Tag: NBH

Review of nanoblock Christmas Night NBH_191

December 25, 2025November 29, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Christmas Night build. Christmas Night 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_191

Number of Pieces: 530

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

This kit is made up of several smaller sections that are all placed on the baseplate.

The first section is to build the house on the left. I bought this kit used so it was a bit difficult to tell where to use the tan vs the golden single bricks. I guess that the tan bricks were the more peachy-looking bricks on the instructions. Other than the coloring questions, this house was very straightforward.

The second section is the house on the right. Once again, I was guessing about the colors, but overall, the instructions were clear.

The next section is to lay out the base. This was a bit tricky because the photos were so small it was a bit tricky to keep track of where the bricks went. After laying out the fences, sections 1 and 2 were attached to the base.

Then, some trees and a plant pot were added to the base.

The next section is the sleigh. There were 2 problems with my sleigh. First, the base of my sleigh wasn’t very secure until I attached the runners at a much later step. Secondly, it looked to me like there was no gap between the seat and the presents, but when I built it, I had a gap.

The next section was the reindeer. He was very clear overall, including when attached to the sleigh.

After building the reindeer and sleigh, the sleigh runners are finally added. The structure that holds up the sleigh is also added.

The last major section to build is the Christmas tree right out front.

This kit also came with a nanobbit dressed up as Santa. Since I bought the kit used it was already put together. He sits nicely in the sleigh but will fall out with any movement.

Things I liked:

I really like the amount of height and the various heights throughout the build. I feel that it adds a lot

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t love the combining of clear and solid bricks. I don’t feel that it adds a lot, nor do I think that so many bricks are clear is marked clearly in the instructions

Review nanoblock Play in the Snow NBH_165

December 18, 2025November 29, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Play in the Snow build. Play in the Snow 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_165

Number of Pieces: 360

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

I bought this kit used, knowing I would at least get the instructions. Sadly, the bricks had yellowed, which may be visible in the photos. There are bricks that can’t be bought individually, so I couldn’t use my spare white bricks.

This build is broken up into 3 different sections. There is the snowball, the snowman, and the tree.

The first step is to prepare the base. It begins by laying a layer of clear and white bricks out on the white 20×20 base. I like how there is an indent where the path of the snowball that is being rolled would be. A couple more layers of white and clear bricks are added to the base.

The next step is to build the snowball. The snowball goes up in straightforward layers, creating a rounded shape.

The next step is to build the snowman. The snowman has a body and a head. The most difficult thing about building the snowman is that there are 2 different slanted bricks. One is steeper than the other. The instructions used a symbol to denote which brick to use, but I kept getting the colors of the symbol confused.

The body of the snowman is built on the base plate. There are several layers of white bricks, but eventually, various colors are used to create the scarf, arms, and gloves.

The head was pretty straightforward. I like that the snowman is smiling and how his carrot nose sicks out. After building the head, it it attached to the body.

The tree was built off the base plate. It begins with a layer of green that quickly turns to white to show how the tree is snow-covered. The tree goes up in straightforward layers of white. The only tricky part was when there was an overhang making sure that the right amount was overhanging. Then, the tree is flipped over, and the truck is added. Then, the tree is attached to the base by the trunk.

A nice detail of the kit is that it comes with a nanobit. Since I got the kit used, it has already been built. It was easy to pose the nanobit so that it looked like he was rolling the snowball.

Things I liked:

I really like the details of the various depths in the base plate, so it looks like the nanobit is walking in a trench made by the snowball

Things I didn’t like:

I didn’t enjoy all the slanted pieces, but it’s my fault for buying a used kit

Review of nanoblock The Grand Hotel Taipei NBH_096

November 27, 2025November 29, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock The Grand Hotel Taipei build. The Grand Hotel Taipei 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_096

Country: Taiwan

Number of Pieces: 1030

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

This kit came with a Grand Hotel sticker with a number, so I’m assuming this kit was a limited run and was only available in Taiwan.

This kit comes with 2 20×20 base plates that are each built separately, and then the plates are connected.

The first plate contains the hotel building.

I began by laying out the base layer of bricks to create the foundation of the building. I needed to keep track of the number of spaces in gaps carefully.

The building goes up in a pattern. There are 2 layers of bricks with columns, then a roof layer. This repeats 5 times.

Then, I began to build the roof. There are a couple more layers to create a top of the main structure.

Then I built the roof. The roof was a bit tricky because I had a hard time knowing what a previous layer was and what an older layer was, so I wasn’t sure where to start a given layer.

The second plate is the front plaza and a gate.

I began by laying out the base layer of bricks which includes grass and columns.

