Garage Kit

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.