Sights to See

This post is a review of the nanoblock Daruma build. Daruma 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_195

Number of Pieces: 400

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

The Dauma doll begins with a layer of red bricks. I laid the base out on my nanoblock pad to keep everything lined up.

After a couple layers, the yellow stripes become visible. The layers trade around what exactly is in a layer so that one yellow brick remains visible while all the rest of the yellow is covered by red. There are some very neat tricks to keep just one corner of yellow visible.

After several layers of yellow and red, I began to build the face. The face is made up of black, orange, and skin-tone bricks. I like the addition of the orange to add some detail to the face. I also really like how nanoblock used all sorts of bricks to create curves in the face and the eyebrows.

The Daruma is then closed up to finish the build. The kit comes with several different kanji stickers, but since I’m not sure what any of them are, I chose not to put any on my doll.

The final step is to add the eyes. Normally, if you make a wish on the Daruma, you fill in one eye when you make the wish and the other eye when the wish comes true. I chose to put both eyes on my doll for the photos.

Things I liked:

• I really like that this build is close to the size of the actual Daruma dolls I have seen

Things I didn’t like:

• I didn’t like how the directions look like the eye is attached using the center of the round brick when it actually attached using the one of the edge holes

This post is a review of the nanoblock Piano build. The Piano 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_167

Number of Pieces: 210

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

This was the first build that I have built that came with a nanobbit. I was surprised by how many pieces went into the nanobbit came in but it was very simple to put it together.

The build begins with creating the stage to place the piano on. It begins with a large maroon base plate. From there the outline of the stage is added in layers. Then the top stage is put into place. The final step is to add the attachment points for the bench and piano.

The next step is adding the piano bench, which is extremely straightforward.

The next step is to build the main body of the piano. It begins by building the outline in black. After building the outline you add the backboard of the piano and the keys. Then you build a wall of the piano and attach the joint of the ball joint so that you can attach the top. Connect the piano to the base.

The final step is to create a wall of black bricks with a pair of balls from ball joints that create the top of the piano. Once you connect it, the piano is finished

Things I liked:

• I feel that the scale between the nanobbit and the piano is reasonable

Things I didn’t like:

• I wish that the nanobbit was able to stand on the base plate with both feet

This post is a review of the nanoblock Optical fiber LED+ Merlion build. Optical fiber LED+ Merlion 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_158

Country: Singapore 

Number of Pieces: 300

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

The Merlion is the official mascot of Singapore. I believe this build is the 8.6m tall statue at Merlion Park but there are several other statues around Singapore.

This is a lit version of the nanoblock Merlion build number NBH_105. There is an optical fiber that directs the light from the NB-26 LED base plate.

The first step is to prepare the base of the fountain. The first step is to attach the blue plate making sure you end up with the holes lined up. Then you add the docks and the splashes in the water.

Most of this build is to create the actual Merlion. Overall the steps to build the Merlion are pretty straightforward. In a few cases, it is a bit tricky to tell where exactly to place the bricks depth-wise. Sadly once I had built several layers of my Merlion I noticed there were some gaps between layers. When I pushed tried to push the layer together, things would fall off instead of the build getting closer together.

The final step is to build the trees. They are very straightforward. Getting the taller trees to stand up straight was a bit tricky.

Things I liked:

• I really like how the build looks when it is lit up
• I like that when it is not lit up how it still looks like a normal fountain

Things I didn’t like:

• When I noticed that there were gaps partway down, I couldn’t push them in place without the whole build collapsing

This post is a review of the nanoblock Shigezo build. Shigezo 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_120 

Number of Pieces: 190

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

I bought this kit used, knowing I would at least get the instructions. I ended up buying a second set in order to get the bricks I was missing since I couldn’t buy them individually. Sadly, however, the white has become yellow with age. The discolored bricks may be visible in my photographs.

Shigezo was a popular entertainer who is/was active in Yoshimoto Shinkigeki. Yoshimoto Shinkigeki is a variety show in Osaka.

This kit has 3 sections. There is the head, the body, and the feet.

The head begins with the layer that has his teeth, face, and hair. I was able to lay this layer out on my nanoblock pad which was nice so that the teeth couldn’t roll away. The head goes up in fairly straightforward layers building the on the face and hair in each layer. After building the top of the head, I flipped the head over and added the chin area. Adding the chin was difficult because it was upside down, so I was guessing a bit as to which bricks to use.

