Sneak Peek of New Hot Wheels 1/18 KITT!!

[imranbecks]

I'm pretty confident that the wheels will look better and correct on the final product. Looking at the line of models Hot Wheels has done, all of them with perfect looking wheels, surely those wheels are only on the prototype.

[KITTfan]

When ERTL KITT was originally released in 2004, modelcar prices were lower than these days. Later the prices are gone up so I believe if ERTL would've released KITT this year, it would have had bigger price tag.
Autoart has just released an article about raising modelcar prices and the future of diecast collecting, it doesn't look good at all
http://aa-collection.com/article.web.Vi ... ticleId=47

AA has just released also a red '86 Corvette C4 which is very tempting for me but the price is quite steep, about 150 Euros. KITT may cost about the same so can't afford the Corvette for now, maybe later. Man these prices hurt the wallet too much

[imranbecks]

When ERTL KITT was originally released in 2004, modelcar prices were lower than these days. Later the prices are gone up so I believe if ERTL would've released KITT this year, it would have had bigger price tag.
Autoart has just released an article about raising modelcar prices and the future of diecast collecting, it doesn't look good at all
http://aa-collection.com/article.web.Vi ... ticleId=47

AA has just released also a red '86 Corvette C4 which is very tempting for me but the price is quite steep, about 150 Euros. KITT may cost about the same so can't afford the Corvette for now, maybe later. Man these prices hurt the wallet too much

Totally agree with that article.. Very good article at that. Its the changing of times. But if there is any diecast model I'm fond of such as this upcoming KITT, I wouldn't mind spending a bit more just to get my hands on it.

[msKEN]

Great article thanks for sharing that I do totally agree should the Ertl car be released today it would have been more expensive and would have been likely $79.99 like the rest of the cars in its class for detail, I do believe that is what the American Muscle line retails for from Ertl Collectibles. I still say though for its time of release and its price it was definitely an acceptable collectable and will always have a place in my collection. I knew they wouldn't last and bought several. I wish I could do that with this hot wheels car! I don't mind the price at all myself except for the fact I can only afford one! I've already pre-ordered the 1:43 yesterday from entertainment earth and I don't even have a clue what it looks like hahaha. My main complaint is those tires so I'll be very interested to see how the final model looks.

[imranbecks]

The Hot Wheels 1/43 KITT would probably not look as good as the ones Aoshima did, but judging from Hot Wheels record of 1/43 cars such as their recent Ecto-1 which was pretty decent, I'm pretty certain their 1/43 KITT would still look good nonetheless so I'd say you made a good choice there! One problem abt the Hot Wheels 1/43 was that it did not come with a display base. The 1/43 Ecto-1 did not have a display base. So once opened, it would just be the car and thats it. Pretty sure the 1/43 KITT will be the same and not have a display base. But who knows, maybe their KITT would look better than the ones I have from Aoshima!

[kittvskarr1984]

The point is that any model vehicle manufacturer attempting to make a model vehicle from a movie or t.v series must make it exactly as it is. So far i have seen from hot wheels elite a model that is similar to kitt which should be call a custom knight rider kitt, not the actual knight rider kitt. I have pre-ordered 2 of them but will have to get them modified to look like the show. No knight rider fan should settle for anything less than perfect. Marcos, you have the best knight rider model i have ever seen.

More pictures of my Revell Knight Rider 1:16.

I have received emails by website, but I have not been able to answer. If You want contact me, send an e-mail to mvgs2002@terra.com.br

Thank You,

Marcos

[tuske427]

My goodness, lots of complainers on here. It's sure easy to throw stones without knowing all the information... If you knew what it was like to communicate comments to other people to hand them off to third and fourth parties (who have never seen a third gen T/A let alone an episode of KR) to execute said comments, and do this all within an aggressive schedule (not at the convenience of your own home where you can do over and over until you're happy) and accept certain limitations due to cost, and had to accept certain sized trunk hinges and frames to pass pull tests, certain proportions adjusted to pass drop tests, etc. you might have a better understanding of why the final result might just be slightly off of what you define as "perfect". Regardless of the category- toy, adult collector, or whatever, it is required by law to pass certain tests for safety before it can be sold to consumers. These rules can, and do, affect the aesthetics. It's the world we live in and we do the best we can to work within the rules we must abide by.

