Garage kit
Encyclopedia
A garage kit or resin kit is an assembly scale model
kit most commonly cast
in polyurethane
resin
. They are often figures
portraying humans or other living creatures. In Japan, kits often depict anime
characters, and in the United States depictions of movie monsters are common. However, kits are produced depicting a wide range of subjects, from characters from horror, science fiction, fantasy films, television and comic books to nudes and pin-up girls to dinosaurs to original works of art, as well as upgrade and conversion kits for existing models and airsoft
guns.
Originally garage kits were amateur-produced and the term originated with dedicated hobbyists using their garages as workshops. Unable to find model kits of subjects they wanted on the market, they began producing kits of their own. As the market expanded professional companies began making similar kits. Sometimes a distinction is made between true garage kits, made by amateurs, and resin kits, manufactured professionally by companies.
Because of the labor intensive casting process, garage kits are usually produced in limited numbers and are more expensive than injection-molded
plastic kits. The parts are glued together using cyanoacrylate
(Super Glue) or an epoxy
cement and the completed figure is painted. Some figures are sold completed, but most commonly they are sold in parts for the buyer to assemble and finish.
The legality of amateur garage kits can be questionable as they are not always properly licensed and sometimes recast copies of kits are sold without permission.
figures, sometimes in lurid or even pornographic
poses. Another major subject is "Kaiju
" monsters such as Godzilla
, and they also include subjects like mecha
and science fiction space ships. Garage kits can be as simple as a one piece figure, or as complex as kits with well over one hundred parts. Most commonly they are cast in polyurethane
resin
, but may also be fabricated of such diverse substances as soft vinyl
, white metal – a type of lead
alloy
– and fabric
.
Originally the kits were sold and traded between hobbyists at conventions like Wonder Festival
. As the market grew a number of companies began producing resin kits professionally, such as Federation Models, Volks
, WAVE/Be-J, Kaiyodo
, Kotobukiya and B-Club, a subsidiary of Bandai
producing Gundam
kits.
The scale of figure kits varies, but as of 2008 1/8 seems to be predominant. Prior to 1990 the dominant scale was 1/6. This scale shrink coincided with rise in material, labor, and licensing costs. Other scales, such as 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/7 also exist, but are less common. Larger kits (1/3, 1/4, etc.) generally command higher prices due to the greater amounts of material required to produce them.
Japanese garage kits are usually cast as separate parts which are packed with instructions and sometimes photographs of the final product. Most professionally manufactured kits come in a box while amateur-produced kits sold at conventions come in a plastic bag. They are usually completely unpainted and do not come with decals. The builder has to paint the assembled model, preferably with an airbrush
.
Asian ball-jointed doll
s (BJDs) have their roots in garage kits, and are still made similarly, by casting in polyurethane resin. Some garage kit designers and producers, like Volks, Cerberus Project and Gentaro Araki, now create BJDs as well.
and other companies produced cheap plastic models of movie monsters, comic book heroes, and movie and television characters. This market disappeared, but through the 1980s an underground market grew through which enthusiasts could acquire the old plastic model kits.
In the early to mid-1980s, hobbyists began creating their own garage kits of movie monsters. There was a small but enthusiastic market for these new model kits. They were making flexible molds which could produce accurate reproductions of new figures which were sculpted more accurately and with more detail than the old plastic model kits, but often done without permission from copyright holders. They were usually produced in limited numbers and sold primarily by mail order and at toy and hobby conventions.
In the mid- to late 1980s the monster model kit hobby grew toward the mainstream. By the 1990s model kits were produced in the US, UK as well as Japan and distributed through hobby and comic stores. There was an unprecedented variety of licensed models figure kits.
In the late 1990s model kit sales went down. Hobby and comic stores and their distributors began carrying fewer garage kits or closed down and producers shut their doors.
