[UKD Institute] Garage Kit Mika and Aki set

This is a garage kit set of Mika and Aki by UKD in 1/8 scale.
Now, this kit had been on Mandrake for many months, and I’ve kept my eyes on it. The reason I held out for so long before pulling the trigger was that I wasn’t sure whether I wanted it.

You see, there is very little info about this kit. While Mandrake staff ensured me that there are eye decals included, I wanted to see a finished one to really see what I’d get.

It took me careful manipulations of google keywords to pull out a single image of this kit.

Now, this is the only time I’ve seen Aki garage kit, and it’s the only reason I’ve kept my eyes on it. I wanted to see whether I could find another Aki kit.

Meanwhile, Mika is a popular figure, and her garage kits are easy to find from various circles. So, she wasn’t even my concern because I’ve seen numerous Mika garage kits from a few circles available on the market. And, while her pose seen above isn’t my favorite, in the end I’ve decided to roll with it.

I’ve sourced this kit @ 8,000yen from Mandrake. I do not know its original price because their website seems to have evolved into something else. It’s no longer about garage kits. Let’s just put it that way.
Meaning UKD is likely defunct.

Eye decals are missing eyebrows which is no longer an issue for me. In fact, I’d rather draw my own eyebrows at this point.

All parts appear to be in order but parts look very rough on the first glance. This kit isn’t going to turn out well, is my first impression.

I do not know how old this kit is, but the base platform resin parts won’t be used. It has bent and it is leaking oil heavily. I’ve cleaned the parts with soap but it’s not going to work as the parts still leak oil even after being cleaned.

Paint is not going to stick, not to mention the bend. This sort of explains why the platform has spots where paint apparently peeled off on the exhibition photo.

It also tells me that age of the kit has nothing to do with the oil leak.

Thankfully, the oil leak issue is not apparent on figurine parts. Above is Mika parts. While there is no oil leaking on these parts, they have problems.

There are air bubbles and it’s apparent that resin flew too thin on some parts including the skirt pieces shown above.

Now, these issues CAN be corrected with paste unlike the oil leak issue which can’t be fixed.

Above is Aki parts which looks simpler than Mika parts. Indeed, Aki shouldn’t be too hard to assemble and paint.

But, again, parts are very rough, especially their legs. Where it should be smooth, there are slight bumps and dips. It’s just, like I stated, very rough.

I’d give 3 out of 10 for resin quality.

This is how I am going to do the fence. I’ve discarded most of fence parts. I am going to use only one side. To secure it, I’ve scavenged and made some pieces in order to secure it.

Again, the parts are very rough. Her legs are especially not very smooth. Air bubbles were spotted and I had to use paste to fill some of tiny gaps. Even then, it’s not very good.

There is a good chance that I may discard this Mika figure entirely if I can find something better.

Aki parts are slightly better overall but still they are rough. At least, it’s easy to glue parts and paint.

And, well, above is it.

To be completely honest with you, I do not like the entire thing. Like I mentioned earlier, if I can find a better Mika garage kit, I will grab it.

I should also mention that Mika is just barely hanging on the fence. Its balance is quite delicate that strong vibrations will knock her off.

You can see my yellow glue sticking out of Aki’s shoulder. It should probably be fixed but I’ve chosen not to bother with it because I am overall disappointed in this entire kit.

If it wasn’t for Aki figure, I wouldn’t have gone for it. I am unlikely going to keep this set if I can find something better.