knight rider online

what is the major difference between the two that are out there...



and...

(of which i now have 2)

other than price whats the diff? they are the same size from what i've read. the first above seems to be a little more detailed and has a diff remote/boxing/display...anyone? i'd like to know before i spend upwards of $180 for one (when i got the 2 i have for $55 a piece)

I swear I should have set this question in a FAQ or something...anyway

Well firstly, the one at the top is a kyosho mini-z derived RC car. The one at the bottom is based on the Canned-heat chassis made by Taiyo.

Mini-z cars are far more complex than the taiyo cars. They have working suspension, fully customisable chassis components, like the suspension springs, stabalisers, motors, gearing, body shell amongst others. The mini-z also contains a differential which makes it more stable in cornering. It also contains digitally proportioned steering. This is probably the main reason behind the high costs. This technology is similar to the 1/10 scale Tamiya-like cars used in competition racing. It allows absolute control of the car. This means depending on how much throttle or steering you input, the car will react accordingly. A slight touch of steering, means the car will only turn slightly. Full turn on the controller and the car turns sharply. On a taiyo chassis you can only tell the car to move a preset amount. You couldn't for example coast the car at walking pace into a corner, then floor the throttle to move away quickly out of the corner.

I've got two mini-z KR cars and the taiyo KITT, and I wouldn't recommend buying the mini-z cars. They are just too expensive and you'll be scared to damage it. Best idea, would be to get the spare KITT and KARR shells. Ok you won't be able to race them but they sure look nice in their display cases.

http://www.hlj.com is the best place to buy the shells. Far cheaper than ebay.

Hope that all makes sense.

Sarfraz

perfect. i've had R/C cars in the past (with the extra "professional" stuff you mentioned) so i get the basic grip on what you're tellin me! thanks a TON!

it's only $34 on that site! those bastards! haha..thanks again

p.s. - i bought one. i much rather it for display anyway!

The shells go for rediculous amounts of money on ebay. I've bought all my Japanese KR items from hlj.com, usually the cheapest place to buy them.

Glad I could help.

Sarfraz

Has any body seen 1/10 scale shells or 1/24 or 1/18?

Getting abit difficult now. This is all guess work on my part, but I think it sounds about right.

1/24 size is basically the taiyo KR car. Its pretty much the same size as the model kit KR cars.

1/32 is a slightly smaller scale, but I don't think there is a KR car in this catergory, unless you count the scalextric KR slot car. There are the 1/28 scale Kyosho mini-z KR cars...which is pretty clsoe.

1/18. These are the older KR RC cars. These were either made by Kenner (US) or Matshushiro (UK). About 20-25cm long. The UK company also made a SPM style RC car in 85/86.

1/10 is extremely large by comparison (about 35-40cm). Usually to fit high-performance RC cars. Rob from the KR-UK board is currently in the process of making one to fit a tamiya chassis.

I've got all but the last one (obviously), and a few other KR RC cars. I should think about taking a family photo. Mike did one of his various KR cars a while back, but not for RC cars.

Sarfraz

How big is the mini-z KITT body shell? What is its length?

Its about 17-18cm long. If you ever had a scalextric car its about that size. Or putting it another way, its only slightly smaller than the ERTL KITT plastic model kit.

Sarfraz

sarfraz wrote:Its about 17-18cm long. If you ever had a scalextric car its about that size. Or putting it another way, its only slightly smaller than the ERTL KITT plastic model kit.

Sarfraz

That small......hmmm... Can the scanner light up while being displayed like the 1/43 cars?

Yes it can

Sarfraz

Ok... I'm planning to get it. But I don't think it is as good as the 1/43 KITT...

I just wanna have a slightly bigger KITT for display and add another KITT to my ever growing Knight Rider collection....

Well the 1/43 are pure models, so its expected to be better. The Mini-z are primarily RC cars so your going to have to expect some compromise. The detail is still very good on the mini-z and theres the added bonus of adding sports and brake lights to them.

Sarfraz

I ordered this from hlj:







So this is just the shell for the mini-z rc right.. But I plan to just display it in the display case. Can the scanner still light up even if I don't mount it on a mini-z chassis?

YES!! in fact if you have any extra wire and power supplies laying around you can do like me and drill a small hole in the back of the display through the bottom of the car and plug it into the wall so you dont ever have to worry about batteries dying. looks sweet in its display box.

Oh ok.. Thats cool!! Thanks for the reply.. I can't wait to receive it then.. Did u take any pics of the car? It wld be great if u cld share the pics...

I just received the KITT mini-Z Autoscale that I ordered from HLJ....

The scanner moves very nicely with 4 leds... However, I fear that through time, the 4 AAA batteries might leak.. I don't want to go through the hassel of unscrewing the car to place batteries just so I can see the lighted scanner.... Its very troublesome...Perhaps its the downside of this model/rc. To those who already have this, how do u guys display it? With or without the batteries?

...without the batteries. Although to be honest, I think its very simple model requiring a a few bits of wire to have an external power supply. In theory you could have the batteries in a holder (from your local electronics store) on the underside of the display case so you wouldn't need to bother the car. I have the same concern for the 1/43 KR cars but I don't think it'll be easy to modify those.

Sarfraz

The folks at knightrideruk said that its alright to leave the batteries in the car... But like I said, I will probably check the batteries from time to time, just in case...

Off topic>> Hmmm.. now that u've mentioned about the batteries for the 1/43 KR cars... I display the cars with the batteries in them.. Pls don't leak...

To be fair it should be alright, but I don't like taking risks with these things. I've seem many batteries leak but not those tiny watch size ones so the 1/43 should be safe. Even if they did leak, the amount of chemicals in them is tiny (compared to the AA ones) so the damage should be negletable. Actually I've got a few Transformers with those tiny batteries sitting in boxes for 4 years now and no problems....goes to touch wood

Sarfraz

sarfraz wrote:To be fair it should be alright, but I don't like taking risks with these things. I've seem many batteries leak but not those tiny watch size ones so the 1/43 should be safe. Even if they did leak, the amount of chemicals in them is tiny (compared to the AA ones) so the damage should be negletable. Actually I've got a few Transformers with those tiny batteries sitting in boxes for 4 years now and no problems....goes to touch wood

Sarfraz

Thats what I thought as well... I have never seen those tiny watch type batteries leak... hmmm... In that case, I better go touch wood too

I just realised this. At the bottom of the Knight Rider mini-z body shell packaging, there is a WARNING sign that says:



What does it mean? Does the mini-z release harmful radiations?

All I can think of is the paint on the model, the tires or the chemical from the batteries if and when they leak and comes into contact with the skin. I don't think there's any radiation involved, RC signals are pretty harmless IMO.

"1/18. These are the older KR RC cars. These were either made by Kenner (US) or Matshushiro (UK). About 20-25cm long. The UK company also made a SPM style RC car in 85/86."


I would love to see a pic of that SPM car! I never saw any model of K.I.T.T. in SPM before.