1/18 Die Cast KITT Coming In December

Archive for discussions from 2006. Please post new discussions in the appropriate forum.

Moderators: neps, Matthew, Michael Pajaro

CB2001
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 567
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Florida
Contact:

Post by CB2001 » Sat Sep 04, 2004 11:37 pm

Better question we should be asking: Will they also be release KARR as well, or do we have to buy two and give one of them a gray/silver bottom?

User avatar
HondaSiR
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 809
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 11:58 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Asia Pacific

Post by HondaSiR » Sat Sep 04, 2004 11:43 pm

The 1:18 ERTL model is not perfect. The orange foglight is not supposed to be orange, the nose is too high and a bit short, the A-pillar that supports the front windshield is a bit thick, the tires are not supposed to be "low-profile" pirelli types, the rear spoiler looks a bit ackwardly high, and it appears that the model even has an AUTOBOT STICKER on the rear side under the roofline and near the rear windshield!!! Weird huh? But this may probably be remedied, hopefully before distribution. I'll still save my $40.00 for it.

User avatar
imranbecks
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 858
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2003 3:18 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Singapore, Asia
Contact:

Post by imranbecks » Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:35 am

HondaSiR wrote:The 1:18 ERTL model is not perfect. The orange foglight is not supposed to be orange, the nose is too high and a bit short, the A-pillar that supports the front windshield is a bit thick, the tires are not supposed to be "low-profile" pirelli types, the rear spoiler looks a bit ackwardly high, and it appears that the model even has an AUTOBOT STICKER on the rear side under the roofline and near the rear windshield!!! Weird huh? But this may probably be remedied, hopefully before distribution. I'll still save my $40.00 for it.
An autobot sticker!!!! No way!!!! Are u talking about these "marks" that have been circled in the pic? If u ask me, they look more like reflections... (thanks to dj_chalky from knightrideruk forums for the edited pic)

Image

User avatar
HondaSiR
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 809
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 11:58 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Asia Pacific

Post by HondaSiR » Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:54 am

Whatever those red marks are (reflections or not), I hope they don't make it into the actual model. My best guess is...they are Firebird decals designed for stock Trans Ams. How they made it to the KITT model I don't know. ERTL probably has plans of releasing stock versions of Firebirds.

User avatar
sarfraz
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: London, UK

Post by sarfraz » Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:03 am

HondaSiR wrote:The 1:18 ERTL model is not perfect. The orange foglight is not supposed to be orange, the nose is too high and a bit short, the A-pillar that supports the front windshield is a bit thick, the tires are not supposed to be "low-profile" pirelli types, the rear spoiler looks a bit ackwardly high, and it appears that the model even has an AUTOBOT STICKER on the rear side under the roofline and near the rear windshield!!! Weird huh? But this may probably be remedied, hopefully before distribution. I'll still save my $40.00 for it.
.another nitpick to add is that the side mirror struts are way to thick and protude out of the wrong part of the door. It should be in the small triangular section in the corner of the window section and not some way down the door.

This sort of detailing errors should simply not be happening with 1:18 scale models. They are much bigger....actually its the most common car model scale and should be more detailed than the 1:43 KITT cars. As things stand, this is a ok/good model but by no means a great 1:18 model let alone a great KITT model. The 1:43 KR cars are more accurate and much smaller...making it much more difficult to do. To be honest, if it were not for the fact that this is the only 1:18 KR car available I would not get it, its too flawed for its scale. :x

Sarfraz
"I would not sell yourself short Michael, you are much more than a horse"

User avatar
pewter 02ws6
Operative
Posts: 181
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 9:05 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: PA

Post by pewter 02ws6 » Sun Sep 05, 2004 12:08 pm

HondaSiR wrote:Whatever those red marks are (reflections or not), I hope they don't make it into the actual model. My best guess is...they are Firebird decals designed for stock Trans Ams. How they made it to the KITT model I don't know. ERTL probably has plans of releasing stock versions of Firebirds.
this is exactally what i think they are. it should have trans am on the fenders and eagles on the b pillars.technically it should have painted ground effects with 3-4 pinstrpies above the ground effects and a bunch of lines going up the hood scoop with a bigger eagle on the scoop but you cannot see it good enough in the pic to see if it is there.i heard they are supposed to release the regular trans am in the future.

User avatar
Skav
FLAG Operative
Posts: 1999
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: England, UK
Contact:

Post by Skav » Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:15 pm

it looks plastic and not die cast to me...

