Building nanoblock Deluxe Himeji Castle Time Lapse Video

I finally found the time to build the Deluxe Himeji Castle (NB-006) that I bought awhile back =) ... Here's a time lapse video of the build ... a full review will be coming soon =)

nanoblock Limited Edition Deluxe Maneki Neko Released

The Deluxe Maneki Neko which I created using the bricks from 4 normal Maneki Neko sets is now available for order. It uses over 560+ bricks (out of 600+ bricks included). It is being released as a limited edition with a limit of only 100 sets and the build instructions will not be publicly released.

Each set will come with:

• Limited Edition Certificate of Authenticity personally signed by myself and stamped with a seal.
• Printed Build Instructions for Deluxe Maneki Neko.
• Four sets of normal Maneki Neko (NBC-031) for the bricks.
• A sticker with my signature which you can stick to the bottom of your Deluxe Maneki Neko to show it is a limited edition.
• Feeling good that you are helping to support an aspiring brick artist =P

Here are photos and video of my Deluxe Maneki Neko:

Note: The actual set will not have a black layer
at the bottom under the red base. This is just a prototype.

Deluxe Maneki Neko (Right) next to normal
Maneki Neko for size and design comparison.

This is a sample of the certificate. The actual
certificate will be printed on nicer paper.

The normal nanoblock Maneki Neko sets included.

Price
The price is RM159.  (52 sets sold so far)

RM is Ringgit Malaysia. USD1 is about RM3.30. 

Shipping
Free shipping in Malaysia using PosLaju.

International orders will be shipped using REGISTERED AIR MAIL (Takes 4-10 Working Days). Please add the price below for each set purchased. For example, if you are in Zone 1 and you buy  3 sets, please add RM27.

Zone 1: Add RM12
Zone 2: Add RM14
Zone 3: Add RM22

Zone 1: Asean countries: Brunei Darussalam, Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
Zone 2: Countries in Asia Pacific: Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, etc
Zone 3: Other countries

If you buy more than 3 sets, I may switch to using FedEx for better rates. In that case, I will let you know the better shipping rate by email.

How to Order
Please send an email to orders@inanoblock.com by Feb 6, 2014 (11.59pm GMT+8). In the email, please include the details below:

Name: XXXX
Tel: XXXX
Address: 
XXXX
Payment Method: Paypal/CreditCard/Bank Transfer/Bank-in

Limited Edition Deluxe Maneki Neko: XX set


On Feb 7, I will email you with details on how to make the payment. I hope to ship out all orders within a week.

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.

nanoblock Space Center Deluxe Edition Review

Difficulty: Level 6

Time to Complete: 7 hours

No of Blocks: 1600+

Item Code: NB-017

Front of the box

Back of the box

This is the all new Deluxe Edition of the nanoblock Space Center. It comes with over 1600+ pieces of bricks in a really big box. As you can see in the photo below, everything could have fit in a box half the size, as the box is kinda empty. I suppose a bigger box makes you feel better about spending so much on this set ... Haha ...

What's inside the box

All the bricks that comes with this set

Normally, most nanoblock sets come with a single piece of paper containing the complete build instructions. This set comes with a book containing over 30 pages of instructions! When you see this, you know you are going to be in for a real challenge. 

The building instructions

An interesting thing about this nanoblock set is that it comes with many new or rarer types of bricks, as shown in the photo below. I think the 1x6 bricks are going to be quite handy and the upward angled brick would be useful for refining some designs. The round ones are interesting too, but I think I will need more of them for it to be useful in my custom builds.

This is a Level 6 nanoblock set, making it the most complex nanoblock set I have built to date. While it may not seem very complicated from looking at the photos of the completed space center, believe me, it will take a lot longer than you think. It actually took me close to seven hours! 

Looking for the bricks used in each step of the process is a very time consuming task. I would highly recommend that you take the bricks out of the bags and sort them out into containers before you start. It would save you a lot of time. 

The design of this set is quite "fragile" in a number of places, especially when putting all the pieces of the orange booster rocket together. If you use too much force when snapping them together, you could end up smashing them. Anyway, here are photos of the build process below.

The finished Space Center in "Stand-by State" stands at almost 26cm tall. This deluxe edition's design is more detailed and a lot more refined compared to the old space center set, thanks to the use of 3 times more bricks and also new types of bricks. 

There are quite a few extra bricks included, as shown in the photo below.

Here are photos of the completed Space Center in "Stand-by State".

You can also display the space shuttle in "Flight State" as shown below. Instructions are provided for you to build a transparent stand with adjustable tilt. The cargo bay doors can be opened and you can deploy a satellite using robotic arms. There's also a very tiny astronaut.

Yes, that's an astronaut on the right

I bought this set from Plamoya at 20% discount for around USD60 not including shipping. You can find this deal by clicking here. If it is listed as "sold-out", do check it again later, as they restock 2-3 times daily.