This post is a review of the nanoblock Haribo Goldbear build. Goldbear is not part of another nanoblock collection.
Difficulty Rating: 1
The instructions for this nanoblock build were in black and white. You know which bricks to use because each color is labeled using mostly hiragana, so I was able to read the colors at least.
The build begins with a base plate and builds up in layers in one build. I was surprised that the build wasn’t in sections.
First, you put the feet and legs on the base plate.
Next, you build the body of the bear in layers. I like the details of his paw being down being added in.
When you reach the top of the body, you add the bow tie. I was a little surprised that the bowtie was off-center, which was a bit of a surprise and made the directions a bit confusing. It is also a bit confusing as to where exactly the paw going up attaches to the body.
After adding the bow tie, you build the head. The head is very straightforward. I really like how big the Goldbear’s eyes are. I also really like how the ears are built to create a sense of depth.
Things I liked:
I like how recognizable the bear is. It looks a lot like the mascot
I like the depth of details in the ears
Things I didn’t like:
His bowtie is off-center, and I’m not sure I like it. I may have preferred it to be centered
As I built the body, it kept coming off the legs. I wish the build was in sections instead of just being in layers.
This post is a review of the nanoblock Kaminarimon build. Kaminarimon 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_115
Country: Japan
Number of Pieces: 390
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
The Kaminarimon is part of the outer gate leading to Senso-ji, which is a Buddist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. For more information, check out the wiki page here.
This is the second Kaminarimon build that I have done. The other is a lit version that you can read my review of here.
This build has an unusual base. While most of the landlocked buildings are on grey or green plates, this build is built up from a clear brown base.
The first step is to lay out the base layer. This creates the base for the two sides of the gate, the base for a fence, and some bushes around the edge.
The next few steps build the sides of the gate. Building the gate adds the details of the statues that live inside and creates the base to attach the roof.
There are a few more steps to prepare everything so that you can attach the roof. The trickiest part is the triangles are off-center, so getting everything centered is tricky. This is also the step where you build and attach the large lantern. The lantern is straightforward, with a sticker to create the Kanji. I don’t normally like to use stickers on builds, but the kanji on the lantern is so important to completing the build I went ahead and added the stickers.
The final step is to build and attach the roof and add the final details. It is very straightforward.
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. There is also a rickshaw that I didn’t include because it doesn’t attach to the build.
Things I liked:
The difference between the red and clear red added a nice detail
Things I didn’t like:
I don’t really like all the extras that got added to the build. The scale doesn’t seem right
This post is a review of the nanoblock Musee du Louvre build. Musee du Louvre 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_086
Country: France
Number of Pieces: 320
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
The Louvre is one of the largest museums in Paris, France. It is best known as being the home of the Mona Lisa. The other thing that makes the Louvre famous is the huge glass pyramid out front of the museum.
This build focuses on the front of the building and the glass pyramid. Since I haven’t seen the Louvre in person, I can’t speak to how accurate the building in the background looks.
The Louvre comes with a clear base plate. The first layer of the build creates a mostly grey base that becomes the path around the pyramid. There is a gap where the pyramid goes, which means you could light the glass pyramid with the LED base plate.
There is a lot of detail at the ground level that is created in the 3rd layer of bricks. After adding this detail, you build the background building. The building is very straightforward.
To create the actual pyramid, first, you create the center columns with ball joints that will eventually hold up the side. The next step is to build the 4 sides of the pyramid. Each side is attached to the center post with a ball joint. I really like how it created the look of the finished pyramid.
The build also comes with a couple of nanoids. I didn’t include them in my build because I don’t feel like it matches the scale.
Things I liked:
The finished pyramid looks cool
I liked that they made it lightable using the LED baseplate
This post is a review of the nanoblock Saint Basil’s Cathedral build. Saint Basil’s Cathedral 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_051
Country: Russia
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
I think Saint Basil’s Cathedral is probably the most famous building in Russia. The building is just off the Red Square in Moscow. While it was originally a Cathedral, today it is a museum. It is famous for the multi-colored domes that are at the top of the building.
