Garage Kit / Resin Figures
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| 1/6 Rin Tousaka Cerberus Project 2005 |
| 1/6 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2007-09-09 |
|
| 1/6 Ryofu Housen |
| 1/6 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2006-06-23 |
|
| 1/6 Mia Alice |
| 1/6 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2006-02-07 |
|
| 1/8 Rain Mikamura |
| 1/8 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2006-01-10 |
|
| 1/7 Kazami Mizuho White Bikini |
| 1/7 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2005-12-14 |
|
| 1/7 Kanu Uncho DVD Jacket Edition |
| 1/7 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2005-11-27 |
|
| 1/8 Rei Ayanami Race Queen |
| 1/8 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2005-11-15 |
|
| 1/7 Takai Sayaka Floral Mint Version |
| 1/7 Resin Garage Kit |
| Completion Date: 2004-09-16 |
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Garage kits are Japanese hobbyist model kits. The term originated
with dedicated hobbyists frustrated with having being unable to find the figure they
wanted on the market. Some of them started building figures of their own, and as the
process of sculpting, casting and painting produces dust and fumes, and requires lots
of workroom for tools and supplies, most of the sculptors used their garage as the workshop,
hence the name. Since then production of kits caught on, and was picked up by a number
of small companies, but the name stuck.
Garage kits can be as simple as molds into which liquid resin is poured and left to
harden, or as complex as do-it-yourself scale model kits. Most of them are of female
anime characters, but also include male characters, mecha, monsters and such. The kits
are usually cast as separate parts, and come in a box with instructions and photos of
the finished product, which then has to be glued together and painted. Due to the hands-on
approach of the sculpting process, and self-made nature of majority of the kits, most
of them are produced in very small numbers, usually limited to a few hundred copies,
or less. Production cost is also a factor, with mold-making materials such as silicone
being quite expensive, and the molding process itself is hazardous due to the toxicity
of the vapors coming from resin.
The scale of these figures varies, but 1/7 (approximately one seventh of the actual
character size for human characters) seems to be predominant, with other scales, such
as 1/6, 1/4, 1/8 and others being less common. They are typically cast of resin or vinyl.