Skav
Love boxing? http://www.ringnews24.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
imranbecks
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 858
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2003 3:18 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Singapore, Asia
Contact:

Post by imranbecks » Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:26 pm

sarfraz wrote:
HondaSiR wrote:The 1:18 ERTL model is not perfect. The orange foglight is not supposed to be orange, the nose is too high and a bit short, the A-pillar that supports the front windshield is a bit thick, the tires are not supposed to be "low-profile" pirelli types, the rear spoiler looks a bit ackwardly high, and it appears that the model even has an AUTOBOT STICKER on the rear side under the roofline and near the rear windshield!!! Weird huh? But this may probably be remedied, hopefully before distribution. I'll still save my $40.00 for it.
.another nitpick to add is that the side mirror struts are way to thick and protude out of the wrong part of the door. It should be in the small triangular section in the corner of the window section and not some way down the door.

This sort of detailing errors should simply not be happening with 1:18 scale models. They are much bigger....actually its the most common car model scale and should be more detailed than the 1:43 KITT cars. As things stand, this is a ok/good model but by no means a great 1:18 model let alone a great KITT model. The 1:43 KR cars are more accurate and much smaller...making it much more difficult to do. To be honest, if it were not for the fact that this is the only 1:18 KR car available I would not get it, its too flawed for its scale. :x

Sarfraz
Hmmm.... U have a point there sarfraz.. These being 1:18 in scale shd at least be as accurate as the smaller 1:43 KITT car or maybe better.... But so far we have picked out quite a few minor flaws just by looking at the 1:18 KITT picture... Lets hope by the time the model is released, it will look better than how it is shown in the pic, provided if ERTL wld change anything that they have perhaps overlooked.... (for eg; the orange fog lights and the side view mirrors)

User avatar
Lost Knight
FLAG Special Ops
Posts: 2719
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:45 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Long Island, NY

Post by Lost Knight » Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:41 pm

The front reflector is also orange, it should be yellow. And on the rear window, it looks like it's got a frame around it.
“Gimme maximum turbo thrust and blast me outta here, will ya!?”
:kitt: :dash4:

User avatar
HondaSiR
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 809
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 11:58 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Asia Pacific

Post by HondaSiR » Sun Sep 05, 2004 2:23 pm

Another flaw I just noticed, the driver's seat is too close to the dashboard! Michael cannot possibly drive this car because he would be too close to the steering wheel. In the series, the driver side PMD seat would be reclined far towards the back so that Michael can fit in (he is quite a tall individual). The MPC and AMT model kits also made this mistake in their tooling, I am surprised that ERTL has also followed on their mistake (the 1982 1:24 scale Monogram Firebird model kit has the PMD seats correctly positioned). So far we've had a look at the front/side exterior of the model. Who knows what irregularities we may yet find on the back side and interior. Gosh, I'm starting to wonder if the long wait (and SRP$40.00) would be worth it when it gets into our hands.

User avatar
Lost Knight
FLAG Special Ops
Posts: 2719
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:45 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Long Island, NY

Post by Lost Knight » Sun Sep 05, 2004 3:25 pm

HondaSiR- That's true, and a lot of models have that problem. It reminds me of my Back To the Future DeLorean model which has the steering wheel too close to the seat so that if anyone were to sit in the car, they would have no leg room.
“Gimme maximum turbo thrust and blast me outta here, will ya!?”
:kitt: :dash4:

User avatar
Skav
FLAG Operative
Posts: 1999
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: England, UK
Contact:

Post by Skav » Sun Sep 05, 2004 4:14 pm

there's still time to make changes, perhaps we should email ertl if they would listen and ask them to ammend the car.

who knows?
Love boxing? http://www.ringnews24.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
sarfraz
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: London, UK

Post by sarfraz » Sun Sep 05, 2004 4:32 pm

...I don't know Skav. Its not like the DVD cover which had a simple remedy. This a model car with fundamental design flaws. It would require a great amount of time and money to alter any moulds already cast for it. Does anyone have ERTL's e-mail handy and e-mail then a link to this thread, it may prove useful to them if its not too late.

Sarfraz

EDIT: fount it: FAQ@rc2corp.com
"I would not sell yourself short Michael, you are much more than a horse"

User avatar
Lost Knight
FLAG Special Ops
Posts: 2719
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:45 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Long Island, NY

Post by Lost Knight » Sun Sep 05, 2004 4:59 pm

Well have some hope, that picture is of a prototype. Those red spots that were circled are logos for the ordinary Trans Ams. Do you really think they would make a huge oversight like that on the mass production of these models and have every K.I.T.T. model have those spots? I think the picture is just to give a general idea for the time being and is subject to change like most other pictures released before a product officially debuts (i.e. movies, video games, or even K.A.R.R.).
“Gimme maximum turbo thrust and blast me outta here, will ya!?”
:kitt: :dash4:

CB2001
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 567
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Florida
Contact:

Post by CB2001 » Sun Sep 05, 2004 5:41 pm

Yeah, this could just be a prototype we're seeing. Besides, if they do mass produce it with these flaws, we can buy them and fix them ourselves.

