Interview with a nanoblock™ Artist!

Happy Friday all! We'd like to introduce you to a talented custom nanoblock™ model maker, known on the Internet as StealthEagle. We are consistently impressed with the level of imagination and ingenuity that she shows, so we thought it only fair to pass on this nanoblock™ artist! You can see all of StealthEagle's designs over on her Facebook page, Straight Out of the Line. We asked her a few questions about her designs, check them out!

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What was your first experience with nanoblock? How did you come across it?

Before I finished my shopping in a department store, I have been always making an effort to look at the toys section to see what toys are trending. But on that day, I stumbled upon this interesting shelf with a displaying box full of models.

The nanoblock™ section was small, and it wasn’t placed in the aisle where the building blocks toys were. Each model were sealed in pretty looking black sealable bags, except for “Sight to see” series, that was really intriguing since many building block companies have been packing their kits into cardboard boxes.

What converted me to nanoblock™ was simply the birds; I got a very soft spot for feathered creatures, and I have been studying Ornithology as a hobby to satisfy my curiosity. Whatever happened later was history.

When did you start your custom making? How? Do you remember the models you had?

I don’t exactly remember when, probably sometime in August 2012, the very first model I built was a plane made with bright red blocks. 

I did was what most people would do; stacked blocks together till the model looked recognisable, but only with 1 type of block.

What's your favourite design custom design? Most complex?

That pair of hands, the story of how I managed to do it and managed to win something still baffles me till this day. 

How did you come up with the idea of the hand (that won the nanoblock™ award)? 

It was completely random.  I was trying to get some works out for the Nanoblock™ Award just to try my luck despite knowing there were builders who were much better than me. Suddenly, the idea of creating a hand (later became a pair of hands) slipped into my mind when I was looking at past entries by previous participants.

What inspires you? I notice that there's a lovely amount of pop culture rhetoric in your creations.

Anything that I have read, watched, played, listened or imagined; there is no specific source of inspiration of where most of my works are from, that is why my creations never stick to a certain genre or style. I can do a Minecraft cow one day, and then tomorrow it may be something about Doctor Who (no relation with moo-ing the Doctor Who theme).

How many nanoblock models do you think you've built?

About 26 models, I know that is little…haha.

Out of all your reviews, which is the most spectacularly design nanoblock?

It is a hard decision as each series designed and released by Kawada is unique, so each fan has his/her favourite, for me I picked the Sengoku Military Commander Series as the most spectacular.

It is rare to see any companies like Kawada to release any models based on Japan’s cultural history as its niche area has always been about popular icons and places. To capture the details of the samurai helmet into nanoblock™ form without butchering the aesthetics requires a lot of trial and error on how you stack the blocks.