Then, I built the gate. It was fairly straightforward, with clear instructions. I just needed to be careful to keep the bottom of the square bricks properly aligned.

Then, I added the trees in the courtyard.

The final step was to connect the bases. It was just a pair of 1×2 bricks, so the bases were heavy, so it was hard to move the finished build around without the bases coming apart.

Things I liked:

I really like the size of the build and that it can be used on the LED plates

Things I didn’t like:

I didn’t find the instructions for the roof to be very clear and could have been much clearer

Review of nanoblock Sagrada Familia Transparent ver NBH_005R

November 20, 2025November 29, 2024shygal

Sagrada Familia Transparent ver build and box

This post is a review of the nanoblock Sagrada Familia Transparent ver build. Sagrada Familia Transparent ver 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_005R

Country: Spain

Number of Pieces: 510

Difficulty Rating: 4/5

Sagrada Familia Transparent ver build front view

This kit was one of the transparent versions that were released for nanoblock’s 10th anniversary. This kit is special because most of the bricks in the kit are transparent and come in unique colors.

Sagrada Familia Transparent ver build side view

This kit begins by laying a layer of brown bricks out on a clear yellow base.

I was surprised that most of the building was built in the center of the brown base. It builds in fairly straightforward layers. It was a bit tricky to tell which bricks to use in some steps.

Next, there is a step that adds some stair-looking things to the back. In the next steps, the steps are locked into place. When I built the back of the building, the bricks bent, so I needed to do more work to keep them in place.

Sagrada Familia Transparent ver build back view

The next step is to build the center section of the tower. I had some problems lining up the center section when I added it to my base section.

Next, some small details are added to the front section of the building.

The final step is to add the 4 spires. Building the spires was fairly straightforward. I had run out of square 1x1s, so I used round ones instead. I bought this kit used so I’m not sure if the bricks were lost or if I used square bricks where there should have been round ones.

Sagrada Familia Transparent ver build front 3/4 view

Things I liked:

I really like the clear bricks that were created for this kit. It makes the kit for special

Things I didn’t like:

I didn’t like that I was missing bricks, but I knew that was a risk getting a used kit

Review of nanoblock Burj Khalifa NBH_122

November 13, 2025November 29, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Burj Khalifa build. Burj Khalifa 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_122

Country: UAE (United Arab Emirates)

Number of Pieces: 550

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

The build begins by preparing the base layer. This consists of laying out bricks on the 20×20 clear base.

Then, I began to build the actual tower. Each step has the instructions to add 3 layers to the tower. Overall, the steps were very straightforward. however, I had two difficulties.

First, since the entire tower is built of rounded bricks sometimes the layer wasn’t completely square. I caught this as it happened and was able to squeeze the layer back to square.

The second problem was that in some steps, there was a step in so the lower layer was the top. Generally, it was fairly clear, but I sometimes had a hard time keeping each layer lined up.

After building the main body of the tower there are some bricks to add the final height to the tower.

Things I liked:

I like the use of the dark grey every few layers to add some variation to the building

Things I didn’t like:

I’m not sure if the green on the base is accurate

Review of nanoblock Tokyo Tower NBH_090

November 6, 2025November 29, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Tokyo Tower build. Tokyo Tower 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_090

Country: Japan

Number of Pieces: 280

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

This is at least the second version of Tokyo Tower. The original is NBH_001. This kit has a gap in the bottom base so it can be used with one of the LED plates.

This kit begins by preparing the base plate. It consists of laying out green on a clear 20×20 baseplate. There is a gap in the green so that the light from the LED baseplate could come through.

The next few steps create the bottom of the tower and the building directly under the tower.

This build is unusual because each section of the building is built off the base and connected.

The first section is to build the base of the tower, which goes from 4 separate legs to 1 tower. I really liked how the arches were built.

The next section is building the rest of the tower. Each step is very straightforward. I like the amount of detail in each layer.

Note: I didn’t include the trees around the base. I don’t like how the trees look, so I left them off.

Things I liked:

I really like how the points where the legs become one tower

Things I didn’t like:

I didn’t like the trees, so I left them off

Review of nanoblock Himeji Castle NBH_099

October 30, 2025November 28, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Himeji Castle build. Himeji Castle 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_099

Country: Japan

Number of Pieces: 330

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

This build begins by laying the outline of the castle and wall on the baseplate.

The next steps are adding a couple layers of bricks to create the castle and the wall.

The next steps are to add the large walls on the side of the building. These use dark grey to create the roof details on the walls. Each step also adds a layer to the castle building.

Then, a couple more layers are added to the castle before starting on the roof.

