The Statue of Liberty in Nanoblocks

I hadn't had a chance to put together some nanoblocks for quite a while now.  If you watched my YouTube video, you will know that I opened up the Statue of Liberty kit, but didn't actually put it together.  Finally the opportunity to put it together came.

A close-up of the base

I hadn't done one of these for a while, so I was a little surprised at how difficult this one was.  The instructions were pretty solid, but this one was hard.  I guess it had a lot to do with the fact that this one is not symmetrical.  I really had to pay attention to this one, and as any hobbyist will tell you, concentration is taxing.



The Lady is ready

I enjoyed building this one, but don't think the result was particularly amazing.  I just don't see a lot of detail in this one that I would like to see.  Perhaps the only way to do that is to either make it twice the size or fabricate a lot of specialty parts.  The former would make the price to high, and the latter would affect production cost and time.

When I first looked at this kit, I thought the blue bricks were quite interesting, but outside the box they didn't really strike me as different at all.  Ten years from now, if nanoblocks are still growing strong, perhaps my thinking will change.



There were quite a few leftover parts, and my collection of them is growing.  I should start to think about what I would like to build with them.  I am thinking something architectural, but I have no idea yet.



leftovers

I checked the Japanese homepage of nanoblocks (yes, I know a little Japanese) and have discovered that they have quite a few new releases.  I don't know when (or if ever) they will come here, but I am hopeful.



The growing collection of leftovers

2013 The Year of the Nanoblock

 

 

Will 2013 be the year of Nanoblocks?  Based on how many people have found my blog because of Nanoblocks, I would have to say  that it is very likely that 2013 will be the breakout year for Nanoblocks.

I really can't base this idea on my blog alone, because there aren't so many visitors to it yet--I am not complaining, maybe 2013 will be a breakout year for my blogs to.....



What comes in the package

There is other evidence.  Toys R Us started selling them this year, and anecdotally at least, they seem to be popular sellers.  I asked one of the clerks and he said business has been brisk.  I have seen the stock get low and replenished a couple of times (no I am not spending my hours haunting the local toy store..... hard to believe I know) and it seems like they are telling the truth.  I have also seen more traffic on the internet.  When I first got interested in Nanoblocks there weren't too many sites, not there are a lot more.  There are also quite a few more YouTube postings about Nanoblocks.  So, the world is poised for a Nanoblock revolution.



the result

As for me, I should update you on my latest kit.  I did the Koala.  As I mentioned when I did the panda kit, I am more interested in the historical buildings than I am in the animals, but until we get more of those (there are more available in Japan, but not here yet...) I will probably do more of the animals.

The Koala was fun to do, and the results are good (I still like the panda more, but maybe it has to do with seeing the real ones at the Washington zoo.).  There are some challenging moments and you will feel a certain sense of accomplishment.  Anybody who has tried Nanoblocks will enjoy it, and at the same time this would be a good kit for new converts.  Considering the price, it is also certainly worth doing.

the leftovers

 Eventually, I will have enough leftovers to make something else.  Any suggestions?

The Panda Kit--a totally biased review

 

I resisted building some of the smaller Nanoblock kits because....because....actually, I don't know why.  Maybe I thought I had to build the biggest and most difficult kits there were.  Maybe I just had grand visions.  Maybe I thought they were a little beneath me.

I bought the panda kit because pandas are cute--everybody knows that.

the kit contents

There are only two colours in the Panda kit and the kit is not rated too difficult.  That being said, I think the results were tremendous.  It looks really good, and it catches my eye every time I pass by that shelf.

great results

On a side note, I saw a woman buying ten nanoblock kits at Scholar's Choice a couple of weeks ago.  She was planning on including them in loot bags given out at a kid's party.  I was really impressed.  She was spending a fair amount of money on other people's kids.  Those lucky children were going to get their first taste of nanoblock addiction--and I am sure some of them will be converted for life.

 

Latest Nanoblocks

My most recent Nanoblock adventure involved the Empire state building kit.  It seems like I am pretty addicted to these things.  I have built quite a few of them now and I am hoping they continue to put out new sets regularly.  Of course, if they gain the same kind of fame that Lego has, with their small size they could put out some amazing things.

At first, I wasn't attracted to this kit.  I had plans to tackle the Big Ben kit or the Itsukushima Shrine kit first.  Unfortunately, those kits have not appeared in Canada yet. I have seen them for sale on the US Amazon site, but being shipped from Japan they have a heavy price tag.  That being said, I am not sure how long I can resist the urge to buy them.

What's in the box

Having had a bit of time to think about it, I decided to go back and reconsider this kit.  I like architectural models, and the building is quite iconic..... so after a short deliberation I decided that I would build this kit.  I am glad I did, because it turned out quite nicely.

It wasn't particularly difficult, and actually since most of the floors are identical it got a little monotonous at times.  However, it was good building fun.

If you haven't tried Nanoblocks, you should give them a try.  The small parts make it challenging sometimes, and the results are usually quite good.  I also suspect that there are going to be some amazing kits released in the near future.

I included this one because I liked the shadow

Ghosts of Christmas Past (part three)

 

Another great educational gift I received came from Radio Shack.  If their service were better, and their prices comparable to my local hobby shop, I would probably have given them quite a few of my hobby dollars.  As it stands, they only got a couple from my Mom and my Grandparents--and I did my best to recoup some of these expenditures where "battery club" was concerned.

