Model Kit Conversion Tips (or making a simple KAR model)
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 1:00 am
Now, I know people are wondering "What do you mean by model kit conversion?" Well, I have to ask you this question: Do you know how people take 1982 Trans-Ams and make their own KITT or KARR conversions? If the answer is yes, then that is what I mean, but in 1/25 scale.
Now, I know a lot of people who have made their own KARs (KAR is what I call a vehicle created in the "Knight Rider" universe that we see either on the screen or created by fans for the story). Many people have ideas on what vehicles they'd like to see as KITT or KARR, or maybe just a plain A.I. vehicle. So, below are some small "tips" to turn a model car into a KAR.
There are several things you need to keep in mind. The first thing you have to ask yourself is this: For the model I'm converting, how much do I want to replace and how much do I want to remain stock? Now, let's refer to the real 1982 Trans-Am. Now, how much of the car was original stock after the conversion project? As far as I know, the main body itself, the hood, finders and some of the interior is still stock (that is, depending if they replaced all of the interior including seats and floor board carpet to make it all tan like we see). Now, look at what was replaced: The bumper, the dash (including the over head control panel), steering wheel and shifter column. Do you want to completely transform the vehicle from front to back, make a simple alteration to the front and the interior, or do you just want to keep it as mainly stock as possible? For this post, let's go with option 2, a simple alteration to front and interior (which seems more applicable for the fact that KITT didn't seem to have much of exterior alterations). Now, let's get to cracking to see what it is you want to make your model into:
Let's use a regular model kit you can find from the store. What we are about to perform is called "kit bashing" (no pun intended). Kit bashing is where you take parts from several model kits and create something new altogether. There have been many of people who have done it, including the popular Bill Spencer, who I posted about a while ago with his 1998 KITT KAR model here. From the magazine of Readers' Gallery section of Scale Auto Magazine when it came to details about the model, it says "The model has many scratchbuilt and parts-box items." That means some parts were custom made for it and others he found. Seeing that we are kit bashing, look over the model briefly and make of list of things you want to change or replace.
For an example, let's say you are turning a 2000 Ford Mustang model into a KAR. The things you would want to change, if possible are the following: The front bumper, hood and interior dash.
Now, many fans love scanner lights. A lot were disappointed in TKR for the fact that they didn't include scanners. However, seeing that this is your KAR, you can add one if you wish. And in order to do that, you need to have a space to put it into. Though for a 2000 Ford Mustang has a gap where one can go, some would prefer replacing the front bumper with a gap where one can be placed in. There are many suppliers in Resin kits, where people can customize their car models into Rice Rockets. Though, I do not know if it is possible to use plastic and resin parts on a model, let's just say for the example of the 2000 Mustang model, we decide to only keep the car's exterior as much stock as possible (with the possibility to change the front bumper, but leaving the gap for the grill alone for the time being). Now, I myself have made a scanner light for the diecast 2000 Pontiac Trans-Am model I'm working on. How did I make one? Grab a Diet Coke, there's your answer. You see, when it doesn't come to special contests of holidays, a regular bottle of Diet Coke will have a white cap. These caps have vertical lines that help with the grip of the drinker for them to remove the cap. I took one of these caps off of an empty bottle. I took a pair of scissors and cut half a diameter off of the bottom, below the inner bottom "teeth" that keeps the cap attach to the bottle. Now, with the small piece, you can use this as your scanner light. If you look at the original or the reprint of the KITT model, you can see the design of the scanner light (which is actually attached to the frame of the body on the front section) was a bunch of vertical lines. Now, with the piece you've got, all you need to do is paint it whatever color you like (red or yellow from the classic show, or purple, blue, green, etc. to give the vehicle a different style). Insert it into place and bingo! You got a scanner ready.
Now, for the interior, if you're very talented, you can create one from scratch with a single piece of plastic. If you have a re-issue or an original copy of the KITT model, then you can make a mold of the dash and make a copy of it. However, if you aren't as crafty (like I am), I recommend digging around through any extra model parts bens you find at automotive swap meets or place a "Wanted" ad in several model car magazines for any "Knight Rider" vehicle parts or any high tech dash parts. You have to look.
Now, color for the car is important to. A color can tell you the "personality" for the car, depending on meaning.
KITT: Black was a universal color. Remember what made KITT seem so cool? The fact that he looked like any other car? He was "universal", able to blend in when needing to.
KARR: The black represent the evil he was, though it wasn't his fault. But when he went two-toned, it took him into the universal area, but noticably different from KITT (gray is also a universal color, seeing that it is in between black and white).
Domino: Red with white racing stripes. Red representing passion, hot as a firecracker. The white stripes represented how sporty it was (in which the KAR's personality did seem to fit).
Kat: Yellow. Light bulb. Kat was a thinker. You get the idea?
Dante: Silver. High class or higher society. The personality of the KAR did seem to act that way. Not only that, it fit the vehicle because of how expensive it would be.
If you can determine the "personality" of the KAR, then you can be able to find a color that matches the vehicle if possible.
For license plates, Testors has released a water-slide decal maker kit, which comes with two black water decal papers, decal spray and a program to help make whatever decals you need. If you decide to do this, I recommend downloading images of whatever state you want the vehicle to be based out of and using a program like Adobe to add in the license plate number. And if you do so, I also recommend in waiting to print them all all at once instead of printing out each small license plate out one at a time (also, be sure to do a test run print out of the decal with regular printer paper before you print it out as a decal). There are some online services that offer similar programs and water decal sheets, but I'm not sure about them. Best to check for yourself and see what you want to do.