At no point while I was building the body was I really positive about what I was doing. I began the build by laying the base layer of bricks on my nanoblock pad. I added each layer as instructed, even though each step seemed random at the time. In the end, I ended up with a completed body section that appears to be holding a sword.

The feet are very straightforward. It is just a few layers of bricks connected to the base.

The last step is to combine the 3 sections into 1 complete piece.

Things I liked:

• I actually really like how the finished model looks, especially the body. It looks complete with a lot of little details, such as how the fabric would flow

Things I didn’t like:

• I didn’t enjoy building upside down. Normally, I can figure out where things are connected, but this time, I had a really hard time

This post is a review of the nanoblock Succhi build. Succhi 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_119

Number of Pieces: 190

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

I believe from research there is a typo in the translation of the Romanji. Other people refer to the build as Sutchi. They were popular entertainer who is/was active in Yoshimoto Shinkigeki. Yoshimoto Shinkigeki is a variety show in Osaka.

The build is made up of 3 sections. There is the base, body, and head.

The head is by far the most difficult section to build. This is because of the glasses. The head starts with a base that builds up in layers. There are several sections where there are overhangs held on by one stud. The glasses are tricky because they are created with 1×1 and 1×2 with 1 stud on top. Getting everything lined up is tricky.

The skirt and body were fairly straightforward. The hardest part was building the arms. Once again, each arm was held in place with one stud. The arms are locked in place, so once they are put together, they have an easy time staying in place.

The base section is very straightforward and is simply attaching the legs to the base.

The hardest part was was putting the final build together. Each section is at an angle. There isn’t really much guidance on where to put each section.

Things I liked:

• I like the depth and detail in the glasses

Things I didn’t like:

• I didn’t like the lack of guidance as to how to put the sections together

This post is a review of the nanoblock Milky Peko build. Milky Peko 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_039

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Peko is an unusual package because her name is written in Japanese characters, whereas most of the other kits are written in English or Romanji. It’s also strange because all the imagery I can find of Peko has her name written in Romanji, not Katakana. Peko is one of the mascots for a confectionery shop in Japan named Fujiya. She has been around since the 1950s.

This build has 3 major sections. There is the base, the head, and the body.

The base is a piece of candy the Peko sits on. It is white with speckles of pink and baby blue. It begins with building the center section of the candy. Then the ends of candy are added. Then the top of the candy is added and rounded up.

The head is truly a marvel in getting things to line up. This is because there are a huge number of bricks that have space for 2 studs on the bottom and only 1 stud on top. These bricks require extra work to make sure everything lines up properly. The instructions were very clear, but it could be a bit difficult to tell where the off shifts were.

The body fairly straightforward. The first layer had from bricks offset so I wasn’t able to use my nanoblock pad. After the first layer was lined up and locked in the rest of the body is very straightforward.

Things I liked:

• I really like how the build catches details of Peko-chan, such as her tongue being out and the buttons in her overalls

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t like the large brick that represents her mouth. Peko-chan appears to only have a smile with her tongue out, so making her seem like her mouth open is an odd choice

This post is a review of the nanoblock Peko build. Peko 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_039

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Peko is an unusual package because her name is written in Japanese characters, whereas most of the other kits are written in English or Romanji. It’s also strange because all the imagery I can find of Peko has her name written in Romanji, not Katakana. Peko is one of the mascots for a confectionery shop in Japan named Fujiya. She has been around since the 1950s.

This build has 3 major sections. There is the base, the head, and the body.

At first glance, the base appears to be square, but it is actually a 9×8 rectangle. This means that the rectangle needs to be built. I laid the clear bricks out on my nanoblock pad, and the second layer holds all the bricks in place. Then, all I needed to do was add the feet and legs.

The head is truly a marvel in getting things to line up. This is because there are a huge number of bricks that have space for 2 studs on the bottom and only 1 stud on top. These bricks require extra work to make sure everything lines up properly. The instructions were very clear, but it could be a bit difficult to tell where the off shifts were.

The body is by far the most straightforward part of the build. I simply laid the base layer of bricks out on my nanoblock pad and build the body in normal layers.

Things I liked:

• I really like how the build catches details of Peko-chan, such as her tongue being out and the buttons in her overalls

Things I didn’t like:

• I don’t like the large brick that represents her mouth. Peko-chan appears to only have a smile with her tongue out, so making her seem like her mouth open is an odd choice