NBC

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

Number: NBC_079

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2

This build is broken up into 3 sections. There is a head, neck, and body. I built each section on my nanoblock pad.

The head is very straightforward. There are several colors in the head. The colors create the nose, eyes, and ears.

The neck is a very straightforward 4 layers of bricks.

The body section is very straightforward. Although the body section is hollow, the instructions provide directions to create a very solid core of bricks.

I added the legs and placed the body on the base before connecting the head and neck. This is because I wasn’t sure how difficult it would be to get the legs lined up with the base.

Once I had attached the body to the base, I added the neck and head and completed the build.

Things I liked:

• I really like how recognizable the build is. I feel that the legs help to make the Alpaca look fluffy.

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t really like the dark yellow used to create the ears of the Alpaca

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

Number: NBC_069 

Number of Pieces: 130

Difficulty Rating: 4

This section is broken into 3 parts. There is the head, main body, and the Chimpanzee’s rear end.

The head is a bit difficult to build. This is because, overall, the head is very flexible while you are building it. Whenever I added new bricks to a new section, some of the previously added bricks would fall off.

The Chimpanzee’s hips and rear end are another major section of the build. This section was very straightforward.

The third major section is the body. I would highly recommend building on a nanoblock pad. This is because there are bricks that are added to a level but not pinned in place until a couple layers later. Besides things not getting pinned in place by each layer, the build is fairly straightforward.

These 3 sections are connected to build the main body of the Chimpanzee.

The last step is to add the legs. The back legs are identical and are very simple. The front legs are trickier and require reading directions full of arrows, which makes reading more difficult. There is a display stand for the Chimpanzee. I had a surprisingly difficult time getting my build to sit on the stand.

Things I liked:

• I like how recognizable the build is as Chimpanzee

Things I didn’t like:

• Lining him up on the base was surprisingly difficult. I was able to attach it, but it took much longer than I expected

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

Number: NBC_010

Number of Pieces: 80

Difficulty Rating: 1

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 dark brown brick color.

The build begins with a layer of brown 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 straightforward layers. There are black details to create the eyes and nose. The head is flipped over, and the ears are added.

The body of the dog 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. The bone is loose and can fall out of the bowl.

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 Chipmunk build. Chipmunk is part of the nanoblock Mini Collection series. Wondering what else is part of the Mini Collection? Click here for a list.

Number: NBC_089 

Number of Pieces: 160

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

This build was a bit tricky because there are white and cream bricks. The colors are similar, so making sure I selected the right color just took paying extra attention.

This build is a level 3 difficulty. This is because there are a number of points where things are not square. This creates the idea that the blocks are smaller than they are. It is tricky to work around these non-centered pieces, but the instructions are good, so everything lines up properly.

The Chipmunk is broken into 3 sections, the head, body, and final details.

The first section is to build the head. The second step is where off-center bricks are introduced to the build. Other than the off-center bricks, the rest of the head goes up in simple layers. I really like how puffy the chipmunk’s cheeks are.

The second major section is to build the body of the chipmunk. The first layer of bricks includes an off-center brick. Then the body of the chipmunk goes up in fairly straightforward layers. At one point, the brick is actually held in place from the top instead of being held in place from the bottom.

The head is then attached to the body. There is a diagram that shows how to position the head on the body.

The final details are a couple of simple steps. The first is to add the feet to the chipmunk. To put the chipmunk on the base, I set the feet going straight instead of at an angle. The other step is to build and attach the tail. The tail is straightforward. There is also an acorn which is very straightforward.

There is a side-view photo that clearly shows how to attach the tail to the body.

Things I liked:

• I really like how the chipmunk’s cheeks appear to be full and puffed up

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t like the random pink bricks that are used to create the paws

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

Number: NBC_191 

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The dolphin is fairly straightforward. The hardest part is telling whether the bricks for the step are white or light grey. Each step in my directions listed what color was needed for each step, so it was easier to tell which color to use.