Yes, there are adjustments I would still make if I could. We did our best with what we had to work with and I think it came out great. BTW the latest image posted is of a paint master sample. It's still getting slight color and detail tweaks, but that's pretty much what it is. The seatbelts are removed. I think this has a lot of cool features that no other KR replica has had before. The interior is flocked- giving it that realistic cloth feel. The seats have PMD logos on them. It has sculpting detail on the insides of the door, hatch, t-tops, etc. (I never see that on diecast vehicles) I think it raises the bar significantly. I'm proud of it. Thank you to those that did compliment it and thank you to all those that will be buying one.

[imranbecks]

My goodness, lots of complainers on here. It's sure easy to throw stones without knowing all the information... If you knew what it was like to communicate comments to other people to hand them off to third and fourth parties (who have never seen a third gen T/A let alone an episode of KR) to execute said comments, and do this all within an aggressive schedule (not at the convenience of your own home where you can do over and over until you're happy) and accept certain limitations due to cost, and had to accept certain sized trunk hinges and frames to pass pull tests, certain proportions adjusted to pass drop tests, etc. you might have a better understanding of why the final result might just be slightly off of what you define as "perfect". Regardless of the category- toy, adult collector, or whatever, it is required by law to pass certain tests for safety before it can be sold to consumers. These rules can, and do, affect the aesthetics. It's the world we live in and we do the best we can to work within the rules we must abide by.

Yes, there are adjustments I would still make if I could. We did our best with what we had to work with and I think it came out great. BTW the latest image posted is of a paint master sample. It's still getting slight color and detail tweaks, but that's pretty much what it is. The seatbelts are removed. I think this has a lot of cool features that no other KR replica has had before. The interior is flocked- giving it that realistic cloth feel. The seats have PMD logos on them. It has sculpting detail on the insides of the door, hatch, t-tops, etc. (I never see that on diecast vehicles) I think it raises the bar significantly. I'm proud of it. Thank you to those that did compliment it and thank you to all those that will be buying one.

+1 on that! I'm with you. Too many complaints towards the model which I think is going to be impressive in from tiny details to even larger ones. It will have PMD logos and a realistic cloth feel? Where did you read that from? The Hot Wheels Elite Ecto-1 that I have has a great looking interior with many tiny details such as internal speakers for added detail and a somewhat rubbery feel on the seat.

[KITTfan]

Thanks for this explanation. Didn't know these things have to pass such tests.
I'm unfortunate or fortunate enough to verify that ERTL Joyride KITT passed an accidental drop test with only scratches in the front nose Happened in 2006 when I was photographing it outdoors in a stand raised about 1 meter from the ground where the model rolled down from, these things should have brakes
Perhaps without these tests and strong enough structure the whole front body could've bent or break in peaces and that I could not repair. Paint scratches were easy to fix. While at it I made also some modifications in it to look more like KITT from the tv-series.

[DarylKnight]

Not only am I a huge Knight Rider fan, but because of it, I'm a total 3rd Gen Firebird Trans Am/Formula freak. Also a pontiac freak altogether. I have a 1987 Formula, and know the lines of the car very well. The images in this model have captured a strong likeness that's not present in other Firebird models. It's also the best looking KITT I've seen since the 80s, and even then, those body lines weren't 100% accurate. I can't wait for this thing to hit production, and more so, I can't wait to get mine! Great job!

[imranbecks]

Not only am I a huge Knight Rider fan, but because of it, I'm a total 3rd Gen Firebird Trans Am/Formula freak. Also a pontiac freak altogether. I have a 1987 Formula, and know the lines of the car very well. The images in this model have captured a strong likeness that's not present in other Firebird models. It's also the best looking KITT I've seen since the 80s, and even then, those body lines weren't 100% accurate. I can't wait for this thing to hit production, and more so, I can't wait to get mine! Great job!

You and me both! I can't wait for it to be released!

[mvgs2011]

My goodness, lots of complainers on here. It's sure easy to throw stones without knowing all the information... If you knew what it was like to communicate comments to other people to hand them off to third and fourth parties (who have never seen a third gen T/A let alone an episode of KR) to execute said comments, and do this all within an aggressive schedule (not at the convenience of your own home where you can do over and over until you're happy) and accept certain limitations due to cost, and had to accept certain sized trunk hinges and frames to pass pull tests, certain proportions adjusted to pass drop tests, etc. you might have a better understanding of why the final result might just be slightly off of what you define as "perfect". Regardless of the category- toy, adult collector, or whatever, it is required by law to pass certain tests for safety before it can be sold to consumers. These rules can, and do, affect the aesthetics. It's the world we live in and we do the best we can to work within the rules we must abide by.

