Nintendo N&B Block Ringer (N&Bブロック リンガー, 1970)

One of the more surprising entries in the Nintendo N&B Block series is the Ringer musical set.

The N&B Block Ringer (リンガー) saw the light of day in 1970, a couple of years after the start of the N&B Block series (for more information read this post).

Nintendo N&B Block Ringer (1970)

Although some assembly was required, Ringer wasn't really about construction like the other N&B Block sets.

The Ringer cost ¥1,200. Besides the N&B Block branding, it also sported the Nintendo Game "NG" logo, unlike any of the other N&B Block sets.

The color orange must have been terribly en vogue in 1970, as the boxes of the Nintendo Kousenjuu light beam gun games released in that same year also use this bright color to great effect.

The box is quite big and measures 52 by 28 centimeters.

N&B Block Ringer Manual

The Ringer set consists of eleven colorful bells and a frame to hold them, 27 N&B Block parts that need to be built on the frame following the provided instructions, two play sticks and a music sheet.

Each of the bells produces a specific tone. A number is stamped in every bell, and they - obviously - need to be placed in the frame in the right order. The top of the frame is decorated with some N&B Block elements. Half of the blocks on top (the greenish ones) have a phosphorescence effect: they emit light in the dark after being exposed to light during the day. This is unique for the Ringer set; no other N&B Block set includes these type of blocks.

The two bases of the frame of the Ringer are assembled from some standard N&B Block elements.

The eleven bells together make up one and a half octave, from "la" to "re".

To start you off on a musical career, the provided music sheet contains six pages with a total of ten tunes.

The color of the notes on the music sheet corresponds with the color of the bells, so it is not really needed to be able to read notes.

The bright bells are very inviting, and produce a nice ringing sound. Are you ready to play "Sakura Sakura"?

Here's the original TV commercial, in glorious black and white.

If you combine the Ringer with a Nintendo Ele-Conga, even more musical fun can be had.