there are builds for Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur) all come with a few extra bricks to make a Monotone Mew. This build comes with:
This post is a review of the nanoblock Moltres build. Moltres is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Names:
English: Moltres
Japanese: Fire
Number: NBPM_047
Number of Pieces: 190
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Moltres is one of the legendary Pokemon from generation 1. It has been available in some form in most of the later generations. This build is for the Kanto region bird; there is no build for the Galar region Moltres. The other legendary birds are Zapdos and Articuno.
The build comprises 4 sections the body, the head, and the wings that mirror each other. In general, the builds are pretty straightforward as long as you can tell what color you need. In fact, telling which color was the most challenging part because the directions are similar in the gold, orange, and transparent red. Like Zapdos, Moltres is floating on a stand and is pretty stable.
Things I liked:
Use of transparent block in the whole build
Things I didn’t like:
The colors are super close to the bricks but it is a little hard to tell in the directions
One of the hardest things about nanoblocks is that Kawada is based in Japan, so many blocks are never available in the US. In doing research, Australia has a decent selection that can be purchased. I will focus on how I get my sets in the US.
In 2021 Bluefin Brands took over the distribution for nanoblock in the US. Since then, they have posted many sets that will be released. Most of the time, the releases are several months out, but you can’t preorder from them directly at this point, so you need to find a retailer that carries nanoblocks to be able to buy them as they are released. Several of the sets I’ve seen announced I’ve never seen in retail in physical stores or sites like Amazon. They have a few sets for sale on their site, including collectors editions that aren’t available anywhere else.
The most accessible place I have found to buy nanoblocks is Amazon. Here is a link to the nanoblock store. Amazon does have an excellent selection, but prices can be hit and miss because of third-party sellers. I am hopeful that things will become more reliable with the new US distributor. I also do not recommend preordering from Amazon because I’ve had issues where the preordered set was canceled.
Since I don’t like waiting for release dates, I prefer to buy on the Japanese release schedule. This means I go through a third-party dealer. I like Plaza Japan and have used them for many orders over the past few years. The price of sets is comparable to what you pay for the sets on Amazon. The real killer is the shipping, but if you are getting several sets, it all averages out in the end. There are also a lot of sets that you can’t easily find in the US.
The other place where I buy my sets is eBay. This is my main source for all Disney and Universal Studios nanoblock sets and sets that may be retired. I have done research and found a couple of Sellers that sell the set for a reasonable mark-up and give discounts for shipping on large orders. I tend to put in larger orders to save as much as I can shipping. eBay can get really expensive if you aren’t careful with sellers. We have also been known to make orders from Buyee Japan so that we could get old sets that are no longer made.
Other Places I have had success ordering from:
Local Toy Shops – Several toy shops in my area carry some set
Amazon JP – Shipping is again expensive and it’s difficult to get mulitple items in a preorder
Amazon UK – Limited selection of what could be sent to the US
Barnes and Noble – Very Limited Selection but they do have some newer ones
Sugoi Mart – Expensive but they have had sets I’ve never seen anywhere else like the Olympics Mascots
This post is a review of the nanoblock Articuno build. Articuno is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Names:
English: Articuno
Japanese: Freezer
Number: NBPM_048
Number of Pieces: 170
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Articuno is one of the legendary Pokemon from generation 1. It has been available in some form in most of the later generations. This build is for the Kanto region bird; there is no build for the Galar region Articuno. Articuno is an ice-type bird that is known for having a flowing tail.
This nanoblock build is made of 4 parts, the body and head combination, 2 wings, and the tail. The head body combo is a reasonably usual build. Once you start building out where the wings attach, it gets a bit more complicated. The wings themselves were simple to build but connecting them was challenging.
Then the tail, I’m not sure that I ever got the tail right. Unlike nanoblock directions, I had a lot of difficulties reading the directions. After trying to create the tail, I’m not sure if it’s supposed to rest on the table along with the base or not. It never looked right as you can see in the photo below. The build ended up constantly tipping over, so I needed to put it on a base plate.
Overall until I got to the tail, I enjoyed building Articuno. Once I got to building the tail, I got frustrated and had difficulty lining everything up.
