Exploring Anarchy's Vanity Blocks: A Classic Minecraft Mod for Builders and Tinkerers
Back in the golden days of Minecraft 1.6.4 and the early modding renaissance, a small but charming mod called Vanity Blocks emerged to solve a very specific problem. Its creator, known as AnarchySage, grew tired of juggling multiple mods just to store common resources like blaze rods, leather, or bones. The result was a delightful collection of storage blocks, decorative marble, interactive curtains, and quirky utility items that still hold a special place in the hearts of veteran players. Though development is currently paused, the mod remains a fascinating example of how a single idea can blossom into a full-blown building toolkit.
What Exactly Does Vanity Blocks Add?
At its core, Vanity Blocks fills the gaps left by vanilla and other tech mods. It introduces a wide array of blocks that let you compact materials, beautify your base, and even add a touch of Zelda-inspired currency. The mod was carefully designed with configurability in mind, so server admins and single-player enthusiasts alike can toggle nearly every feature on or off. Here is a quick rundown of the main categories:
- Storage blocks for vanilla materials – blaze rods (as items), coal (8-coal item form), sugar cane, bone, leather, ender pearls, and more.
- Modded ingot blocks – copper, tin, brass, nickel, electrum, platinum, invar, and ferrous, all with unified textures so they don’t clash across different tech mods.
- Forestry integration – honey, honeydew, peat, and apatite blocks, giving those resources a compact home.
- Marble and Ashford Black Marble – world-gen stones that come in brick, chiseled, tile, pillar, slab, stair, and wall variants. Both must be enabled in the config to unlock the full set.
- Curtains – two-tall blocks that copy the texture of the block you right-click on them (except tile entities like furnaces or chests). They come in East-West and North-South orientations and can be converted back and forth.
- Hidden trapdoor – crafted from a vanilla trapdoor, it seamlessly takes on the texture of the block beneath it, perfect for secret entrances.
- Light blocks – a lava lamp with animated lava and a stone-bordered glowstone block, plus colored redstone lamps made by combining a redstone lamp with any dye.
- Mugs – filled with milk or water to grant regeneration, speed, or remove poison effects.
- Rupees – a currency item straight out of The Legend of Zelda, ideal for server economies.
- Melting Core – a void block that destroys any item, block, or liquid pumped into it, useful for automated waste disposal.
- Miscellaneous recipes – wool to 4 string, nether quartz blocks back to 4 quartz, saddle to leather, and even furnace recipes to reclaim iron or gold from undamaged doors and armor.
Marble: The Crown Jewel of Vanity Blocks
The marble generation is easily one of the most beloved features. White Marble and Ashford Black Marble spawn naturally in the world, and each type can be crafted into an astonishing array of shapes. You get standard blocks, bricks, chiseled versions, tiles, pillars, slabs, stairs, and walls. The sheer variety makes these marbles a favorite among builders who want a clean, classical look without relying on resource packs. Just remember that both marble types need to be enabled in the config file for the full suite of sub-blocks to work correctly.
Clever Utility Blocks and Hidden Details
Vanity Blocks doesn’t stop at decoration. The curtain system, inspired by the code from MineShopper’s Carpenter’s Blocks, lets you create fabric-like dividers that blend with almost any solid block. While they won’t mimic tile entities, they work wonderfully with stone, wood, wool, and even many modded blocks. The hidden trapdoor operates on the same principle, taking the texture of whatever block it is placed on, making it virtually invisible until you interact with it.
Another standout is the Melting Core. If you have ever wanted a simple way to void excess cobblestone or unwanted liquids from a BuildCraft pipe system, this block does exactly that. Just pump items or fluids in, and they vanish. It is a small but indispensable tool for keeping your automated setups tidy.
Fuel Values and Practical Recipes
The mod also tweaks furnace fuel values for its storage blocks, making them functional beyond mere decoration. A charcoal block smelts 72 items, a blaze storage item smelts a whopping 101 items, and a peat block from Forestry handles 100 items. Additionally, the config allows you to bypass certain nerfed recipes from other mods, giving you more control over your crafting experience. For instance, you can break down a saddle into leather or convert magma cream back into slime balls if you wish.
Getting Your Hands on the Mod
Since development is paused, the most recent stable builds are still available on CurseForge, while experimental test builds pop up on the Jenkins server at ci.iongaming.org/job/VanityBlocks/. The versioning follows a unique pattern: VanityBlocksMcVersion.buildnumber, so you might see something like VanityBlocks1.6.4.15. This can be a bit confusing at first, but it helps track exactly which iteration you are running. For those who prefer a streamlined experience, you can install the mod directly through the foxygame.net launcher, a flexible and modern Minecraft launcher that lets you browse and download mods right from its menu without ever leaving the app.
Community and Customization
AnarchySage always welcomed texture contributions and suggestions, and the mod’s source code is available on GitHub for anyone curious enough to tinker. The config file is your best friend—it controls everything from world-gen marble rarity to which storage blocks appear in dungeon chests. You can even enable or disable the underwater ruins that occasionally spawn with loot, adding a dash of exploration to your world.
Modpack makers will be happy to know that Vanity Blocks is explicitly allowed in public packs, provided you link back to the original forum thread and direct bug reports appropriately. This openness helped the mod gain a modest but loyal following, reaching over 800 downloads in its early days.
Why Vanity Blocks Still Matters
In an era dominated by massive content mods, Vanity Blocks reminds us that sometimes the simplest additions bring the most joy. Whether you are filling a warehouse with neatly stacked bone blocks, hiding a secret room behind a curtain, or lighting up a corridor with colored redstone lamps, the mod adds layers of personality without overwhelming your game. It respects vanilla aesthetics while giving builders the tools they didn’t know they needed. Even though the code may be frozen in time, its legacy lives on in every cleverly disguised trapdoor and every marble pillar that graces a server spawn.