The next several steps are to create the light grey roof.

The last step was to add the trees to the baseplate. I didn’t add them when the instructions said to because I knew I would keep knocking them off when I was building the rest of the building.

This kit also came with nanoids, but I didn’t include them because I knew they didn’t match the scale.

Things I liked:

I like the various shades of grey that are used to add details to the build

Things I didn’t like:

I don’t love how the tower at the wall corner doesn’t line up with either of the walls

Review of nanoblock Classic Camera NBH_076

October 23, 2025November 28, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Classic Camera build. Classic Camera 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_076

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

The box says Bic Camera Limited. I believe that this kit was only available at limited stores.

I began the build by laying out the base layer of bricks on my nanoblock pad. Then I added the second layer of bricks which connected the base layer together.

Then, I began to build up the camera’s sides. This means that the actual camera is hollow.

After adding a couple of layers to the sides, I built and added the base of the lens.

Then, I followed the clear directions to build the rest of the side of the camera and the lens.

Then, it was time to add the top and close the build-up. This was by far the most difficult part of the build. My build even exploded the first time, and I needed to restart.

The problem with the build comes from the fact that the back is offset. This means there is a wall of bricks that aren’t connected. While I was building, it tried to pop out. The hard part was making sure that when the camera back pops back in. The first time, it wasn’t lined up, so when I pushed down, the whole roof collapsed, causing the bricks to explode.

The final few steps are adding the details to the top of the camera.

Things I liked:

I really like how the details make the build look like a miniature camera

Things I didn’t like:

I didn’t enjoy it when my build exploded while I was building it

Review of nanoblock Arc de tiomphe de l’Etoile NBH_075

October 16, 2025November 28, 2024shygal

Arc de tiomphe de l'Etoile build and box

This post is a review of the nanoblock Arc de tiomphe de l’Etoile build. Arc de tiomphe de l’Etoile 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_075

Country: France

Difficulty Rating: 2/5

Arc de tiomphe de l'Etoile build front view

I bought this kit used to all the bricks were combined into 1 bag. The fact that all the bricks were combined made building more difficult because it was hard to tell the difference between grey and dark grey. Most of the bricks are dark grey, and the grey is only used in 1 step.

The build begins by laying out the 4 base columns on the 20×20 base plate.

Arc de tiomphe de l'Etoile build side view

The 4 columns are built in very straightforward layers. In the layers, the details on the inside of the arch and statues around the outside.

Then, the columns are connected in pairs by building a structure for the main building. Then, there are 2 columns.

The 2 columns continue to go up. In several steps, the instructions say where to start the layer, which is unusual but a very nice detail.

Arc de tiomphe de l'Etoile build back view

Then, the 2 columns are connected to create the roof of the Arch. It goes up in layers. The layers switch off between dark grey and cream. At one point, the layer uses grey bricks instead of the dark grey.

The Arc de tiomphe de l’Etoile is in the center of a giant roundabout. I don’t remember there being trees or street lights in the center of the roundabout, so I left them out of the build.

Arc de tiomphe de l'Etoile build front 3/4 view

Things I liked:

I liked how the instructions included where to start a layer. This made it easier to keep things lined up.

Things I didn’t like:

I found it hard to tell the difference between the 2 greys, which means rebuilding the kit would be hard unless I was super careful taking the build apart in the first place

Review of nanoblock Big Tree NBH_006

October 9, 2025November 28, 2024shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Big Tree build. Big Tree 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_006

Country: USA

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

I’m honestly not sure what “Big Tree” nanoblock is referring to with this build. I live in the USA, and there are no particular trees that I know of that have national significance.

The build begins with laying out the base bricks for the 4 trees.

The next step is a pull out set of instructions to build the main body of the tree. This is the main section of the build. The base was too large for my nanoblock pad, so I laid the bricks out on the table. It took several layers for everything to all be locked into place. Once everything was connected, the rest of the tree became very straightforward.

Under the cut there is a small build in the small direction to build the trunk to connect the tree to the base. I almost missed it while I was building the tree.

The next step is to build the 3 trees in the background. The trunks are simple towers of bricks. The tops of the tree are a little tricky to build because the instructions are so cramped. I’m not sure that I got them perfect, but I know that it at least gets the point across.

There are instructions on how to build a bunch of nanoids. I didn’t include them because I’m unsure if they fit the scale of the tree.

Things I liked:

I really enjoyed building the main body of the tree. It starts as a ring with a cross in the middle and ends up in a hollow, closed dome.

Things I didn’t like:

Overall, I felt the instructions were very cramped. I wish they had been printed front and back, but this was before nanoblock was printing double-sided directions