nanoGauge Basic Full Kit Review - Part 1

Difficulty: Level 3
Time to Complete: 60 minutes
Item Code: nGS_001

Introduction

nanoGauge is the new motorised train set from Kawada that is based on nanoblock. It is currently only officially released in Japan, so I ordered mine from Plamoya for around USD130 (excluding shipping). The box is huge, so shipping costs a bomb! 

Front of the box

Back of the box

Contents

This set comes with everything you need to get started, including the user manual, train build instructions, tracks, motor and bogie units, controller, power supply and of course, nanoblock bricks to build the actual train itself. I will go through all the items in more detail below.

Contents of this set

User manual

The user manual is a single large sheet of paper and it tells you everything you need to know to get your nanoGauge set working, so it's fairly simple to set it up.

AC Power Adapter and Controller

The controller unit allows you to control the running of the train. You can control both the direction and speed of the train. An AC power adapter that uses 100-240v is provided, so it should be supported everywhere. Yes, this thing runs on AC power, not batteries.

Motor and Bogie Units

One motor unit and four bogie units are included in this set. The motor unit drives the train, while bogie units allow you to build the other carriages that are attached to the motor unit. Each carriage would need two bogie units, one in front and one at the back. The bogie units have studs on top, so you just treat it like a brick. The motor unit however does not have any studs. Instead, a really huge brick is provided which you can build your carriage on top and around it, which the motor unit then slots into. 

Track Sections

Bottom of the track sections

There are 8 curved and 4 straight track sections and that is enough for you to build a reasonable sized track. They slide and click into place quite nicely, and each section has two points where you can actually attach nanoblock bricks under and that is also the place where you can attach the cable that connects to your controller. These things can't bend much, so if you want to create a track with portions that are elevated, you will need a very very long track.

Bricks for the train

The train itself is quite simple, but I am sure you already knew that looking at the amount of bricks above. Even though they rated the difficulty at Level 3, I think it is more like a Level 2 at most. What is interesting though, is that Kawada introduced a bunch of new of brick types with nanoGauge. As you can see below, most of them are slated bricks and their purpose is to allow us to build more aerodynamic looking trains.

Some of the new brick types

Part 2 of this review will look into the building of the train and my thoughts about nanoGauge.

Just Got My nanoGauge Basic Full Kit

Just my luck, the nanoGauge Basic Full Kit I ordered from Japan (this shop) just arrived, but it got stuck in customs, so I had to spend almost two hours to go collect it, clear customs and bring it back home ... Anyway, here's the set ... Yes, I couldn't wait to get home to open it and snap a pic to show you guys ... Hahahaa ...

Here are a few photos of the nanoGauge Basic Full Kit (nGS_001). It cost me about USD130 (excluding shipping). More photos can be found here.

Some videos for a better look at the nanoGauge:

nanoblock Clear Color Set Review

Difficulty: Level 1 - 4
No of Blocks: 800+
Item Code: NB-016

Front of the box

Back of the box

It has been years since Kawada first introduced the basic brick sets which are basically generic nanoblock sets that lets you build anything you like. So, it is nice to see them finally getting around to introducing new sets for those who like to build their own designs. Kawada released three sets recently: Standard Color, Monotone Color and Clear Color. In this review, we take a look at the new Clear Color Set (NB-016). 

The bricks in this set comes in 5 colours and the material used is a kind of transparent plastic. You can see the list of brick colours and types in the photo below. Interesting thing to note is the inclusion of newer brick types like the rounded-edge 1x3 and 1x4.

The bricks in this set

The contents of this set

A huge instruction sheet is included in the set, with separate instructions to make 7 different things. Look at the photos below to see what you can build. It is nice that they show you which items you can build at the same time.

Some of the designs are really simple to build and should not take long. The most challenging would be the rose and the crystal skull. 

If you have the nanoblock LED base plate, you can use it to light up your creations. Here is what the crystal skull looks like lighted up. 

I know there are many of you who love this fully transparent "crystal" look, but personally, I am not really into making completely transparent designs unless the thing I am making is inherently transparent like liquid or glass. Nevertheless, it is a good addition to a custom builder's arsenal. These transparent bricks could come in really handy in many situations.

You can get this Clear Color Set online at Plamoya or Amazon.

nanoblock Sets On Sale Now

Here are some interesting nanoblock sets on sale right now (prices may very slightly due to exchange rate fluctuations). Check it out! If any of them shows "Out of stock", just check back later. Plamoya restocks 2-3 times a day.