The main body is built in layers. I wasn’t able to build the kit on the nanoblock pad because the base layer has socket joints, so it won’t lay flat.

After building the main section, the nose section is built and added. After adding the nose, the back and dorsal fin are added.

The next step is to add the tail. Getting the tail centered was a bit tricky because one section is much larger than the other section.

The final step is to build the stand and add the fins. The stand is clear and great because it allows the dolphin to be posed in various positions, which is great.

Things I liked:

• I really liked how posable the dolphin is because of the stand it is on

Things I didn’t like:

• Telling the white versus the light grey was really difficult in the directions

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

Number: NBC_136

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The build is mostly one large section building the main body of the Orca. It goes up in layers and can be built on the nanoblock pad. The layers create a hollow tube that is closed on the ends. The layers are pretty straightforward, but it is difficult to tell the eyes are rounded bricks, and I spent a lot of time looking for a square piece.

After building the body, the next step is to build the fins and tail. These are all attached using ball joints.

Things I liked:

• I like how posable the fins and tail are.
• I like how there is a clear base, so it looks like the orca is floating

Things I didn’t like:

• It was really hard to tell that the eyes were rounded bricks

Link to order:

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

Number: NBC_214

Number of Pieces: 110

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

I purchased this kit open from Japan. It is not a very common kit, so I was excited to simply get a kit with the instructions. The finished photographed build may have some discoloration because it was built before I didn’t have control of the environment.

This beluga build is very unique amongst the large sea animals. Most of the sea animals are down on their stomachs. This build has the beluga up on its tail.

Since the beluga is standing on its tail, the build is basically a tower of bricks. The tower is much more narrow at the bottom than at the top. Building the tower consists of adding layers from a single 2×3 brick.

Building up from the 2×3 brick is very straightforward. The instructions are very clear, and it is easy to tell which bricks to add. There were also minimal places where bricks needed to be lined up or centered.

The only break in building the tower is to add the flippers to the side of the build via ball joints.

Once the main body of the beluga is built, the final step is to add the base and tail. Building the section is pretty straightforward. However, it is hard to tell where the tail section should connect to the main body. Based on the photos, I lined the tail with the back of the whale so has a smooth connection. However, it is possible that there is supposed to be a step between the back of the whale and the tail.

Things I liked:

• I really like the unique pose of the whale

Things I didn’t like:

• It isn’t clear how to connect the tail and body sections

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

Number: NBC_007

Country: 80

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

This build is unusual for an NBC kit because it starts with building 2 sections that are both attached to a clear base. The white section is clear and goes up in layers in a fairly straightforward manner. The green section, however, is different. It needs to be built from the top down, which is tricky to hold while building. Once the white and green sections are built, they are added to a pair of clear blocks to create a base.

Once the sections are added to the base, the rest of the frog goes up in straightforward layers. Eyes are added as details.

The last step is to add the feet. I wanted to use the base, so I couldn’t put the feet on at angles, as shown in the final build.

Things I liked:

• I really like the frog, and I feel like it really looks like a tree frog

Things I didn’t like:

• I hate when the photos of the final build show the finished build in a position that can’t be done. In this case, it’s angled feet on the square base

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

Number: NBC_060

Number of Pieces: 120

Difficulty Rating: 2

I began by building the body on my nanoblock pad. It was built up by adding several layers that created the curved shape.

Next was building the head, which was very straightforward. I really like the red detail, which looks like bows behind the ears.

Next, I added the 4 legs and paws. It was a bit tricky to tell where exactly the legs connected to the body.

The final step was to build and add the final details. First, there was the tail. Then there is the bowl holding a bone.

The poodle can be attached to the included 10×10 green base. It was a bit tricky to attach the dog to the base.

Things I liked:

• I feel like the dog is properly shaped to be a poodle. It even has poofy ears and a poofy tail.

Things I didn’t like:

• Attaching the dog to the display base was tricky

Link to order: