Wednesday 24 December 2014

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! =) ... Here's wishing you happy holidays and a wonderful year ahead! ^^ ... Here's a "blocky" Christmas greeting I created ... Hehehee ...




Tuesday 23 December 2014

nanoblock motion Choro-Q Optimus Prime Unboxing

Here is a quick unboxing video for the new nanoblock motion Choro-Q Transformers Optimus Prime from Takara Tomy. 


It is basically a bluetooth enabled remote control truck which you can control using your iPhone or Android smartphones using an app. It comes with all the bricks needed to build both the robot and vehicle at the same time. It takes 10 seconds to charge and plays for about 60 seconds. 

I got it from here

Instagram : Best Moments of 2014

Here are the most liked photos on my Instagram for 2014 =) ... Do follow me on Instagram if you haven't already done so ^^

A video posted by Christopher Tan (@christan) on

Friday 19 December 2014

nanoblock Singapore Airlines Plane

This is my design for a Singapore Airlines plane =) ... It was originally based on the Airbus A380, but there were details that I could not replicate at this size unless I printed it on stickers ... so it's more like A380 inspired, rather than a A380 replica =) ...


Thursday 18 December 2014

Just Passed 18,000 Fans On Facebook

I just wanted to say a big Thank You to all of you for your support =) ... A year ago today, my Facebook page only had 3,320 likes, so that's 14,680+ new fans in the past 12 months ^^ ... Hopefully, next year today, the number will grow to over 50,000? =P ... Hehehe ... 


Apart from Facebook, you can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.


Saturday 6 December 2014

How It's Done : nanoblock Escher's "Ascending and Descending"


Many of you have seen my nanoblock version of Escher's "Ascending and Descending" and asked me how it was done. How is it possible to build a seemingly impossible stairs? Well, the video below will show you how this was achieved.



After watching the above video, you are probably thinking it looks easy, right? Well, it is not as straight forward as it appears.

In order to achieve this optical illusion, everything had to be just right. I had to build several test prototypes to get the dimensions and positions of the stairs just right for the angle I want the building photographed. I also tested different stair layouts to find the one that minimizes the gap distance between the two ends of the stairs. 

You can see some of my prototypes here
Foundations and part of the ground floor completed
About to start building the stairs. The prototype
stairs fitted in to make sure everything looks right.

The photos below shows the hidden portion of the building. I could have just left the hidden portion empty, but I decided to fill it up anyway and built a secret staircase. I think this makes it more "complete" as a building, although it will not make any difference to the optical illusion.



A hidden staircase at the back

Also, for the actual photo, I used a long focal length to shoot the photo in order to compress the perspective, thereby ensuring the size of the objects at the back matches the size of the objects in front, completing the optical illusion.

How the photo was shot

Well, I hope you guys found this interesting. It was really fun building this and I am thinking of attempting another of Escher's masterpiece in the near future.


Thursday 4 December 2014

nanoblock Chicken from Crossy Road Game


The Chicken from the game "Crossy Road" =) ... Who likes this game? Hehe ... For those who didn't know, it's like a clone of the old game "Frogger" ... 


Tuesday 2 December 2014

Monday 1 December 2014

nanoblock Escher's Ascending and Descending

nanoblock version of "Ascending and Descending", a lithograph print by M.C. Escher in 1960. My nanoblock version uses an estimated 2000+ bricks and weights 853g. It took me 2 days to create this.

How is it that the stairs seems to be going up endlessly? Well, it's an optical illusion ... No, I did not edit the photo in Photoshop or anything like that ... Hehehe ... 

Please vote here for nanoblock Award 2014.-2015.


Next to an iPhone for scale

Friday 28 November 2014

nanoblock PreOrder: Taipei 101, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall and Tokyo Tower 2

Please submit your pre-orders by Nov 30, 12pm (GMT+8). Click here for details. If you have pre-ordered stuff for the Nov 2014 releases, you can add on these and I will combine the discounts and shipping =)


Thursday 27 November 2014

Escher in nanoblock

I was playing the game "Monument Valley" (great game by the way), and it gave me the idea to build Esher's work in nanoblock ^^ ... This is an early proof of concept ... 

Stare at it long enough and you might go crazy ... LOL


Please vote for this entry in nanoblock Award 2014-2015 by clicking here.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

nanoblock Night of the Living Dead

Night of the living dead? ... I am a month late for Halloween ... LOL ...





Please vote for this entry in nanoblock Award 2014-2015:

nanoblock PreOrder - Nov 2014

Preorder the upcoming nanoblock releases now. 15% discount for orders above RM160 worth of products. Ships Worldwide! ... Click here for more information. Please order by 11.59pm, Nov 26, 2014. 


Tuesday 25 November 2014

nanoblock Scene from Dune


Scene from the classic movie "Dune" ... That's a giant Sandworm chasing some nanoids ... LOL ... Who here still remembers that movie? ^^ ... And yes, I am from that era ... Hahaa ...



Monday 24 November 2014

nanoblock Year End Super Sale


Guys, it's been quite some time since I last ran a big sale because it's very time consuming and I don't really make much from these, and it will probably be quite some time before the next big sale, so if there are things you wanna buy, now's the time to do it =) ... and yes, I ship WORLDWIDE ^^


The Facebook event for this sale is over here. Please invite your friends! =)

Saturday 22 November 2014

nanoblock Mr Trumpet from Sugar Moustache


Here is Chacha Rita Ramnarong, a popular Thai actress and singer posing with my designs of the nanoblock versions of Mr. Trumpet character from her fashion brand Sugar Moustache ^^ ... Yes, she's a nanoblock fan too =D


Wednesday 19 November 2014

nanoblock Colt M1911 Replica


My nanoblock replica of the Colt M1911. I put a lot of effort into capturing as much of the detail as possible. What do you think? =)






Tuesday 18 November 2014

nanoblock Art Piece: Flow

An art piece from me today titled "Flow" ... See the dynamics of water in action as presented in nanoblock =) ... and I would really appreciate it if you would vote for my entry in the nanoblock Award 2014-2015. 





Sunday 16 November 2014

Chris Featured in China Press Newspaper

Just did an interview with the China Press (a local Malaysian newspaper) a few days ago and it was published in a two page spread today =D ... Thanks to China Press for the feature =)



Friday 14 November 2014

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Monday 10 November 2014

nanoblock Bunny Found Giant Carrot

My latest creation from last weekend =) ... nanoblock bunny found a giant carrot ... Hehee ... Hmm, think maybe I should have made an even bigger carrot? LOL


Thursday 6 November 2014

nanoblock Mecha n-Delta

Here is the second nanoblock Mecha I created =) ... In creating this Mecha series, I was experimenting with new techniques and making use of the new types of nanoblock bricks ... Now I have to go get some more nanoGauge trains ... Hahaha!