As of 2009, there are two American garage kit magazines, Kitbuilders Magazine and Amazing Figure Modeler, and there are garage kit conventions held each year, like WonderFest USA in Louisville, Kentucky.
plastic kits which are produced in many thousands. This is due to the labor intensive nature of the manufacturing process and the relatively low market demand.
Resin casting
garage kit production is the most labor-intensive. The upside is that creating the initial mold is much less costly than in the injection-molding process.
Vinyl garage kits are produced by using liquid vinyl Plastisol
in a spin casting
process known as slush molding. It is more complex than resin casting, but less expensive and less sophisticated than the injection molding
used for most plastic products. It is not something that is commonly done in a basement or garage.
d. The model might be of a copyright
ed character or design that was produced by fans because no official model exists.
In an effort to legitimize amateur garage kit production and sales in Japan, it is not uncommon for license holder to issue 'single day license' (:ja:当日版権システム) where for one day only, license is granted for sale of amateur garage kits. These licensing agreement are typically negotiated between an event organizer (Wonder Festival
, Character Hobby, Figure Mania, etc.) and varies licensing entities for license to characters from specific TV shows and movies. Typically the event organizer publishes in advance, a list of licenses available, and sculptors intending to sell their sculptures then submit applications (including photos of sculpture) for approval. It is not uncommon for applications to be rejected.
The relatively low initial investment and ease of resin casting
means that it's also easy to create recast copies of existing original kits. Recasts are produced by making molds of parts from original model kits and then doing recasts from the new molds. This can be done for personal use, such as modification of an existing kit, but unlicensed recast copies are sometimes sold unlawfully. In some cases the original kit is no longer available, but in others they are still in active production. The recasts can be of officially licensed model kits, but when they are of unlicensed kits the sculptor usually has a hard time pursuing litigation. The recasts are usually of inferior quality and offered at a price that undercuts the original. Recast kits can be found on online auction sites
, where they can be difficult to control due to cumbersome site policies and seller pseudonymity
. Many recasters are in East Asia but can be found all over the globe.
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
kit most commonly cast
Resin casting
Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry...
in polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
resin
Resin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
. They are often figures
Model figure
A model figure is a scale model representing a human, monster or other creature. Human figures may be either a generic figure of a type , a historical personage , or a fictional character .Model figures are sold both as kits for enthusiast to construct and paint and as pre-built, pre-painted...
portraying humans or other living creatures. In Japan, kits often depict anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
characters, and in the United States depictions of movie monsters are common. However, kits are produced depicting a wide range of subjects, from characters from horror, science fiction, fantasy films, television and comic books to nudes and pin-up girls to dinosaurs to original works of art, as well as upgrade and conversion kits for existing models and airsoft
Airsoft
Airsoft is a sport in which participants shoot round non-metallic pellets launched via replica firearms.Gameplay varies in style and composition but often range from short-term skirmishes, organized scenarios, military simulations, historical reenactments, to competition target shooting events...
guns.
Originally garage kits were amateur-produced and the term originated with dedicated hobbyists using their garages as workshops. Unable to find model kits of subjects they wanted on the market, they began producing kits of their own. As the market expanded professional companies began making similar kits. Sometimes a distinction is made between true garage kits, made by amateurs, and resin kits, manufactured professionally by companies.
Because of the labor intensive casting process, garage kits are usually produced in limited numbers and are more expensive than injection-molded
Injection molding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
plastic kits. The parts are glued together using cyanoacrylate
Cyanoacrylate
Cyanoacrylate is the generic name for cyanoacrylate based fast-acting adhesives such as methyl 2-cyanoacrylate, ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate , and n-butyl cyanoacrylate...
(Super Glue) or an epoxy
Epoxy
Epoxy, also known as polyepoxide, is a thermosetting polymer formed from reaction of an epoxide "resin" with polyamine "hardener". Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including fiber-reinforced plastic materials and general purpose adhesives....
cement and the completed figure is painted. Some figures are sold completed, but most commonly they are sold in parts for the buyer to assemble and finish.
