What is a Garage Kit? A Buyer's Guide to Resin Sculpture Figures

So, What Exactly is a Garage Kit?

"Garage kit" is a term with a lot of history behind it. It originated in Japan's doujin (independent creator) culture, where hobbyists and sculptors would produce small runs of resin figure kits — often literally from their garages — and sell them at events like Wonder Festival. The name stuck, and today it refers broadly to limited, independently produced resin sculpture figures designed primarily for display and collecting rather than gameplay.

At Tattles Told 3D, our garage kit range brings that same independent creator spirit into the world of made-to-order 3D printing. Each piece is sculpted by an independent artist, licensed by us, and printed fresh to order in high-detail resin — so you get a collector-quality figure without the hunting, the markups, or the luck of the draw.

How Are Garage Kits Different from Tabletop Miniatures?

This is the question we get most often, and it's a fair one — both involve resin figures, after all. Here's the key difference:

• Tabletop miniatures are sized and designed for use in gameplay — typically 28mm to 35mm, meant to sit on a grid mat and represent a character or creature in a TTRPG or wargame.
• Garage kits are display pieces. They're larger, more elaborately posed, and sculpted with the kind of fine detail you want to admire up close on a shelf — not push around a dungeon map. Think statues, not game pieces.

Garage kits also tend to be more complex sculptural works — dynamic poses, intricate costumes, detailed bases — because they're made to be looked at, not handled repeatedly during play.

Garage Kits Come in Multiple Parts

This is one of the most important things to know going in: garage kits are not single-piece figures. They arrive as a kit — multiple separate parts that need to be assembled. This is standard for the format and is actually part of what makes them so paintable: you can work on each section individually before putting the whole thing together.

Resin is fragile. Thin parts — fingers, weapon tips, hair strands, decorative accessories — can snap under pressure or if dropped. Handle each piece with care from the moment you open the box, and store loose parts safely while you work.

What to Do Before You Paint: Cleanup

Resin prints come out of the printer with support structures — small scaffolding that holds delicate parts in place during printing. We remove these before shipping, but it's normal for tiny support nubs or slight rough patches to remain on the surface. Before you prime or paint, take a few minutes to prep each part:

• Tweeze away any remaining support tips with a pair of fine-point tweezers or hobby pliers. Work carefully around thin or delicate areas.
• Sand smooth any rough spots with 400–600 grit sandpaper. A light pass is usually all it takes — you're just knocking down nubs, not reshaping the surface.
• Clean the parts with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and a soft toothbrush to remove any dust or residue before priming.

This prep step makes a noticeable difference in how cleanly primer and paint adhere. It's worth taking your time here.

Assembly: Glue or Magnets

Most garage kits are designed to be assembled with super glue (cyanoacrylate glue works best for resin-to-resin bonds). However, some kits in our catalog support magnetic assembly — meaning the parts connect with small embedded magnets instead of permanent glue. Check the individual product listing to see which assembly method applies to your kit, or ask us before ordering.

Magnetic assembly has some real advantages: it lets you swap poses or detach parts for easier storage and transport, and it makes repainting much more manageable down the line.

The Golden Rule: Paint First, Assemble After

If you plan to paint your garage kit — and we highly recommend it — paint each part separately before gluing or magnetizing them together. Trying to paint a fully assembled figure means your brush can't reach recessed areas between parts, and you risk losing detail in the joins. The multi-part format is a feature, not a flaw — it's specifically designed to make painting easier.

A general workflow that works well:

1. Unbox carefully and inventory all parts.
2. Tweeze and sand any remaining support nubs.
3. Clean all parts with IPA and let dry.
4. Prime each part individually.
5. Paint each part to completion.
6. Assemble with glue or magnets.
7. Touch up any join lines or areas disturbed during assembly.
8. Seal with varnish.

New to painting resin? Our painting guide covers the fundamentals — the same techniques apply to larger display pieces.

What to Expect When You Buy a Garage Kit from Us

Made to Order

Like everything in our store, garage kits are printed fresh when you order. Current processing time is up to 8 weeks. If you have a deadline — a birthday, an event, a gift — reach out and we'll do our best to accommodate.

Printed in High-Detail Resin

We print in resin specifically because it captures the level of detail these sculpts deserve. Fine fabric folds, facial expressions, hair strands, intricate accessories — resin handles all of it in a way that FDM (filament) printing simply can't.

Arrives Unpainted

Garage kits ship unpainted and ready to prime. This is standard for the format — part of the appeal for many collectors is the painting process itself.

Scaling

Our creators sculpt at their native scale, and we can resize prints up or down within reason. That said, garage kits are generally intended at a specific display scale, so reach out before ordering if you have a specific size in mind and we'll advise on what works best for the sculpt.

How to Display Your Garage Kit

Once painted (or even before, if you want the raw resin look), here are a few ways collectors typically display their figures:

• Display cases: UV-protective cases keep dust off and prevent color fading from sunlight over time.
• Custom bases: Many collectors add a decorative base or diorama element beneath their figure to create a scene. Ask us if you want to explore base options for a specific sculpt.
• Lighting: Small LED puck lights or strip lighting inside a display case can dramatically elevate how a figure looks, especially on metallic or translucent paint effects.
• Photography: Resin figures photograph beautifully. A simple lightbox and a phone camera is all you need to capture your painted piece — and we'd love to see what you create.

Browse Our Garage Kit Collections

We carry garage kit and sculpture figures from some seriously talented independent studios. Each one brings a distinct aesthetic — browse and find the one that speaks to you.

• Garage Kits & Statues — our full garage kit range in one place
• Bulkamancer Sculpts — bold, expressive sculpture figures
• NomNom Figures — charming and characterful display pieces
• CA 3D Studios — detailed and dynamic sculpts
• 3Dmoonn — distinctive artistic figures

Have questions before you order? We're always happy to chat. Reach out and we'll help you find the right piece for your collection.