Nanoblocks on Amazon, Nanoblocks on eBay.
Overall Brand Rating:
(Lost one star for being too small for people with big fingers.)
I first saw Nanoblocks being sold once on woot.com. They looked intriguing- they look virtually identical to Lego bricks but are a fraction of the size. I had to try them. Unlike Lego and many of the "compatible" bricks Nanoblocks doesn't even pretend to be for children- it is marketed to adults. This is for good reason- you need an exceptional amount of patience and dexterity to complete their sets. I went with a mid-range difficulty Deluxe P51-Mustang (which I'll review later on) and was shocked at just how small the pieces really were. A pair of tweezers will be useful for most, and necessary for some like myself with big hands and fingers.
Nanoblock doesn't try to hide just how small their bricks are- if you buy them from a store you can open a panel on the box and there is a clear window to see some sample sizes of some bricks. There boxes are high quality in general- a glossy black finish and sturdy construction. No unnecessary bright colors or cartoons on these boxes.
The smaller size of Nanoblock makes greater detail possible. It also means high brick counts even in some of the smaller sets. Overall brick quality is decent. I have come across no broken or misshaped bricks. One thing to note however is that Nanoblocks do not have the bottom cylinders that Lego bricks have. If you turn over a 4x1 or 2x1 Nanoblock it is completely hollow allowing it to slide if it is wider than the piece(s) it is built upon.
For a Lego veteran the instructions also take some getting used to... there are far fewer steps then would be shown for a comparable Lego build. Some steps may be lining up literally dozens of pieces without actually connecting them to anything- clear but annoying and I find myself looking ahead so I can connect them to something to keep them in place.
To be clear Nanoblocks are much too small to use with Lego brand bricks. See the picture below for a size comparison of Nanoblocks to standard Lego bricks.
Be careful when ordering Nanoblock sets- Some sets have the same name and themes but vastly different brick count (and cost.) For example the cheap Space Shuttle set is less than $18 on Amazon and is a little less than 600 pieces. On the other hand the Deluxe Space Shuttle is over 2,200 pieces and a list price of $120, although at the time of this writing Amazon is listing it for $80.
Basic Space Shuttle vs. Deluxe Space Shuttle
Overall I consider Nanoblocks very challenging. Personally they aren't the best fit for someone like me, 6'4" tall with big hands and fingers- for me there was too much frustration trying to pick up a piece than there was satisfaction putting it together but I recognize most people are not like me. I suspect for people with a little better control of their hands and fingers a Nanoblocks set may be very rewarding. The quality of the physical bricks is more than adequate. I had plenty of extra pieces and the design of the actual sets are superb.
Overall Brand Rating:
(Lost one star for being too small for people with big fingers.)
I first saw Nanoblocks being sold once on woot.com. They looked intriguing- they look virtually identical to Lego bricks but are a fraction of the size. I had to try them. Unlike Lego and many of the "compatible" bricks Nanoblocks doesn't even pretend to be for children- it is marketed to adults. This is for good reason- you need an exceptional amount of patience and dexterity to complete their sets. I went with a mid-range difficulty Deluxe P51-Mustang (which I'll review later on) and was shocked at just how small the pieces really were. A pair of tweezers will be useful for most, and necessary for some like myself with big hands and fingers.
Nanoblock doesn't try to hide just how small their bricks are- if you buy them from a store you can open a panel on the box and there is a clear window to see some sample sizes of some bricks. There boxes are high quality in general- a glossy black finish and sturdy construction. No unnecessary bright colors or cartoons on these boxes.
The smaller size of Nanoblock makes greater detail possible. It also means high brick counts even in some of the smaller sets. Overall brick quality is decent. I have come across no broken or misshaped bricks. One thing to note however is that Nanoblocks do not have the bottom cylinders that Lego bricks have. If you turn over a 4x1 or 2x1 Nanoblock it is completely hollow allowing it to slide if it is wider than the piece(s) it is built upon.
For a Lego veteran the instructions also take some getting used to... there are far fewer steps then would be shown for a comparable Lego build. Some steps may be lining up literally dozens of pieces without actually connecting them to anything- clear but annoying and I find myself looking ahead so I can connect them to something to keep them in place.
To be clear Nanoblocks are much too small to use with Lego brand bricks. See the picture below for a size comparison of Nanoblocks to standard Lego bricks.
Be careful when ordering Nanoblock sets- Some sets have the same name and themes but vastly different brick count (and cost.) For example the cheap Space Shuttle set is less than $18 on Amazon and is a little less than 600 pieces. On the other hand the Deluxe Space Shuttle is over 2,200 pieces and a list price of $120, although at the time of this writing Amazon is listing it for $80.
Basic Space Shuttle vs. Deluxe Space Shuttle
Overall I consider Nanoblocks very challenging. Personally they aren't the best fit for someone like me, 6'4" tall with big hands and fingers- for me there was too much frustration trying to pick up a piece than there was satisfaction putting it together but I recognize most people are not like me. I suspect for people with a little better control of their hands and fingers a Nanoblocks set may be very rewarding. The quality of the physical bricks is more than adequate. I had plenty of extra pieces and the design of the actual sets are superb.