The legality of amateur garage kits can be questionable as they are not always properly licensed and sometimes recast copies of kits are sold without permission.
Japan
Japanese garage kits are often female animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
figures, sometimes in lurid or even pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
poses. Another major subject is "Kaiju
Kaiju
is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
" monsters such as Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
, and they also include subjects like mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
and science fiction space ships. Garage kits can be as simple as a one piece figure, or as complex as kits with well over one hundred parts. Most commonly they are cast in polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
resin
Resin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
, but may also be fabricated of such diverse substances as soft vinyl
Vinyl
A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...
, white metal – a type of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
– and fabric
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
.
Originally the kits were sold and traded between hobbyists at conventions like Wonder Festival
Wonder Festival
The Tokyo , or for short, is a bi-annual event to display and sell "garage kits", which are sculptures that usually replicate anime and game characters, but also popular mecha/sci-fi characters and creatures. These models are extremely detail oriented, and many of these sculptures appear in very...
. As the market grew a number of companies began producing resin kits professionally, such as Federation Models, Volks
Volks
is a Japan-based corporation that produces garage kits and mecha kits as well as the Dollfie, Super Dollfie and Dollfie Dream lines of dolls. The company's headquarters is in Kyoto, with some 30 shops worldwide, and annual sales of about $50 million, as of 2008....
, WAVE/Be-J, Kaiyodo
Kaiyodo
thumb|320px|Kaiyodo Figure Museum Kurokabe is a Japanese company dedicated to figurines and garage kits. Its headquarters is in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture. While the company mostly focuses on anime related characters, it recently has acquired other licenses, e.g...
, Kotobukiya and B-Club, a subsidiary of Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
producing Gundam
Gundam
The is a metaseries of anime created by Sunrise studios that features giant robots called "Mobile Suits" ; usually the protagonist's MS will carry the name Gundam....
kits.
The scale of figure kits varies, but as of 2008 1/8 seems to be predominant. Prior to 1990 the dominant scale was 1/6. This scale shrink coincided with rise in material, labor, and licensing costs. Other scales, such as 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/7 also exist, but are less common. Larger kits (1/3, 1/4, etc.) generally command higher prices due to the greater amounts of material required to produce them.
Japanese garage kits are usually cast as separate parts which are packed with instructions and sometimes photographs of the final product. Most professionally manufactured kits come in a box while amateur-produced kits sold at conventions come in a plastic bag. They are usually completely unpainted and do not come with decals. The builder has to paint the assembled model, preferably with an airbrush
Airbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
.
Asian ball-jointed doll
Ball-jointed doll
A ball-jointed doll is any doll that is articulated with ball and socket joints. In contemporary usage when referring to modern dolls, and particularly when using the acronyms BJD or ABJD, it usually refers to modern Asian ball-jointed dolls. These are cast in polyurethane synthetic resin, a hard,...
s (BJDs) have their roots in garage kits, and are still made similarly, by casting in polyurethane resin. Some garage kit designers and producers, like Volks, Cerberus Project and Gentaro Araki, now create BJDs as well.
USA
In the 1950s and 60s AuroraAurora Plastics Corporation
The Aurora Plastics Corporation is a U.S. toy and hobby manufacturing and marketing company. It is known primarily for its production of plastic model kits in the 1960s.-History:Aurora Plastics Corporation was founded in March, 1950 by engineer Joseph E...
and other companies produced cheap plastic models of movie monsters, comic book heroes, and movie and television characters. This market disappeared, but through the 1980s an underground market grew through which enthusiasts could acquire the old plastic model kits.
In the early to mid-1980s, hobbyists began creating their own garage kits of movie monsters. There was a small but enthusiastic market for these new model kits. They were making flexible molds which could produce accurate reproductions of new figures which were sculpted more accurately and with more detail than the old plastic model kits, but often done without permission from copyright holders. They were usually produced in limited numbers and sold primarily by mail order and at toy and hobby conventions.
