1:12/1:10/Non-scale: The scale of a model kit relative to what they would look like if they were human-sized. In brief, 1:12 kits top out at roughly 11-13 cm tall, 1:10 kits top out at roughly 15-16 cm tall, and non-scales can be whichever height. 1:12 kits are roughly equivalent to 1:144 kits from those coming from the mecha modeling community (usually used for Bandai High Grade kits).
Color separation: In this context, whether or not a kit’s parts come pre-painted with the right colors. While the majority of kits are color separated and pre-painted, not all of them are, and there will be commentary where they are not.
Kitbashing: As mentioned in the intro, the practice of combining parts from multiple kits to create a custom kit. This practice is not unique to girlpla modeling, but many lines such as Megami Device and 30 Minutes Label sell themselves on ease of kitbashing their kits.
Machineca: A template used to define how a girlpla’s body is built and is articulated, popularized by Megami Device, which created most Machineca variants, and the brainchild of Masaki Apsy, one of the designers of Megami Device. Variants of Machineca are used officially by DarkAdvent and chitocerium and unofficially by countless model kit lines.
Modding: Short for modifying, and referring to the practice of using external (non-model kit) parts like putty, 3D printed pieces or other objects to modify a model kit to one’s desire.
Snap-building: A term used to refer to kits that use male/female connectors to bond, avoiding the use of glue in most instances. The majority of girlpla lines mentioned in this guide will use this for the majority, if not the entirety, of the assembly.
Straight-building: Building the kit directly from the box, without kitbashing, painting or other further modification.
Premium Bandai: A premium product service offered by Bandai (shortened to P-Bandai or Peeb), having exclusive kits that are only sold through this service and certain partners. While restricted to Japan, some local partners possess the ability to order kits from Premium Bandai at a higher cost than they would sell normal kits.
Tolerances: In this context, tolerance refers to the leeway a model kit has when connecting joints or connectors. The better the tolerance of a kit is, the better at being able to connect parts or move parts that need to be moved or posed it is. Tighter or looser tolerances can be bad depending on the situation. Please, God, sand your joints.
In addition, this site also has the ability to check via tag for quick reference:
Bootleg: This kit is a counterfeit and of low quality. Buy this at your own risk.
– Known Bootlegs: This line is known to have bootlegs, but is not itself a bootleg. Exercise caution when looking these up at less reputable marketplaces.
Discontinued: The kit is no longer being produced and can only be found second-hand.
Customisable: Customisation-friendly; these kits lend themselves to being heavily modified and are great for making into customs.
Historical: This kit or toyline is essential to the development of the modern girlpla scene. This overview may be slightly longer than the usual as it will discuss the role of the kit in developing modern girlpla.
Japanese/Chinese: Nationality of origin for the kits.
{manufacturer}: Manufacturer tags for lines produced by the same company.
Level Tags: Tags for difficulty of kits. The guidelines here are not objective and may depend on the general skill of the builder; furthermore, kits of poor quality can be given higher difficulty ratings as low quality plastic and construction often times makes the job harder.
– Level 0: No tools required (i.e. touch gates). Can be assembled by an amateur with no experience whatsoever in a short time.
– Level 1: Basic tools required (nippers, file and hobby blade). Can be assembled by an amateur with no experience whatsoever in a short time (under an hour).
– Level 2: Tools required, may need glue and paint. Complex engineering (or poor quality). Can be assembled by an amateur with some experience. This may take a few hours at minimum.
– Level 3: Tools required, glue recommended, very complex engineering (or poor quality increasing difficulty), understanding of basic model kit techniques required. Amateurs will find this one difficult. This may take hours to days to finish.
– Level 4: Glue required, paint required, understanding of advanced techniques required and are probably more similar to traditional scale models. This may take days to finish.
– Level X: Variable levels. Largely used for lines where kits vary in difficulty.
Licensed: These kits focus heavily on licensed characters, which may mean they are more expensive than their non-licensed counterparts.
Limited-run: These kits will not be run very often and are usually very difficult to find unless you are present for their preorders.
Machineca: Machineca or Machineca-inspired; these kits use the Machineca template or variants thereof as created by Masaki “Apsy” Asai. Familiarity with it will help you building them and they are compatible with other kits or third-party/garage kit parts that are intended for the standard (such as those printed under the Megami Device Secondary License).
Miku: Miku Miku oo ee oo
NSFW: Lewd kits. Do not buy these if you are sensitive to lewd things or have other factors restricting your aesthetic choices (living at home with parents or children, in a country where immodesty is legally punishable, etc.)
SciFi/Fantasy/Other: Aesthetic tags.
{scale}: What scale the line is normally at:
– NSC: Non-scale, when the kit is not quite at scale with the aforementioned.
Upcoming: This line is unreleased.