The first part of the build is to create the main body of the Cathedral. It begins with laying out an outline of the building on the 20/20 board. The building goes up in layers.
In the 5th step, you add a roof that covers the entire building. Unlike a lot of other builds, the main 10×10 section of the roof fits on the outline instead of the bricks under just hanging out.
After adding the roofs, the next step is to build the bases for the various domes. There are a lot of nice details in the building between the various colors used and the style of bricks used.
Once the core of the building is completed, it’s time to build and create the various domes.
Each step adds several domes. In general, the directions are straightforward. However, the base of many of the domes are 3x1s crossed on each other on the center stud. This means that the bricks can act like a teeter-totter, so it can be tricky to get the bricks to be square.
Things I liked:
While it doesn’t have the detail of the actual Saint Basil’s Cathedral, I feel the building is recognizable
I really like all the colors in the domes
Things I didn’t like:
Several of the domes are held on by one stud so it can be tricky to get them straight
This post is a review of the nanoblock Osaka Castle build. The Osaka 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_173
Number of Pieces: 520
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
Osaka Castle is one of the many castles in Japan. As far as the castles in Japan go, Osaka is unique because of its green/teal roof. They create this roof by using turquoise bricks.
Overall the build is straightforward from starting with an outline on the solid 20×20 base. You build up the base that creates the actual castle’s base. Then you build the castle. Making sure you are using the correctly slanted pieces is tricky because it can be tricky to tell it is one or two bricks wide. Overall the details in the layer in between the roof layers also look really lovely.
I really like the build. I think it is recognizable as a traditional Japanese Castle. I think the use of the teal does an excellent job of giving it the correct color roof.
This post is a review of the nanoblock Golden Gate Bridge build. The Golden Gate Bridge 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_116
Country: USA
Number of Pieces: 380
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge in San Francisco, California. When it was built, it was both the tallest and the longest suspension bridge in the world. It also has a very distinct orange color.
This build is made of 2 major sections. There is the base of the bridge and the actual bridge itself.
The base is straightforward other than counting where exactly each item goes in the base layers. On the base, you create where the bridge connects to land and where the bridge meets the water. You also add a couple boats which seemed a bit random.
The next major step is to the main body of the bridge. The steps for building the bridge are very straightforward. The first step is to build the base of the bridge and create the main road.
After you build the road, you put cars on the road. You can’t see the cars on the finished build, so I’m not sure why the cars were added.
You also add the cables that connect to the large cables of the suspension bridge. At this point, I noticed that the bricks to build the body of the bridge were red, not the distinct orange that the Golden Gate Bridge is known for. I wish nanoblock had used orange for the build.
At this point, I broke from the directions and placed the main body on the base.
The final steps were to add the cable. I was wondering how nanoblock was going to create the massive cables. I really like the chain of the curved red bricks that create the cable. It was a bit tricky to get everything lined up properly.
Things I liked:
How the cabling of the bridge is created
Things I didn’t like:
I wish nanoblock had used orange bricks for the bridge
Some of the details throughout the build seem to just be thrown into the build and don’t add much
This post is a review of the nanoblock Inari Shrine build. The Inari Shrine 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_108
Country: Japan
Number of Pieces: 530
Difficulty Rating: 3/5
I built this kit while recovering from Covid-19, so I was creating through brain fog. This meant that the build took several days instead of a few hours.
An Inari shrine is a Japanese shrine used to worship the kami Inari. Inari is a popular deity associated with foxes, rice, household well-being, business prosperity, and general prosperity. There are several shrines throughout Japan that are either Sinto or Buddhist. Inari shrines are typically constructed of white walls with red woodwork, and their entrances are marked by torii. These shrines commonly have statues of foxes.
In the first couple of steps, it is challenging to tell what exactly is happening. This is because the base is so dark, so it’s hard to see the top of the studs to count how many studs are in a gap. Personally, I have a hard time counting the bricks when they are outlined in white.
