nanoblock

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 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
• The scale of the final build is a little off

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.

Things I liked:

• I like how recognizable it is for a small build
• The detail of the window is nice

Things I didn’t like:

• How the pieces were bagged for this kit

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