My 1/25 scale KITT is over 80% finished...Whew!!

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:29 am

I started to build my 1/25 scale MPC KITT late last year and now its almost finished. Here are some pics of the major parts before I glue them together permanently. I had to buy the 2002 reissued ERTL KITT in order to use the clear windshields instead of the MPC's smoked ones (they were scratched and looked ugly anyway).

Oh, and please excuse the quality of the pictures, I still don't have access to a decent digital camera (still using my cellphone cam).

Dave Knight · Post by **Dave Knight** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 2:42 am

HondaSiR...........

THAT IS BADASS! How did you do the details on the dash, they look almost like decals with the exception of the tvs. When I did my KITT i only painted the tvs, the 4 red buttons below them, and the red circle on the stering wheel. I did the rest with FINELY sharpened colored pencils from an art store for the rest.

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 4:48 am

Thanks for your compliments Dave Knight! And you are correct, I painted the 2 tv screens, the steering wheel pod buttons, the steering wheel Knight emblem and the circular yellow/red displays beside the voice box (I used Tamiya enamel paint and a fine Tamiya paintbrush). The rest I used some home-made decals courtesy of our fellow KRO member Knight Modelman. Those decals really made the work easier.

James_kr · Post by **James_kr** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 5:12 am

Great job HondaSiR that model is wonderful and amazing! I can't believe how much talent people have with models on this website.

andy-kitt · Post by **andy-kitt** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:07 pm

Excellent finish, what colour did you use for the interior, it looks perfect??

FuzzieDice · Post by **FuzzieDice** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 3:24 pm

WOW!

Wonderful job! I hope my KITT and KARR (AMT/ERTL 2nd ed.) turns out good. Been so busy though that I haven't had time to actually do more on them.

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:29 pm

James_kr wrote:Great job HondaSiR that model is wonderful and amazing! I can't believe how much talent people have with models on this website.

Thanks James_kr! It's not easy building a model specially if you want it to look its best. But I believe everyone can do it. It just takes time and patience plus the knowledge learned from exchanging tips from other KR modelers in KRO.

andy-kitt wrote:Excellent finish, what colour did you use for the interior, it looks perfect??

I used a Mr. COLOR (aka Mr. Hobby) spraycan. The color is semi-gloss tan which is also the color used to paint most ship's deck plankings. It looks really sweet in a KITT interior even in a semi-gloss state.

FuzzieDice wrote:WOW! Shocked Wonderful job! I hope my KITT and KARR (AMT/ERTL 2nd ed.) turns out good. Been so busy though that I haven't had time to actually do more on them.

I'm sure your KITT and KARR models will turn out to be fantastic FuzzieDice. You have the skills and the know-how already. When you find the time to continue and finish them, we will all be here to await the pics.

TurbomanKnight · Post by **TurbomanKnight** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:35 pm

Nice Model Dude!!!! Looks 100 times better than my model I put together. Mine is in pieces somewhere.

sheltonw3 · Post by **sheltonw3** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 12:13 am

cool!....are you gonna add the fog lights???

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:20 am

TurbomanKnight wrote:Nice Model Dude!!!! Looks 100 times better than my model I put together. Mine is in pieces somewhere.

You can always try to build another one TurbomanKnight (or repair your current one). I trashed my first KITT model but I vowed to make another attempt when I had the chance. Don't give up, when you find the time, do it.

sheltonw3 wrote:are you gonna add the fog lights?

Nah, the only modification to the nose that I've done is remove the Knight 2000 badging. I feel that I don't yet have the skill to undertake such a task as the addition of fog lights. But who knows? Perhaps in the future if I get hold of another kit (and an aftermarket 1-TV dash conversion kit), I just might make such an attempt.

TurbomanKnight · Post by **TurbomanKnight** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 12:04 pm

HondaSiR wrote:
TurbomanKnight wrote:Nice Model Dude!!!! Looks 100 times better than my model I put together. Mine is in pieces somewhere.
You can always try to build another one TurbomanKnight (or repair your current one). I trashed my first KITT model but I vowed to make another attempt when I had the chance. Don't give up, when you find the time, do it.

Yeah, one of these days IM gonna have to build another one. Except Im gonan use a MPC model. I still have a 1978 Trans AM model to start, so I'll have to see how everything works out. The KITT I did two years ago was done in an short amount of time so the results werent great.

ryytel · Post by **ryytel** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:47 am

THATS AMAZING!!!How did you do it, and how did you make the dash i am creating my own and still havent figured out how to build it can you help little bit

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:42 pm

Hi ryytel, thanks for your compliments. I used decals to make the dash which I acquired from Knight Modelman through email. I printed it out on paper using an inkjet printer, cut it out and pasted it on.