Yes, there are adjustments I would still make if I could. We did our best with what we had to work with and I think it came out great. BTW the latest image posted is of a paint master sample. It's still getting slight color and detail tweaks, but that's pretty much what it is. The seatbelts are removed. I think this has a lot of cool features that no other KR replica has had before. The interior is flocked- giving it that realistic cloth feel. The seats have PMD logos on them. It has sculpting detail on the insides of the door, hatch, t-tops, etc. (I never see that on diecast vehicles) I think it raises the bar significantly. I'm proud of it. Thank you to those that did compliment it and thank you to all those that will be buying one.

IT´S A JOKE. ONLY THIS, A JOKE!

[mvgs2011]

To tribute that bad joke, I´ll send pictures of my nose again. I HATE BAD JOKES!!!!

[Cam FR]

MVGS, let me tell you something. i'm designer prototypist, and modelist ( i'm french so " maquettiste") and This year, i my work was to do thlink between Prototype and production chains. So, doing a model on your own with mastics, or epoxy and doing a production item, iS not the same. YOu have plenty of contraints doing a production item. So stop being so agressive, this is irrelevant

[mvgs2011]

Are You designer? Congratulations!! But, how come you are designer prototypist and defend works like HW Knight Rider?
My friend, Do you Know AUTOart? Have You seen the models of them? They are perfect. All make in die cast. Are they production items, aren`t they? Pay attention designer prototypist!!!!!

I´m agressive since I´m tired to see makers making bad models, out of scale...in this case, I CONSIDER A DISRESPECT WITH KR FANS!!!

[mvgs2011]

Because of people like You is that the makers still make bad models. If the model isn`t good, we must say that it isn`t good. I don´t know what was more bad, if was You defend that project or You say that You are a designer prototypist and defend that project. Shame on You!

[imranbecks]

Whatever.. C'mon guys.. Stop ruining the fun of anticipating for the model to be released.. I don't remember reading this much criticism on the ERTL 1/18 KITT thread when that model was announced back in 2004. Before this thread closes due to all the negativity, some of you guys just have to learn to appreciate the companies that are willing to do these Knight Rider products which don't come too often. Accurate or not, I'm just glad we are all getting something. This year we have Hot Wheels and Diamond Select Toys doing Knight Rider, so I'm really happy all of us Knight Rider fans would be getting something to add to our KR collection. Not since ERTL did the 1/18 KITT have we had any new KR models/toys to get. And now in 2012 from what I see, with Hot Wheels and Diamond Select Toys now having the license for Knight Rider, its going to be a good year for Knight Rider fans and collectors.

[Tannim31]

Ok to be honest and blunt....I have lurked this thread for quite a while, and really guys? really? How many years has it been since we had a legitimate company put out ANYTHING that has been Knight Rider (82) related? Yes allot of you have put out AMAZING reproductions, in CGI, Models, even the real life drivables, but how many of you are doing mass productions lines? even limited production? I haven't seen any. There's going to be a company somewhere along the line that WILL put out something that is perfect to the screen car, but the sad thing is, no matter how perfect or how exact it is, there are still gong to some people on here or other KR threads that will say it's wrong. I personally am glad some companies are actually taking time and money to actually try to get a descent scale replica out on the market. I'll be buying one.

Bottom line. If you don't like it...Don't buy it, if you can do better, build one yourself.

[Cam FR]

Mvgs, Autoart isn't in the same range of price ( since their car are detailed but don't contains Electronics or systems), and if they would, the price would be higher than any of other auto art models. YOu can dou a perfect model , but it requires molds with higher price. So to keep the car at a 150$ price you must choose between the best detaisl yo ucan get , or details just a little bit lower but with more features. So now , Shut up about what I defend. You must be a shamed pretending being a KR fan, and being so aggressive and stupid about a toy.

I didn't said it was Super acurate , i say that it is a nice Collector, and since your just an amateur not concerned with industrial concerns, you must stop saying that HW people are *?$# beacause they can't do like you did (you should correct your model since the right black-out on your nose is not acurate, shame on you it is a bit incurved.)


