Where to purchase kits
Obtaining originals could be purchased at live events in Japan via WonderFest, Treasure Festa (Hobima) and several other yearly events held in different locations throughout Japan. If you can't attend the live events, then your next chance to obtain them would be through these New/Second hand stores — some will require a proxy, some sell directly to overseas customers. Other times you will be able to purchase "directly" from a sculptor via Booth, but unless it's a digital download, you will be forced to also use a proxy or forwarding service.
Mandarake
Ships internationallyA second hand chain store in Japan offering only original kits.
Rakuten
Requires proxyNew and second hand goods.
Surugaya
Requires proxySecond hand in Japan, only sells original goods.
Yahoo! JP Auctions
Requires proxyAuction site, second hand and new goods.
Surugaya English
Ships internationallyShips internationally HOWEVER I've found that the prices are extremely overinflated compared to the original listing on their Japanese only site (I'll be calling that the "Gaijin tax"). BEWARE — locate the original jp page listing and compare the prices; most times you'll be paying way less even when using a proxy.
Volks USA
Buy directSells most Charagumin Kits directly.
Booth
Requires proxyMany indie and professional artists will occasionally sell kits directly to you if they are not copyrighted characters at any point in time of the year, for the latter, Hobima (Online Treasure Fest) is held twice a year and depending on the character and artist, you'll be able to order on specific dates and times. Some sell digital STL files of their works, no proxy is needed for those purchases.
Mercari
Requires proxyWhile Mercari can be an international site, Mercari Japan is it's own thing. Think of it as the equivalent to our ebay. There are a lot of individuals that are selling their personal old and new kits, however, be very careful, just like there are a lot of scammy sellers on ebay, they also exist here.
Tips for purchasing on Japanese sites: try using any of these Japanese terms to help you search specifically when looking for garage kits: ガレキ ガレージキット レジンキャスト 樹脂キャスト followed by the character or the sculptor/circle name also in Japanese.
Do Not… I repeat DO NOT purchase from ebay Thai Sellers! If you need to know why, check out this video on the topic.
Personal Recommendations!
Here are some links to the items I personally use and recommend, visit my Amazon Storefront to see available items there but all of the following listings are affiliate links. These are brands that I have worked with and collaborated with and the items here are my favorite to recommend for both Garage Kit painting and 3D Printing.
Amazon StoreFront
Amazon US
Gaahleri Online Store
If you're interested in checking out the entire Gaahleri store catalog, just visit and explore, they offer exceptional quality for any of their products. Use my code LeonaWorkshop for 10% off your purchase
Gaahleri
Ace Series GHAC-Swallowtail
Gaahleri
GHPM-Mobius 0.2mm Airbrush
Gaahleri
Turbox Mini Air Compressor
Gaahleri
Dual Drive Series Airbrush Air Compressor GT-918
Gaahleri
Voortex Airbrush Paint Shaker
Gaahleri
24 Primary Colors Set
Gaahleri
12 Metal Colors Set
Gaahleri
12 Translucent Colors Set
Gaahleri
Lychee Slicer
If you're looking for a Slicer to help with your 3d prints, I recommend you get Lychee, it's honestly simple to use and has great features to help you with your supports!
Lychee
DollMaker by Etellan 3D Resin
If you're looking to buy 3D resin to print your models and are looking for something that resembles the quality of casted or traditional kits, THIS is the resin for you! I've used a lot of different resins but I've never been happy with the quality because they're too hard and brittle, if you've worked with normal kits, you know how big the difference is between both. This resin is softer, isn't brittle and can be sand easily! It's completely worth it.
Yes that's 3D Printed
Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra 16k
Elegoo
Mercury Plus V3.0
Elegoo
Anycubic Official Store
If you'd like to browse more of Anycubic's official online store, just click here and use my code LEONASWORKSHOP for $15 off your purchase!
Anycubic
Anycubic Photon Mono M7 Pro
AnycubicThe Ultimate Shopping List
This is almost everything I showed in my videos, from materials to tools and machines to make your life more fun (and easier) in your own model painting adventures. Most of the items listed here are affiliate links, when you purchase through them, you’ll be helping me out at no cost to you.
Cutting tools
Sanding tools
Putty
Brushes
![Finish Master R [Extra Fine]](https://leonasworkshop.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/51FnITmjixL._AC_SL1500_-300x162.jpg)
Masking
Fine Pinning wire
Airbrusing
Assorted hobby material
I will update the list if something is missing, please leave a comment in any of my videos my videos or use my contact form to let me know and I will update it!