Godzilla Garage Kits

4.23.2023 (updated 5.1)

My life as a Godzilla fan and collector started with and has always revolved around models and garage kits. I must admit I have not paid them much attention nor thought closely about their history and significance in Godzilla toys and collectible history. But without them Godzilla figures and toys would never have gained steam over the years.

The start of my fledgling Japanese Godzilla collection began in 1984 with my visit to Rocketships & Accessories. Little did I know those days coincided with the birth of Godzilla garage kits in Japan which took off in 1983 and 1984. When Godzilla returned he brought a wave of Bandai figures, models, books, and more. But little did I know that garage kits had already been born and their makers were shaping those wonderful figures. Back then I bought Monster Catalogue in 3D that chronicled those early days of kits and their legendary modelers such as Masao Inoue and Hitoshi Hayami and Eito Hara. But I did not know their significance and history because I couldn’t read Japanese. I even had a small Godzilla diorama book and failed to connect model kit building to the history of Godzilla toys. Since then I acquired enough kits that some would have thought I was a kit builder. Although I love kits especially for their detail and uniqueness, I’m just not a modeler. So I paid little attention to kits, their history and significance.

Last year I started connecting those early kits with the history of Godzilla toys. Back then those kits were the stuff of my dreams and they deeply shaped what I wanted in Godzilla figures and collectibles. I was mesmerized by Hayami Hitoshi’s Godzilla Suit Variation Series. I didn’t know then his work were prototypes for the Bandai figures I would find at Rocketships & Accessories. And somehow by a miracle, forty years later, I became a part of Godzilla garage and model kit history when I created the box art for the X-Plus MechaGodzilla 1974 Model Kit in 2019. Since then I’ve been privileged to create box art for master Godzilla modeler Yuji Sakai. So now garage kits are at the forefront of my thoughts.

The past and present has compelled me to study the history of Godzilla garage kits. The Aurora Godzilla model kit started it all in 1963 and inspired Murasan to create the first Godzilla soft vinyl figure. That first model kit was the first Godzilla of my childhood. Twenty years later Godzilla garage kits were born with the return of Godzilla to the big screen. Garage kits (ガレージキット) is an assembly scale model kit most commonly cast in polyurethane resin. But they come in a variety of materials: vacuum foam, resin cast, soft vinyl, injection and more. Originally kits were the work of amateurs and hobbyists who make the models that they could not find on the market. Kits are labor-intensive and as a result they are usually produced in limited quantities. Because they were not mass-produced they were more expensive. Their prototypes were later faithfully copied for production. Some of these early garage kits become the prototypes of the first and our favorite Bandai figures. The names of the prototype modeler can be found on the plastic tags that accompanied the figures.¹ In Uchusen (宇宙船 vol 18, 1983), Bandai advertised the new soft vinyl KinGoji and MosuGoji for release in November. The prototypes of those favorite Bandai figures were made by Hitoshi Hayami.

The beginning of movie accurate Godzilla figures is credited to these modelers. Even Godzilla suit design begins with sculptors and modelers. Their work bears distinctive marks, signatures and stylization that we have come to love. I’m impressed by my friends and fellow collectors who build kits. I’m in awe of their work. And for that reason I’ve begun taking an inventory of my collection for kits and figures to document their story. In addition, I’ve started investing in vintage kits and related collectibles here and there to piece together a small representation of kit history.

Since my first encounter with garage kits in 1984, I didn’t know the modelers’ names, nor the kit manufacturers unless they were in English. But they were always near and sitting on my shelves. Their work was the foundation of my Godzilla collection. Not only Monster Catalogue in 3D, but also the work of author and modeler Masami Yamada introduced me to kit building in The Definitive Edition Godzilla Introduction (決定版ゴジラ入門, 1984). Flash forward to today, I’m playing catch up translating these old books for the history of Godzilla garage kits and doing deep dives on web pages to learn more. Kaiju Kits (kaijukits.com) provides a comprehensive model library thoroughly documenting the earliest kits to the most recent releases from their well-known manufacturers to lesser-known: Billiken, Beninside, Kaiyodo, Gow Row, Honey Bones, Inoue Arts, M-1, Monster Maker 28, Resin Chef Team Ukekue, Marmit, Max Factory, Shinzen, T-s Facto, Tanaka Studios, Volks, West Kinji, X-Plus, Zo Models, to name a few.

Godzilla garage kits can be found at conventions, shops and the web. Manufacturers and modelers are a post and message away on social media. They post their latest creations and when and where they will appear. Wonder Festival (ワンダーフェスティバル) was created as a “garage kit party” where enthusiasts could trade kits.^{2 3} Today thousands attend the show to purchase kits. I went to Wonder Festival in the Summer of 2016. And in 2022, my box art for Yuji Sakai’s Godzilla 2002 was on display at the X-Plus booth. For those of us who are not kit builders like myself, X-Plus created the Favorite Sculptors Line (FSL) to release some of the classic kits in soft vinyl for us. Whether older kits or newer releases, many can be found on Mandarake and Buyee Japan. Godzilla kits can be found at conventions, particularly G-Fest. Last year my friend Leslie scooped up the Monster Maker 28 Godzilla 1975 for me. And during my trip to Japan I bought the Billiken Godzilla 1954 from the Mandarake shop in Osu Kannon Temple shopping street in Nagoya. Since returning home, I’ve purchased two more kits through Buyee Japan.

A few months ago Hitoshi Hayama began sharing his work on Twitter. He has posted magazine covers, spreads and stories documenting his work. His posts have sent me searching for more garage kit history. I’ve been buying and translating books, catalogs, magazines, pamphlets, websites and tags. Recently, I found the Kaiyodo 1983 catalog. Now I’m pulling out all my issues of Hobby Japan, Uchussen and Figure King magazines that I have been collecting since the 90s. They are full of Godzilla garage kit history. They contain articles and ads on Godzilla and tokusatsu kits while setting them in their historical contexts. Masami Yamada’s book, Godzilla Super Diorama Theater, stimulated my desire for toy photography back in the 90s. Just a few years ago I met the legend in Japan and interviewed him for the second issue of MyKaiju Magazine.

A few months ago, I purchased a small collection of Hayami’s early garage kits. And during my recent trip to Japan I was given two classic Volks Godzilla kits. In the near future I will write about these and the history of Godzilla garage kits.