User avatar
sarfraz
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: London, UK

Post by sarfraz » Mon Sep 06, 2004 2:46 pm

...not all of us have the skills or patiences to repair flaws made by manufacturers. Hope it is just a rushed prototype but we are heading for the release date pretty fast...

Sarfraz
"I would not sell yourself short Michael, you are much more than a horse"

User avatar
imranbecks
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 858
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2003 3:18 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Singapore, Asia
Contact:

Post by imranbecks » Tue Sep 07, 2004 1:28 am

Anyone tried sending them an email about the flaws?

User avatar
imranbecks
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 858
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2003 3:18 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Singapore, Asia
Contact:

Post by imranbecks » Tue Sep 07, 2004 5:23 am

Last edited by imranbecks on Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
sarfraz
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 657
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: London, UK

Post by sarfraz » Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:00 pm

...well I've sent an e-mail via that address above and linked this page. Hopefully ERTL will have a look and find our comments justified. However, I don't hold that much hope as its far too close to the release date. By now I would expect most moulds to be finalised and put into production.

Sarfraz
"I would not sell yourself short Michael, you are much more than a horse"

User avatar
PBH
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 566
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:46 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Post by PBH » Tue Sep 07, 2004 8:15 pm

Skav wrote:it looks plastic and not die cast to me...

Skav
I was thinking the exact same thing. I think it's just a plastic kit with an orange fog added, maybe to resemble someones street-legal KITT.
Phil
On Facebook & MySpace :-)

"One man can make a difference. Like Orville Redenbacher"

User avatar
HondaSiR
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 809
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2004 11:58 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Asia Pacific

Post by HondaSiR » Thu Sep 09, 2004 1:39 am

The picture above may or may not be made out of plastic with black paint covering it. It's just a prototype car so it is highly possible that it is made of plastic. But the final product will definitely be made of metal, or else there will be a riot of sorts from the consumers. October is just around the corner...our long wait will soon be over. :)

User avatar
imranbecks
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 858
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2003 3:18 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Singapore, Asia
Contact:

Post by imranbecks » Thu Sep 09, 2004 1:42 am

HondaSiR wrote:The picture above may or may not be made out of plastic with black paint covering it. It's just a prototype car so it is highly possible that it is made of plastic. But the final product will definitely be made of metal, or else there will be a riot of sorts from the consumers. October is just around the corner...our long wait will soon be over. :)
Yup... Touch wood...no delays please....!!!!

User avatar
themarvelous3
Operative
Posts: 225
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2003 11:55 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Contact:

Post by themarvelous3 » Thu Sep 09, 2004 1:48 am

HondaSiR wrote:The picture above may or may not be made out of plastic with black paint covering it. It's just a prototype car so it is highly possible that it is made of plastic. But the final product will definitely be made of metal, or else there will be a riot of sorts from the consumers. October is just around the corner...our long wait will soon be over. :)
this is a very KEY point. in fact most items released are doen this way. if you look at probably 90% of toy packages that are released, they say somewhere on it that actual toy may vary from image on package. they make mock ups or prototypes just for publicity on almost everything that is made so they can advertise in advance and then already have material for packaging when the product is finished. sometimes the prototypes look better than the released version because they'll take more time on it to better promote the product...but lets hope not in this case : )

CB2001
FLAG Assistant
Posts: 567
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2002 1:01 am
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Florida
Contact:

Post by CB2001 » Thu Sep 09, 2004 2:28 am

themarvelous3 wrote:
HondaSiR wrote:The picture above may or may not be made out of plastic with black paint covering it. It's just a prototype car so it is highly possible that it is made of plastic. But the final product will definitely be made of metal, or else there will be a riot of sorts from the consumers. October is just around the corner...our long wait will soon be over. :)
this is a very KEY point. in fact most items released are doen this way. if you look at probably 90% of toy packages that are released, they say somewhere on it that actual toy may vary from image on package. they make mock ups or prototypes just for publicity on almost everything that is made so they can advertise in advance and then already have material for packaging when the product is finished. sometimes the prototypes look better than the released version because they'll take more time on it to better promote the product...but lets hope not in this case : )
That's true. The original MPC model has on the box "Pictures of prototype", clearly printed on one of the corners of the box.

User avatar
Lost Knight
FLAG Special Ops
Posts: 2719
Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2004 7:45 pm
What year did the original Knight Rider start: 0
Location: Long Island, NY

Post by Lost Knight » Thu Sep 09, 2004 3:32 pm

Let's hope it's the opposite of that case.
“Gimme maximum turbo thrust and blast me outta here, will ya!?”
:kitt: :dash4:

Locked