Perhaps you already know this but I'll mention anyway for those who don't. I had to cut up and sand both dashboard parts before gluing them together. If you glue them as-is, the dash will protrude too far back into the cabin and will block the gearshift lever. The pod buttons and steering wheel will also protrude way too far back into the seats (which I also moved a little to the back).

Hope this helps your build for now. Let me know if you need more help. The other model builders here in KRO are also always at standby to lend a helping hand.

Knight2000 · Post by **Knight2000** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 7:50 am

Yeah I also had to chop chunks out of the dash parts. Didn't do a particularly good job. But for now, this is a practise run and I'm learning as I go along. Hopefully, the next one will be brilliant!

Nice model though. Paintwork looks a lot better than mine.

Major Ursa · Post by **Major Ursa** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:11 am

Excellent work there. I might use your photos as refence when I build mine.

FuzzieDice · Post by **FuzzieDice** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:05 pm

HondaSiR wrote:I'm sure your KITT and KARR models will turn out to be fantastic FuzzieDice. You have the skills and the know-how already. When you find the time to continue and finish them, we will all be here to await the pics.

Thanks.

BTW, I DO plan to do the fog lights on both cars! I think I have an idea on how to do it. I'm going to take my time to try and do this car the best I can.

I got pretty nearly caught up on my computer backups, now I got to catch up on my web sites. And keep up at work. Plus, spring is "car season" so it means work on my 1987 Pontiac 6000 Custom Cruiser including a huge project I been meaning to start but haven't had the time for yet.

However, the models are there and I'm working on it.

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 8:55 pm

Knight2000 wrote:Yeah I also had to chop chunks out of the dash parts. Didn't do a particularly good job. But for now, this is a practise run and I'm learning as I go along. Hopefully, the next one will be brilliant!

Nice model though. Paintwork looks a lot better than mine.

Thanks! The first one I worked on didn't turn out well, and it accidentally became my practice run.

But good luck with your second attempt. It will definitely be better (or perfect) than the first.

Major Ursa wrote:Excellent work there. I might use your photos as refence when I build mine.

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad that somehow my low quality pics would serve as a sort of template for others. I hope your model turns out to be better than mine.

FuzzieDice wrote:I DO plan to do the fog lights on both cars! I think I have an idea on how to do it. I'm going to take my time to try and do this car the best I can.

I'd be interested to know how you would execute the foglight modifications FuzzieDice. If I knew how to do it properly then I would definitely buy another model and build a 3rd or 4th season KITT.

LuvKITT · Post by **LuvKITT** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 10:05 pm

Wow, that is really nice. Great job!

FuzzieDice · Post by **FuzzieDice** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 6:14 pm

HondaSiR - I'll have pictures and step-by-step of the entire assembly of KITT and KARR, so those that want to try the same thing can do so.

Just wish I had the time to get back at the models.

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Mon May 08, 2006 10:45 pm

I've finally managed to finish my model a few days ago. Here are some pics, I hope you all like the outcome.

LuvKITT · Post by **LuvKITT** » Mon May 08, 2006 11:01 pm

Wow, very nice.

J-Knight · Post by **J-Knight** » Tue May 09, 2006 3:17 am

The model look exellent! the only thing i don't like about it is the wheels:(

The rest is...wow

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Tue May 09, 2006 10:14 pm

J-Knight wrote:The model look exellent! the only thing i don't like about it is the wheels:(

Yeah, they're not really that accurate to the bowling ball caps of a real Trans Am. The caps are a wee bit too small and the square holes surrounding them are too big. I considered using the ones from a Revell Firebird kit but they're pretty rare and I really didn't want to wait and spend a significant amount in ebay for them. Oh well...

Oh, here's a pic of my 1982 Monogram Trans Am that I built 2 years ago (pic taken from an earlier thread). Although not perfect, its rims are definitely better looking than the MPC/ERTL's.

James_kr · Post by **James_kr** » Wed May 10, 2006 4:57 am

that picture above looked like a real car for a sec

J-Knight · Post by **J-Knight** » Wed May 10, 2006 1:09 pm

Yeah i see they've even got the pontiac badge on those caps. I think ERTL's are quite realistic minus the Pontiac Badge. They also look even better if you paint black in between the turbocast's spokes. I think Ansy-KITT was the first to do this:D