Things I liked:
It looks like the pokemon
Things I didn’t like:
The fact it was tippy no matter how I attached the tail
Hard to get the tail to attach, I don’t think I’ve gotten it right yet
This post is a review of the nanoblock Zapdos build. Zapdos is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Names:
English: Zapdos
Japanese: Thunder
Number: NBPM_046
Number of Pieces: 240
Difficulty Rating: 4/5
Zapdos is one of the legendary Pokemon from generation 1. It has been available in some form in most of the later generations. This build is for the Kanto region Zapdos, there is no build for the Galar region Zapdos.
The build is made up of 4 major parts along with the small body. The large parts are the head, 2 wings that are mirrored, and the tail. The body is just a basic cube that has open studs to attach the other body pieces. The head is a pretty simple build. The first real challenge I had was the wings because they don’t have a real base to have them stable so instead of using my pad I had to balance the wings on my hand. The tail is tricky as well because there are lots of chains where things are being held on by one stud.
Overall I really enjoyed the build. I think it appears way more impressive than the work that goes into it.
nanoblocks are small building blocks. When I am telling people about them the best way I have found to describe them is tiny LEGOs. They come in a ton of different colors and in general, I find the colors to be more vibrant than LEGO. The photo above shows a pink LEGO next to a red nanoblock.
nanoblock primarily com in kits instead of boxes of loose bricks. These kits have a ton of different themes including Pokemon, historic buildings, and anime characters. I am regularly impressed with how much detail they can get into a build that can normally fit into the palm of your hand. While Lego has been a household name for decades for their building kits, nanoblocks are much smaller and relatively new since they were only created in 2008. The company puts its own description on each package. For example, some of the packages read,
nanoblock is an extremely micro-sized building block born in JAPAN. The smallest part is a mere 4x4x5mm! “Fun to make, Fun to display and Fun to collect.” nanoblock is a stimulating and entertaining hobby material for everybody, especially for grown-ups.
Back of nanoblock packages
A description similar to this can be found in English on both Japanese and American Packaging.
I know it can be hard to compare with just measurements, so here is a picture of a quarter, a 2×2 pink LEGO, and a 2×2 red nanoblock.
As you can see, the nanoblock is much smaller than the LEGO. This means that your final builds are much smaller, making it easier to have a large collection. One of my biggest problems with LEGO is every building takes up so much space it is hard to keep them all out and display them all. On the other hand, I can easily store 50 or more in a display cabinet or Kallex from Ikea. One of the other advantages is that they can be much less expensive. Most small kits can be purchased new for $10-$25. There are deluxe kits that can cost much more but overall there is a much lower barrier to entry than with LEGO when it comes to cost.
Generally, I have only been able to get the bricks that come in a kit that comes with exactly what is needed to build that one kit. I have had a hard time getting the nanoblocks sets that are just collections of colors like NB-023. There are a number of sets like NB-023 but they are rarely in stock when I try to purchase from Plaza Japan or Amazon JP. These variety packs are similar to the LEGO classic packs, where there are a set number of each size and color that you can build.
My general findings with working with nanoblock over LEGO:
They can be very slippery when you lay out a base layer on a table. This means that it can be hard to get the second layer lined up properly. To help this I bought a nanoblock pad to get everything lined up when I am building. There are still occasions when I can’t use the pad because sometimes the base layer has bricks on angles
It can be difficult to pick up and place the 1×1 bricks exactly when you are sliding them into the brick right next to another; I have a pair of Japanese nanoblock tweezers for these
The smaller kits, even the buildings, normally fit into an area of 3in x 3in x 3in. The Deluxe sets are much larger.
This post is a review of the nanoblock Blastoise build. Blastoise is part of the nanoblock Pokemon collection. Wondering what else is part of the Pokemon Collection? Click Here for a list.
Number: NBPM_019
Number of Pieces: 220
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Blastoise is the 3rd evolution of Squirtle from generation 1. His most recognizable attribute is the cannons on his back.
Overall I found the build challenging because this was one of the first builds that was built using a ton of smaller builds. From the beginning, you are connecting smaller builds together, so it takes a while to see how you are making. In particular, I found Blastoise’s arms to be finicky because there was one stud holding up the L-shaped blocks.
Overall I really like the final build. It is solid and clean and highly recognizable as Blastoise. I feel like it has enough details, like the cannons and the white fingertips, to clarify which Pokemon you are dealing with.
Things I liked:
How the cannons look on his back
Things I didn’t like:
Getting his hands to hold and building around the hands once you added them