In the mid- to late 1980s the monster model kit hobby grew toward the mainstream. By the 1990s model kits were produced in the US, UK as well as Japan and distributed through hobby and comic stores. There was an unprecedented variety of licensed models figure kits.
In the late 1990s model kit sales went down. Hobby and comic stores and their distributors began carrying fewer garage kits or closed down and producers shut their doors.
As of 2009, there are two American garage kit magazines, Kitbuilders Magazine and Amazing Figure Modeler, and there are garage kit conventions held each year, like WonderFest USA in Louisville, Kentucky.
Production
Garage kits are generally produced in small quantities, from the tens to a few hundred copies, compared to injection-moldedInjection molding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
plastic kits which are produced in many thousands. This is due to the labor intensive nature of the manufacturing process and the relatively low market demand.
Resin casting
Resin casting
Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry...
garage kit production is the most labor-intensive. The upside is that creating the initial mold is much less costly than in the injection-molding process.
Vinyl garage kits are produced by using liquid vinyl Plastisol
Plastisol
Plastisol is a suspension of PVC particles in a plasticizer; it flows as a liquid and can be poured into a heated mold. When heated to around 177 degrees Celsius, the plastic and plasticizer mutually dissolve each other. On cooling the mold below 60 degrees C, a flexible, permanently plasticized...
in a spin casting
Spin casting
Spin casting, also known as centrifugal rubber mold casting , is a method of utilizing centrifugal force to produce castings from a rubber mold. Typically, a disc-shaped mold is spun along its central axis at a set speed. The casting material, usually molten metal or liquid thermoset plastic is...
process known as slush molding. It is more complex than resin casting, but less expensive and less sophisticated than the injection molding
Injection molding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
used for most plastic products. It is not something that is commonly done in a basement or garage.
Intellectual property issues
The legality of amateur garage kits can be questionable as they are not always properly licenseLicense
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
d. The model might be of a copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed character or design that was produced by fans because no official model exists.
In an effort to legitimize amateur garage kit production and sales in Japan, it is not uncommon for license holder to issue 'single day license' (:ja:当日版権システム) where for one day only, license is granted for sale of amateur garage kits. These licensing agreement are typically negotiated between an event organizer (Wonder Festival
Wonder Festival
The Tokyo , or for short, is a bi-annual event to display and sell "garage kits", which are sculptures that usually replicate anime and game characters, but also popular mecha/sci-fi characters and creatures. These models are extremely detail oriented, and many of these sculptures appear in very...
, Character Hobby, Figure Mania, etc.) and varies licensing entities for license to characters from specific TV shows and movies. Typically the event organizer publishes in advance, a list of licenses available, and sculptors intending to sell their sculptures then submit applications (including photos of sculpture) for approval. It is not uncommon for applications to be rejected.
The relatively low initial investment and ease of resin casting
Resin casting
Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens. It is primarily used for small scale production like industrial prototypes and dentistry...
means that it's also easy to create recast copies of existing original kits. Recasts are produced by making molds of parts from original model kits and then doing recasts from the new molds. This can be done for personal use, such as modification of an existing kit, but unlicensed recast copies are sometimes sold unlawfully. In some cases the original kit is no longer available, but in others they are still in active production. The recasts can be of officially licensed model kits, but when they are of unlicensed kits the sculptor usually has a hard time pursuing litigation. The recasts are usually of inferior quality and offered at a price that undercuts the original. Recast kits can be found on online auction sites
Online auction business model
The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. The functionality of buying and selling in an auction format is made possible through auction software which regulates the various processes involved.Several types of online auctions are...
, where they can be difficult to control due to cumbersome site policies and seller pseudonymity
Pseudonymity
Pseudonymity is a word derived from pseudonym, meaning 'false name', and anonymity, meaning unknown or undeclared source, describing a state of disguised identity. The pseudonym identifies a holder, that is, one or more human beings who possess but do not disclose their true names...
. Many recasters are in East Asia but can be found all over the globe.