That's about it for now. If I come up with anything more, I'll post it as soon as possible.
Now, I know a lot of people who have made their own KARs (KAR is what I call a vehicle created in the "Knight Rider" universe that we see either on the screen or created by fans for the story). Many people have ideas on what vehicles they'd like to see as KITT or KARR, or maybe just a plain A.I. vehicle. So, below are some small "tips" to turn a model car into a KAR.
There are several things you need to keep in mind. The first thing you have to ask yourself is this: For the model I'm converting, how much do I want to replace and how much do I want to remain stock? Now, let's refer to the real 1982 Trans-Am. Now, how much of the car was original stock after the conversion project? As far as I know, the main body itself, the hood, finders and some of the interior is still stock (that is, depending if they replaced all of the interior including seats and floor board carpet to make it all tan like we see). Now, look at what was replaced: The bumper, the dash (including the over head control panel), steering wheel and shifter column. Do you want to completely transform the vehicle from front to back, make a simple alteration to the front and the interior, or do you just want to keep it as mainly stock as possible? For this post, let's go with option 2, a simple alteration to front and interior (which seems more applicable for the fact that KITT didn't seem to have much of exterior alterations). Now, let's get to cracking to see what it is you want to make your model into:
Let's use a regular model kit you can find from the store. What we are about to perform is called "kit bashing" (no pun intended). Kit bashing is where you take parts from several model kits and create something new altogether. There have been many of people who have done it, including the popular Bill Spencer, who I posted about a while ago with his 1998 KITT KAR model here. From the magazine of Readers' Gallery section of Scale Auto Magazine when it came to details about the model, it says "The model has many scratchbuilt and parts-box items." That means some parts were custom made for it and others he found. Seeing that we are kit bashing, look over the model briefly and make of list of things you want to change or replace.
For an example, let's say you are turning a 2000 Ford Mustang model into a KAR. The things you would want to change, if possible are the following: The front bumper, hood and interior dash.
Now, many fans love scanner lights. A lot were disappointed in TKR for the fact that they didn't include scanners. However, seeing that this is your KAR, you can add one if you wish. And in order to do that, you need to have a space to put it into. Though for a 2000 Ford Mustang has a gap where one can go, some would prefer replacing the front bumper with a gap where one can be placed in. There are many suppliers in Resin kits, where people can customize their car models into Rice Rockets. Though, I do not know if it is possible to use plastic and resin parts on a model, let's just say for the example of the 2000 Mustang model, we decide to only keep the car's exterior as much stock as possible (with the possibility to change the front bumper, but leaving the gap for the grill alone for the time being). Now, I myself have made a scanner light for the diecast 2000 Pontiac Trans-Am model I'm working on. How did I make one? Grab a Diet Coke, there's your answer. You see, when it doesn't come to special contests of holidays, a regular bottle of Diet Coke will have a white cap. These caps have vertical lines that help with the grip of the drinker for them to remove the cap. I took one of these caps off of an empty bottle. I took a pair of scissors and cut half a diameter off of the bottom, below the inner bottom "teeth" that keeps the cap attach to the bottle. Now, with the small piece, you can use this as your scanner light. If you look at the original or the reprint of the KITT model, you can see the design of the scanner light (which is actually attached to the frame of the body on the front section) was a bunch of vertical lines. Now, with the piece you've got, all you need to do is paint it whatever color you like (red or yellow from the classic show, or purple, blue, green, etc. to give the vehicle a different style). Insert it into place and bingo! You got a scanner ready.
Now, for the interior, if you're very talented, you can create one from scratch with a single piece of plastic. If you have a re-issue or an original copy of the KITT model, then you can make a mold of the dash and make a copy of it. However, if you aren't as crafty (like I am), I recommend digging around through any extra model parts bens you find at automotive swap meets or place a "Wanted" ad in several model car magazines for any "Knight Rider" vehicle parts or any high tech dash parts. You have to look.
Now, color for the car is important to. A color can tell you the "personality" for the car, depending on meaning.
KITT: Black was a universal color. Remember what made KITT seem so cool? The fact that he looked like any other car? He was "universal", able to blend in when needing to.
KARR: The black represent the evil he was, though it wasn't his fault. But when he went two-toned, it took him into the universal area, but noticably different from KITT (gray is also a universal color, seeing that it is in between black and white).
Domino: Red with white racing stripes. Red representing passion, hot as a firecracker. The white stripes represented how sporty it was (in which the KAR's personality did seem to fit).
Kat: Yellow. Light bulb. Kat was a thinker. You get the idea?
Dante: Silver. High class or higher society. The personality of the KAR did seem to act that way. Not only that, it fit the vehicle because of how expensive it would be.
If you can determine the "personality" of the KAR, then you can be able to find a color that matches the vehicle if possible.
For license plates, Testors has released a water-slide decal maker kit, which comes with two black water decal papers, decal spray and a program to help make whatever decals you need. If you decide to do this, I recommend downloading images of whatever state you want the vehicle to be based out of and using a program like Adobe to add in the license plate number. And if you do so, I also recommend in waiting to print them all all at once instead of printing out each small license plate out one at a time (also, be sure to do a test run print out of the decal with regular printer paper before you print it out as a decal). There are some online services that offer similar programs and water decal sheets, but I'm not sure about them. Best to check for yourself and see what you want to do.
That's about it for now. If I come up with anything more, I'll post it as soon as possible.