What are Garage Kits?

Garage kits are essentially pre-moulded model kits, which have to be assembled, glued and then painted. The term originated with dedicated hobbyists frustrated with having being unable to find model kits of subjects they wanted on the market and so started producing kits of their own. As the processes of sculpting, casting and painting produce dust and fumes, most of the sculptors used their garages as their workshops, hence the name.

Originally these kits were sold and traded between hobbyists at conventions, such as WonderFestival, but they have since gained popularity and now there are a large number of companies, who produce these kinds of kits professionally.

Kits are usually cast as separate parts and can be as simple as a two piece figure, or as complex as kits with well over one hundred parts. Due to the labor intensive nature of the manufacturing process and low market demand relative to traditional injection-molded plastic kits, garage kits are generally produced in very small quantities from the tens to a few hundred copies, as opposed to injection-molded plastic kits that are produced in many thousands.

tags garage kit garage kits resin kit resin kits figure model modeling