The gift was a 75 in one Electronics Kit.  It was pretty cool, well organized and fun to put together.  I completed pretty much all the projects in the kit (there are bound to be a few that just didn't excite me) and got my full value out of the toy.  I have seen modern versions of the toy, but it just doesn't fill me with any great warmth--maybe it seems too easy.

Sadly, it did not imbue me with a great love for electronics and that is one thing that holding back my progress on my railroad.  I solder only when I have to, and there isn't anything overly fancy or complex on my railroad.

As I have written, I received lots of educational toys and enjoyed most of them.  These days I have to go to stores that specialize in this kind of thing.  I find them fun and I encourage all of you parents out there to do the same.  There are lots of great educational toys--but they work best when you get involved in doing/building/experimenting with your children.

Ghosts of Christmas Past (part two)

 

One of the coolest kits (which was also quite educational) that I received for Christmas many, many, years ago was Capsela.  This toy was so cool that I have never been able to part with it, and the photos from this blog contain the actual kit I received on that cold (and possibly snowy) Christmas morning of my youth.

After checking Wikipedia, I found out that Capsela was created by the Mitsubishi Pencil Company.  So, surprise, surprise, another cool toy came from Japan, though this one came from an era when Japanese toys were more pedestrian.  It beat out Tamagochi by at least 2 decades.  Apparently, these days, Bandai from Japan has re-released these toys and they go for staggering amounts on EBay, or ship from far away places in Asia.  I had seen them at a science store--but that store is now closed.

Capsela was a rather unusual toy.  It was a motorized toy that didn't come in traditional shapes and forms.  I think its science fiction look also was part of it's appeal.  In addition to that, there were things you could build for the bathtub--and nothing could be cooler than that (add some superfoam, a few boats, and you had the making of a fantastic sea battle--probably better than that Battleship movie.)

the back of the box--detailing the parts included

The toughest part of the toy was understanding gear ratios.  Trying to build beyond the instruction booklet was rather difficult.  You couldn't put things in any order you wanted, because it just wouldn't power everything correctly.  Having only one set, and no internet bulletin boards for help, I really couldn't stray from the instructions (though I tried many times).  These days, things would most likely be different.  Looking back on it, I had probably been too young when I got the present to really understand that, and could have saved myself some frustration.

There must be cool things like this today, but they are probably more geared toward use with an iPad, rather than a stand alone construction toy.  At least, I hope there are toys these days which are about building and operating.  I know there are still RC helicopters and cars, so besides Lego, there must be stuff like this--let me know what is out there.  I'd love to know.

It was definitely a cool toy.  Someday I will check out the new version, and that will probably be pretty cool too.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

 

While out shopping on the weekend, I spotted many wise people doing their Christmas shopping early.  This was most evident where people were shopping for their children.  It was plain to see which toys were most popular this season.

When I was young I often got "educational" toys and games as Christmas gifts.  Looking back on it, I really loved them, and that is probably why I gravitate towards stores which sell things like that.  Though there are relatively few of them, I enter them whenever I come across them.  When I was a child there were several of these educational toys that craved.

One Christmas I got a chemistry set.  I had wanted that for quite a long time and was really happy to get it.  Sadly, I didn't do as many of the experiments as I wish I had.  The ones I did turned out well, but weren't as cool as fiction books and TV shows made chemistry sets seem.

Regardless, I entered high school with an appreciation for chemistry that only a few students had.  I carried that appreciation to university and managed to eke out one year of science before switching to my other great passion.  I think a lot of that can be traced to that chemistry set.

As a footnote, I kept that chemistry set for many years--well into adulthood in fact.  I moved it to new locations several times.  Most recently, I was mildly curious enough to see if stores still sold them.  I was disappointed.

Hobbies on Television

Why aren't there any hobby reality shows?  When you get right down to it, hobbies seem to be poorly represented on TV.  It seems to me that there is an opportunity for some kind of program on television.  Why isn't there one?

The way I see it we certainly could have shows about making models.  There is such a diversity of models out there that every week could be quite different and reach quite a diverse audience.  One week on airplanes,  (both military and commercial) one week on cars, one week on military models, one week on science fiction, one week on trucks, ....you get the idea.  They could build dioramas, showcase different techniques and materials--and just like those annoying "flea market type shows" educate us with some history.  In Japan, they have a show like this.  It is called Plamotsukuro.  It is amazing to watch.

I would love a show about the hobby of trains.  At least, in this area, there are some programs devoted to real trains, but there isn't enough about model trains.  I don't think it would be difficult to come up with some good programs about building, collecting, and running model railroads.

Of course, there are so many other hobbies out there.  Rather than have a show of people buying stuff hoping to sell it for more, why can't we see the passion of people who aren't in it for the money.  Those shows are on the history channel, purporting to be real, and dishing out relevant historical information.  I think a show about hobbies could do that just as well.

I would think a show about different hobbies could easily find a sponsor.  With Christmas approaching, wouldn't there be a demand for hobbies and toys?  Wouldn't people like to see things that would occupy them on those dark winter nights?

If you're visiting a television channel or network website, don't hesitate to let them know that a program about hobbies would be appreciated.  I certainly will be doing that, as soon as I finish typing this.