Tag: Sights to See - Page 2 - Shy Gal's Building Blog

Review of nanoblock Golden Gate Bridge NBH_116

August 3, 2023May 17, 2023shygal

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.

Golden Gate Bridge build short side view

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

Review of nanoblock Inari Shrine NBH_108

July 27, 2023May 17, 2023shygal

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

Review of nanoblock Forbidden City NBH_145

July 20, 2023March 12, 2024shygal

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

Review of nanoblock Great Pyramid of Giza NBH_033

July 13, 2023March 12, 2024shygal

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

Review of nanoblock Cathedrale Notre-Dame De Paris NBH_093

July 6, 2023March 12, 2024shygal

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.

Cathedrale Notre-Dame build front 3/4 view

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.

Cathedrale Notre-Dame build back 3/4 view

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

Review of nanoblock Great Wall of China NBH_136

June 29, 2023March 12, 2024shygal

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

Review of nanoblock Himeji Castle NBH_197

June 22, 2023May 17, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Himeji Castle build. The Himeji 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_197

Number of Pieces: 490

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Himeji Castle is one of the significant landmarks in Japan. It’s a white castle with a grey roof. While there is a deluxe edition, I also wanted to try the smaller model because there is a collection of miniature castles built on the same size base.

As to the build, there is a collection of white and light grey bricks to create the building. In terms of the directions, it is easy to tell what shape brick goes where. However, I personally had some difficulty telling where the white bricks were in the previous layer and which were light grey in the current layer. I also had challenges with the outer wall. I think I had to rebuild it like 3 times until it was there and ready to keep going.

To me, it was a really lovely building of a castle. I’m not how much it looks like Himeiji, but it is still clearly a Japanese castle.

Review of nanoblock Kirby Dream Land NBH_230

April 20, 2023March 3, 2023shygal

This post is a review of the nanoblock Kirby Dream Land build. Kirby Dream Land 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_230

Number of Pieces: 400

Difficulty Rating: 3/5

Please note that while several characters are on the box, the only characters that are actually part of the build are Kirby and Whispy Woods (the tree). The other characters shown are part of volume 2 of the Kirby mininano collection.

This build has 4 sections. There is Whispy Woods, the base, Kirby on a star, and a tree.

I think it is worth noting there are 2 shades of green (one used for each tree), but they are very similar in poor lighting, so be careful.

Whispy Woods is basically a semicircle of nanoblock. Until you add leaves, the build goes up in layers, with each layer covering the brick gaps from the previous layer. I was a little surprised that the mouth didn’t have anything behind it, but it is really just an opening that you can see through.

When adding the leaves to Whispy Woods, you need to be careful because there are several places where bricks are overhanging. This is tricky because if you push too hard, the bricks might collapse. After building the overhanging sections, the rest of the leaves are straightforward layers.

The final step for Whispy Woods is to add the details. This includes apples in the leaves. There are also the nose and arms added. The final step is to add the root details.

The second section in the instructions is the base. There is a misprint in the instructions. In step 27, the brick between the 2 10×10 plates is green. In step 28, the same brick is shown as clear. Based on extra brick counts and how it appears in steps 30 and 42, I determined the brick should be green. Other than the color typo setting up the base for Whispy Woods is very straightforward.

The third step in the instructions is the small tree in the background. The tree is very straightforward.

Next, you attach the smaller tree and Whispy Woods to the base. The studs for Whispy Woods are nicely lined up, so it was easy to attach him, which was nice and unexpected. I expected to need to turn the roots to attach Whispy Woods.

The final step is to build Kirby on the star. I built Kirby on my nanoblock pad. At some point, I picked up the build, which was very flexible, so I made sure to do the building on the pad.

First, you build Kirby. It begins with building the base couple of layers that create the entirety of Kirby’s base. The build then goes up in layers using slanted pieces to the arms and to create Kirby’s round shape.

The second step to building Kirby is to build the star he sits on. The star is 2 layers tall and very straightforward to put together.

The final step is to connect Kirby to the star. Then attaching Kirby to the base.

Things I liked:

That the build is the same scale as the mininano collection and it even comes with parts to attach those characters to the base

Things I didn’t like:

Kirby was really flexible while building him, so I was super glad that I had my pad