After a few layers, you lay the base for the temple and just focus on just building the shrine. From there, the temple goes up in basic layers until you reach the roof. The roof on the sides doesn’t line up with the other rows, so it is tough to tell where precisely the roof goes so it lines up.
Building the roof of the main shrine is very straightforward. It creates a layered look for the shrine’s roof.
After building the main structure of the shrine, you add the details along the path heading up to the main shrine.
First, there are the trees or bushes. Since the scale is a little off, it’s hard to know what is being built. I found the trees very tricky to get everything lined up correctly. For the first couple of steps, it’s hard to tell where precisely the overhangs are, so it is hard to line everything up. After a couple steps, there are overhead shots, so it is much easier to figure out where the bricks go.
The final steps is to add the torii over a couple steps. First, you add the torii going up to the main shrine. These are a bit tricky to get everything lined up, but each top is straightforward. Then you add the main torii at the entrance to the shrine; this is also very straightforward.
Overall I really liked the build and found it enjoyable. However, I feel that the scale is off. When I’ve been to Inari shrines in Japan, I’ve never seen statues that are the size of torii gates. In the model, the pair of Inari are as tall as the torii on the path going up to the shrine. This means the scale is just a little off.
Things I liked:
The fox statues at the front of the build
Things I didn’t like:
How hard the directions were to read at the beginning
This post is a review of the nanoblock Forbidden City build. Forbidden City is part of the nanoblock Sight to See collection. Wondering what else is part of the Sights to See Collection? Click here for a list.
Number: NBH_145
Country: China
Number of Pieces: 290
Difficulty Rating: 2/5
The Forbidden City is a massive complex that used to be home to the imperial family. Today it is a massive museum that you can walk through and see all the buildings.
Since the Forbidden City is made up of several large buildings, I’m not sure which exact building it is supposed to be, but it does match the styles of all the central buildings.
One of the marks of traditional Chinese architecture is columns and up curves on the ceiling. I could see from the box that those details were created in the build.
The build begins by creating a base for the building. It is straightforward, but there are nice details on the stairs with the white bricks.
The next step is to create the main section of the building. It is quite straightforward and used round red 1x1s to create the class columns on both sides of the building. Just under the roof and hard to see is a layer of various colors. This detailing near the roof is very common in traditional Chinese buildings.
The final step of the build is to create the roof. The main buildings of the Forbidden City have a distinct two-tier roof, with a painted section and a blue sign distinguishing the building. This roof is created with the break for the painted section and sign.
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.
Things I liked:
I really like the details to create the painted sections under the roof
Things I didn’t like:
The trees in front of the building are random and don’t really fit in with the build
This post is a review of the nanoblock Great Pyramid of Giza build. The Great Pyramid of Giza 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_033
Country: Egypt
Difficulty Rating: 1
This build has 2 sections there is the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx. It does appear that in real life, you can see one monument from the other, so that is realistic. I’m not sure if the oasis is realistic as I have never seen photos that include an oasis.
For this build, there are 2 20×20 squares. One square holds the Sphinx, while the other holds the great pyramid. The base plates are connected by the oasis and a sands hill.
While the instructions have you build the 2 pieces in unison, I’m going to discuss the 2 monuments separately.
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid is very straightforward. Each layer of the pyramid is 2 levels high. This creates height to make it taller than the Sphinx, but it also creates the stair-like effect you see in photos. The Pyramid simply goes up, getting smaller and smaller until you reach the peak of the pyramid.
Sphinx
The body of the Sphinx is very straightforward and goes up in layers. The hardest part of the body is getting the first layer in exactly the right place.
The head is tricky to put together. This is because of how the diagram is drawn in the instructions. The head is created by building several smaller segments and connecting them together. Each segment is straightforward, but the final connection is a bit confusing.
This build did include several nanoids. I didn’t include them because they don’t match the rest of the scale of the build.
Things I liked:
I really like the color that they used for the Pyramid and Sphinx
Things I didn’t like:
Unless there is actually an oasis, I wish they wouldn’t add large details to the Sights to See builds
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.