Michael Knight and KITT Wouldn't appreciate your pretentiousness. So learn a bit of humilty. And please don't be so negative. As imranbecks told you, This is a good product, so if you Don't like it don't buy it. And stop spamming this thread. Thanks.

Cam.

[imranbecks]

Ok.. So lets all prevent the closure of this thread by discussing about the 1/18 Hot Wheels Elite KITT be it good or bad, but to a certain extent and not get carried away.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here when I say I'm really looking forward to seeing the end product which I think will look really impressive! I really hope I'll be able to get it locally like I did for the Hot Wheels Elite Ecto-1..

[DarylKnight]

Whatever.. C'mon guys.. Stop ruining the fun of anticipating for the model to be released.. I don't remember reading this much criticism on the ERTL 1/18 KITT thread when that model was announced back in 2004. Before this thread closes due to all the negativity, some of you guys just have to learn to appreciate the companies that are willing to do these Knight Rider products which don't come too often. Accurate or not, I'm just glad we are all getting something. This year we have Hot Wheels and Diamond Select Toys doing Knight Rider, so I'm really happy all of us Knight Rider fans would be getting something to add to our KR collection. Not since ERTL did the 1/18 KITT have we had any new KR models/toys to get. And now in 2012 from what I see, with Hot Wheels and Diamond Select Toys now having the license for Knight Rider, its going to be a good year for Knight Rider fans and collectors.

I just totally tried to "Like" this response.... Well said, I can't wait for my hotwheels KITT (with the most amazing "toy" T-Tops I've ever seen) and I can't wait for the Diamond Select KITT and Michael figure.... I also can't wait for their Enterprise-B, but that's for a totally different conversation

[Cam FR]

Yeah , the features like the plate, the T-Tops, look so amazing. But i'm looking forward for the Scanner !

[mvgs2011]

Mvgs, Autoart isn't in the same range of price ( since their car are detailed but don't contains Electronics or systems), and if they would, the price would be higher than any of other auto art models. YOu can dou a perfect model , but it requires molds with higher price. So to keep the car at a 150$ price you must choose between the best detaisl yo ucan get , or details just a little bit lower but with more features. So now , Shut up about what I defend. You must be a shamed pretending being a KR fan, and being so aggressive and stupid about a toy.

I didn't said it was Super acurate , i say that it is a nice Collector, and since your just an amateur not concerned with industrial concerns, you must stop saying that HW people are *?$# beacause they can't do like you did (you should correct your model since the right black-out on your nose is not acurate, shame on you it is a bit incurved.)


Michael Knight and KITT Wouldn't appreciate your pretentiousness. So learn a bit of humilty. And please don't be so negative. As imranbecks told you, This is a good product, so if you Don't like it don't buy it. And stop spamming this thread. Thanks.

Cam.

Designer prototypist,:lol:

I understand that Elite series isn`t a toy. It is a scale model car for collectors.

I would like that some maker makes a perfect model of KR, since until now (including HW KR) we don`t have any. Independent of price. How many model cars are expensive?

They can make one with lower price and less details and another with high price and perfect.

Makes no sense make one model opening the doors, hood, trunk, working lights and in body design be fail.

Do you think be AUTOart expensive? I Don´t. But ok. Let´s talk about Minichamps. The molds of them are nice. I bought a 1983 VW beetle 1:18 and It has the body perfect. The model cost $ 84,99. Is It Expensive too?

If I were You, I would not mention that this is a industrial production. Since I will question how come a industrial production can´t make a perfect body design?

The solution of black out of my nose is only install a eletronic. But the most important for me is the design. How I can see here if one maker release a Ford Maverick with front scanner saying be it the KITT, the people will buy it happily, so ok.

Sincerely, You how a DESIGNER PROTOTYPIST, should be more rigorous. You´re right! Yes, I`m stupid. I´m stupid for wasting my time with guys like you. The problem is what is good for You Isn`t good for me.

Don`t worry, I´ll stop spamming this topic.

Thank You,

Marcos

[imranbecks]

Yeah, I can't wait to see how the rotating license plate wld be done. By a switch under the car maybe or manually by our finger. Also curious as to how the t-tops wld work.

[imranbecks]

Thought I should share with you guys photos of my Knight Rider collection... Look forward to adding the 1/18 and 1/15 KITT soon... >>>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/imranbecks/collections/72157631099455656/