1/18 Die Cast KITT Coming In December

DanielB · Post by **DanielB** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:06 am

I'm not sure what you mean - why is it a concern?

HondaSiR · Post by **HondaSiR** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:33 pm

MischievousJoe wrote:
MischievousJoe wrote:I'm still irked that Joyride doesn't have KITT listed along with their other entertainment vehicles!
Doesn't what I said above here make a legitimate concern? I guess not. People have ignored it twice. Oh well.

The staff at Joyride are probably too busy shipping the packages, even the web team is involved in it (probably even their immediate relatives are busy packing and shipping

). In due time, they will update their website.

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:22 pm

It appears that both the Aoshima KITT and KARR models have already been released at HLJ. But I think all the stock for both items have been snapped up probably within hours or minutes after its release... KITT isn't even on the list anymore.. KARR is labelled as "Just In" but in the meantime, HLJ have stopped taking orders for it...

http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist.cgi? ... ider&Dis=2

PBH · Post by **PBH** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:51 pm

Speaking of the Aoshima models, one of the explanations of why they're more expensive is because of the US to Japan transportation. However, in my collection I have 5 Ertl models including the Ecto-1, General Lee, 'