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KITT vs. KARR slot racing set

Posted: Wed May 27, 2015 3:08 am
by Michael Pajaro
There's a new Knight Rider toy out and it's pretty cool: the Knight Rider KITT vs KARR racing set from auto world.
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It's a little intimidating when you first open the box, but assembly was pretty quick and straight-forward. In my excitement to get things up and running I accidentally dropped one of the cardboard backdrops into the cat's water dish, but other than that things went mostly smoothly.

I was hoping to set it up on my kitchen table but it was way too big for that. Had to move the table up and start assembly on the floor.
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The cars are exterior-only, no dash. Both cars have a single reddish-orange light that turns on when the car moves but it doesn't strobe. KARR has the 3rd season paint job but a red scanner. They have teeny-tiny license plates that you can barely read but they do say KNIGHT and KARR.
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plates.jpg
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The cityscapes have some nice touches - there's a billboard for Knight Rider airing on NBC Friday nights, and Knight Rider-related graffiti.
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The lap counter has a cool voice-modulator graphic.
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The ramp before the jump.
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It has been many years since I've played with slot-car set and they still haven't worked out all the quirks. The cars re VERY difficult to control. I understand that it may take a while for the set to "wear in" a bit, but the cars still spin out of control pretty often. I still can't make a single loop without pumping the gas, creating a stuttering effect but I am noticing improvement. I should be able to do a smooth race tomorrow. Oddly enough, the jump is pretty easy - it usually lands with no problem. It's just those darn curves that create problems for now.

Unfortunately, I think I may have a bad power unit. One of the tracks has no power at all. (I swapped cars, swapped controllers, nothing.) There is a 1-800 tech help number I'll try tomorrow so hopefully they can give me a fix or send a replacement part.

You can buy it directly from http://www.autoworldstore.com/product_p/srs306.htm but you can find it cheaper elsewhere. Let google be your friend. It may also be in your local hobby stores.

Re: KITT vs. KARR slot racing set

Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 1:11 pm
by jup
New?

The second that I saw the subject line, I went 'Wow. That's a blast from the past. Nice find.' Alas, never expected a new production. That's beyond sweet.

Re: KITT vs. KARR slot racing set

Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 2:55 pm
by KFCreator
That is beyond amazing! I also never would have expected a new authorized slot racing set today but I certainly won't complain about any new product coming out. Except, $145 MSRP? Yikes. Yes, definitely will shop around for a much lower price if possible.

Re: KITT vs. KARR slot racing set

Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 6:39 pm
by KITTfan
Cool thing :) I'd say it's a surprise release as I guess many of us are waiting the super Elite Hotwheels 18th scale KITT now. Anyways, it's always nice to see new Knight Rider merchandise being released.