A Nanoblock saxophone: It’s not made with the Lego you grew up with.
While checking eBay yesterday, I happened across what appeared to be a Lego saxophone…
Source: Tokyo-Hobby on eBay.com
… but what upon closer inspection turned out to be made up of something called Nanoblocks ®.
I must admit that I never played with Lego much as a child. I only ever had one Lego set—a set that contained about 20 pieces and made a rooster. I was never very good at that one, so I suspect that this 120 piece Nanoblock saxophone set would stump the hell out of me! :bang:
According to the Nanoblock’s UK distributor, these toys first went on sale in October 2008. The reason for their name likely comes from their tiny size: the smallest are only 4X4mm (that’s 0.157″ for my US readers).
Kawada, the company that makes Nanoblocks, designs the building toys in various levels of difficulty ranging from 1—which includes their 120-piece alto saxophone—to 8, which they rate their award-winning, 6000-piece version of the Bavarian Castle Neuschwanstein at.
Getting back to the Nanoblock saxophone, this particular item was just released by Kawada on March 28, 2014.
Source: Building Toys_Japan on eBay.com
Source: sparkingcats japan on eBay.com
Danger, Will Robinson
Notice the choking hazard warning on the label. I have to admit, in the über safety conscious, über litigious society we live in—where it is not unheard of for some parents to try to prevent all dairy and egg products from entering the school because of life-threatening allergies—I’m surprised this product has even made it to the North American market.
For example, Kinder Surprise, an Italian chocolate egg with a disassembled toy inside, are sold in Canada, but are confiscated by US Border officials if discovered since they are illegal there due to their potential choking hazard. (Although it does seem that a workaround by the company has been developed of late.)
Let’s just all agree that we have to supervise our children, and not let any of them play with anything containing small pieces while they are still in the oral exploration stage of development. As a former paramedic, and instructor of the Red Cross Child Safe program, that really is the best advice I can give you.
Getting back to the Nanoblock saxophone, again, I haven’t seen the item for sale by any of the company’s foreign distributors, but there are currently a number of Japanese toy dealers who are selling them on eBay. If you are interested in ordering your very own alto saxophone, made of tiny, soy-based coloured, ABS plastic building blocks, then check out the following dealers’ auctions: sparkingcats japan, Building Toys_Japan, and Tokyo-Hobby.
I noticed that shipping charges varied quite a bit, so do shop around. Also, since this product is new, it’s possible other dealers will be selling the Nanoblock saxophone in the near future too.
Update June 2024: These Nanoblock saxophones seem to have vanished into thin air—as have their dealers. However, due to their uniqueness among the saxophone collectibles market, I am keeping this article here for future reference.
