I’ve always felt intimidated by resin kits. Largely because my first attempt at one when I was younger, didn’t turn out well. In
After picking up the hobby again about a year back, things are so much different and much more approachable for any beginner. I still avoided resin but always wanted to challenge myself. Besides, you can’t beat having a cute or sexy anime figure, built, finished and on display in your cabinet! Thanks to the internet and social media, you can learn so much compared to the old days. This is where I took the plunge and grabbed my first order of resin garage kits!
The Adventure Begins
Researching online, 2 online shops were the most popular and affordable. E2046 and GK Model Online. The latter is from Taiwan and orders cost a little cheaper shipped to me in Singapore. I set about sourcing through a plethora of kits available and believe me, one can get really overwhelmed! Sticking to what I
Prep Work
Once in my hands, I checked through the parts to ensure everything was complete. Nothing was broken except for a warped sword blade which is common with long thin resin cast and easily fixed with hot water to reshape it. I gave all the parts a soak in a soapy bath for an hour or more and gently brushed off any mold release agent from the surfaces of the parts with a soft toothbrush. After being left to dry, I started cutting away the nubs, while test fitting them to see if any joints needed to be filled or re-shaped. Thankfully, Reika went together easily and just needed some joint areas re-shaped internally so they sit together well. Note, though that resin dust is toxic so work with a mask, some gloves and wash your hands whenever you take a break! I worked over a box cover so dust and bits fall into it for me to dump away as and when.

The next step was to decide if any joints needed pinning for a stronger fit! I chose to drill out with a hand vice, pinholes for her shoulders as the rifle she held had some weight to it! I used lengths of paper clip for this. I left the base of the figure till last as I suspected that once her legs are affixed, they may not line up perfectly with the holes or tabs on the base. If so, I can always fill or sand down the original marks and make new ones based on how she is fixed up! Next, I made holes for sticks to hold on to while I paint her up.
First was a coat of Badger Stylynrez grey primer. As the resin kit comes in white or beige, it’s hard to see all, if any, imperfections and the grey base helps find those you missed. Needless to say, there were several more pits and hairline marks that had to be sanded down or filled. They seem to appear magically! Another airbrushed coat of primer and checked again! This can be a tedious process for newcomers, but it’s all down to the level of finish you wish to live with, in the end. Honestly, some can be ignored, but knowing myself, I’d probably
Painting time
Once I was satisfied with the surface, I started to airbrush a coat of Badger Stylynrez black. At this point, I started to plan out how I wanted to

Her face was airbrushed with Badger Stylynrez white primer so that the flesh coats will look brighter if sprayed over a grey base. Using flesh tones from Vallejo Skin Color, Salmon pink was based and basic flesh applied as highlights. Her hair was sprayed black and brown streaks added with tinned down Citadel paint worked with a brush, building up layers for intensity. Once her face piece was dry, I added some pastel shading around the eyes and below the neck for some shadows, before top coating it with MrTopCoat Matte. I didn’t attempt to paint her eyes and instead chose to use the decals provided. In hindsight, perhaps I should have as I didn’t fancy they way it made her look. Ah well, too late and maybe one day I will remove them and paint it instead. Some drops of gloss over her eyes and the head was assembled with her hair pieces. All that was left was her rifle which was also sprayed black and details picked out with some Citadel Lothern Blue for the lines. Vallejo Mecha Color light steel was used for the tiny round disc that adorn her suit and the middle filled with Citadel Lothern Blue as well. Soon she was all ready to be put together!

She’s Alive!
I used 5min epoxy and some Gel CA glue to fix her up. Epoxy was applied to the main larger tab areas and a little CA near the edges so that when put together, they will bond


The base was treated the same way and cleaned up, prepped, holes filled, primed in black and Top Coat sprayed on! Reika was then epoxied onto her base
So…. how was the experience?
feel that
Reika was easy to build and finish. Figuring out the approach to get to the end, with as little a hassle as needed, was the hard bit. And sometimes, things may need to take longer to accomplish than most. Even though Reika went together well, I don’t expect all Garage Kits to have this easy a fit and was ready to take on the challenge ahead! So much so, that I ordered 2 more kits!
So, in the end, choose a kit with relatively low parts count. Something with not many tiny bits as resin can warp with thin small pieces or they can break easily. I try to avoid long flowy hair, apparent with many Anime characters, but this can be hard to avoid. Such intricate hair detail can be a pain and will need some time to fill gaps and sand imperfections away. I’m just lazy HAHA! Look at the finished figure pics and think about your painting approach. Grab as much information from online tutorials and research on how others work on their resin figures. You’d be surprised that many use other mediums to paint and finish their kits. In the end, have fun! You can always strip the paint away and start again. I’m looking forward to my next resin challenge FUN!