First Look: Brick Works 1/20 Scale Resin Miniatures

Despite being a fan of Brick Works resin miniatures/figurines for the longest time, I never could get hold of any to work on .... until now. What impresses me most about these Japanese produced figure model kits is the level of detail inherent in what is ostensibly a simply designed figurine. These figurines are part of Maschinen Krieger ZbV3000 (Ma.K), a science fiction universe created by Japanese artist Kow Yokoyama in the '80s. I'm not overly familiar with the story elements of this universe as my interest in these resin figure model kits is purely aesthetic in nature.   

Brick Works Maschinen Krieger 1/20 scale resin figurine: Caribou Girl (left) and Santa Girl (right)

Back of packaging showcasing pictures of a fully painted Caribou Girl (left) and Santa Girl (right)

Brick Works Maschinen Krieger 1/20 scale resin figurine: Space Pilot (left) and Refresh Girl (right)

Back of packaging for the 1/20 scale Space Pilot (left) and Refresh Girl (right)

As to be expected from resin cast miniatures/figurines, the details on each are impressive. From the clearly defined strands of hair to the facial features to every fold and texture of clothing, such sculpted details are the stuff of dreams for miniature painters. At least they are for me.    

Brick Works Santa Girl, its separate parts seen here next to a ruler for a rough size estimate

Potential of Santa Girl as realised in paint by Hiroki Hayashi (see background packaging art/photo)

Resin cast miniatures/figurines are renowned for their level of detail and Santa Girl is no exception

All the resin miniatures have been cast in light flesh hues. And to the best of my knowledge, all the figurines here were sculpted by Hiroki Hayashi. He even painted three of the four figurines shown in the packaging art, namely Santa Girl, Caribou Girl and Space Pilot (B) while Refresh Girl was painted by Kow Yokoyama himself. I'm more familiar with the work of Hiroki Hayashi because I'm a huge, huge fan of Hiroki-san's work. And now I can finally paint one of his sculptures.

Brick Works Caribou Girl, its separate parts seen here next to a ruler for a rough size estimate

Potential of Caribou Girl as realised in paint by Hiroki Hayashi (see background packaging art/photo)

Even before any paint is applied, the sweet nature of Caribou Girl's facial features is clearly evident

With this being just my first impressions of the Brick Works resin miniatures, I have yet to remove the resin parts from the packaging for a closer inspection. This I'll do, together with a proper build review, on an individual basis for each and every figurine as I set about to paint them in the future.   

A rough estimate of size for the Mercenary Force Female Space Pilot (B) in Low Gravity/Aerobic Environment

Photograph in the background shows the Space Pilot painted as a Caucasian (left) and as an East Asian (right) 

Realistic folds of the space suit

While all the resin miniatures - except for Refresh Girl (see below) - could be said to have East Asian facial features, it doesn't necessarily define how the figurine should be painted. As evidenced by the excellent paint work on Space Pilot (B), facial features can still be generic enough to be painted realistically as either a Caucasian or East Asian female. Personally, I would prefer painting them in East Asian skin tones to improve my skills in this specific area of the hobby. 

A rough estimate of size for the Brick Works Refresh Girl, Season of Barefoot

Fully painted Refresh Girl as seen on the background packaging art/photo above

Every strand of hair and every curve of the body is captured excellently in this figurine

According to web magazine site [TMP] The Miniatures Page, 1/20 is the theoretical equivalent of 80 mm in terms of scale. I've yet to verify this to be true. With a number of 80 mm Nocturna Models resin miniatures in my collection, verifying the equivalency of both scales should easy enough to do. If they do work out scale-wise, there are so many diorama possibilities arising from combining figurines from two of my favourite resin miniature companies. But as excited as I am to get started on Brick Works miniatures, I plan to finish Bronn first and his completed photos is coming up very soon. Who knows, I just might then get enough momentum to restart my Katana proxy as well.