Pokemon Nanoblocks! Review and info!

I bought this kit on a whim and thought you guys might enjoy it too! It's a fun, fairly easy, little project that turns out very cute! Great for a break from crocheting or something peaceful to do on a rainy day!
 More info and my review after the break ^_^




I've seen these things around for a while now but didn't realize we could get them pretty easily in the states. They have a really cute sprite-like look, very nostalgic! I found mine on ebay and they also sell them on Amazon, do a quick search for 'Pokemon nanoblock' on both and look a little bit to get a good price. Most are around $10-12 each. They have several different Pokemon including Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Eevee, Mewtwo, Charizard, and Gengar. (Protip: you can find them cheaper if you don't type the Pokemon's English name as a lot of the cheaper ones are listed w/the Japanese name! Just search 'Pokemon Nanoblock' and look around for the one you want.)

I've never made any sort of lego or nanoblock project before and I found this fairly easy and a pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

The blocks come inside a larger ziplock bag, they were divided into three smaller bags by shape. When I opened mine I dumped each bag into a separate bowl, this helps you find pieces faster later (and keeps you from losing stuff!). You should absolutely work on this at a table, not in bed or something, the pieces are very little!

The instructions seem confusing at first but here are some tips:

• Take it slow! Look carefully at the pictures and how the blocks sit next to one another. Specifically use the circles on the tops of the blocks to judge positions. ie one block may be offset by one 'circle' from the one next to it.

• Get out all the pieces for that section before you start and line them up.

• If you get stuck then look at the picture in the next step, they show assembled blocks as a lighter color, the relative positions should help you figure it out and work backwards.

• Don't get overwhelmed, just get one block in the right place and use it's position to help you figure out the others.

When completed this figure is almost 2 inches tall, see regular size Pokemon figure for comparison. I did this in one sitting and it took me a little less than an hour, I think doing it all at once might be best so you don't lose your place. This definitely requires your attention and some patience but it's a very peaceful activity; vaguely puzzle-like. I put on the Madoka Magica soundtrack and just zoned out working on it, really calming.



I have pretty small fingers and I could see this being a little difficult if your fingers were bigger or if your hands are not steady, though you might be able to use tweezers instead. Other than that I really enjoyed making this and I'm definitely going to get more!
If you're not sure about the difficulty of the one you want, try to find an actual picture of the bag, it has the difficulty level in Pokeballs on it. Charmander was 2 out of 5, I think most of these are, though Charizard is 3 out of 5.

Heads up! They give you extra pieces so you will have quite a few left at the end!