Neuschwanstein Castle Deluxe Edition Set - US$167.02  (20% Discount)

Tokyo Skytree Deluxe Edition ver 2.0 - US$144.34 (31% Discount)

Tokyo Tower Deluxe Edition - US$57.61 (20% Discount)

Himeji Castle Deluxe Edition - US$63.35 (25% Discount)

Space Center: Deluxe Edition - US$60.76 (20% Discount)

Japanese Navy Battle Ship Yamato - US$58.77 (21% Discount)

Statue of Liberty - US$20.59 (22% Discount)

Tintin - Shark Submarine - US$37.39 (37% Discount)

P-51 Mustang - US$20.59 (22% Discount)

Mitsubishi A6M Zero - US$19.61 (26% Discount)

Empire State Building - US$20.59 (22% Discount)

Tokyo Skytree - US$19.83 (25% Discount)

The various basic brick sets are also on sale at discounts between 24%-31% over here.

To see all the other nanoblock items available, click here.

Getting Started With Custom Nanoblocking

Many of you have probably asked me this question - "Which set should I buy to make this?". I wish I can give a definite answer, but it is not so easy to do that for a number of reasons. 

I have a lot of blocks from many generic basic sets as well as most of the specific sets like the animals, sights to see, etc., and all the blocks are have been mixed together, so I have no idea which sets have exactly how many of what types of blocks. You can see my nanoblock toolboxes below.

Another thing to consider is that there are many ways to layout the blocks to achieve the same final design, and different layouts will use different number and types of blocks, so even if I can tell you that it will take two basic monochrome sets to make something, it is possible that it could be done with a single set if you just use the blocks a bit differently.

Also, nanoblock sets comes and goes out of production regularly, so nanoblock sets that I used may no longer be available, but there may be new nanoblock sets that contains similar colours and types of bricks. 

Now you see why it is so hard to answer that question earlier? Hahaha ...

How to Get Started

So then, what is the best way to get started with custom nanoblocking? Probably the same way I got started, which is to buy the basic nanoblock sets. There are four basic sets available as shown below. 

I would recommend getting one of each set to get started. That will give you around 4200+ blocks to play with. If you get it from Plamoya which usually has them at discount, it will cost around US$120 for all four sets (not including shipping). It is also good to get them all at once because you save on shipping. Having these four sets, you should have enough blocks to build many of my designs. 

This is a lot cheaper than starting with the small specific sets, like the animal series, which sells for around US$10 each, and usually comes with around 150 blocks. 

Now, I know spending over a hundred dollars may sound expensive, but remember, this is something you can build and rebuild over and over again. It is a hobby that will bring you many many hours of fun. 

Turning Pro

Over time, you will probably start to feel that you want more colours to play with. To do that, we turn to the smaller specific sets. Here are some examples:

• Pink blocks - Pig or Great Flamingo set
• Orange blocks - Halloween pumpkin or Space Shuttle set
• Dark Mustard Yellow blocks - Giraffe set
• Cream blocks - Alpaca Cream set

There are many others, so do browse around nanoblock stores to find new colours to add to your palette. 

Recently, new types of blocks have also started appearing in the latest series of marine animal nanoblock sets. The moon jellyfish has a new “L” shaped block and also 2x2 round block. The others, like the giant squid, fiddler crab, great white shark, etc have some new blocks too that looks interesting.

Building My Designs

One thing I would like to stress when it comes to building my designs is that you do not have to do it exactly as shown in my build instructions. You can adapt it to your needs.

Most of the time, you do not need to use the same types of blocks as I do. You can use any block you have, as long as it achieves the same result. For example, instead of using one piece of 2x4 block, it’s possible you can use two pieces of 1x4 block. The only thing to be careful with is when those blocks need to hold other blocks together. 

You can also change the colours used, as long as it works. I have dark mustard yellow colour chopsticks in my nanoblock Sushi Set design, but you can always change it to brown, black, red, etc. to suit your needs. 

What if you do not have enough blocks to build my design? In some cases, you can creatively work around this. For example, if you do not have enough blocks to build the “wooden board” for my Sushi Set design, you can change it slightly to make it a smaller size “wooden board”, and you put fewer pieces of sushi on it. 

Feel free to be creative! Building in nanoblock means you can always make changes, so do not worry about making mistakes. Experiment as much as you like until you are satisfied. 

Happy nanoblocking! =)

Related Articles:

• Where To Get Generic Nanoblock Sets
• How To: Designing Nanoblock Creations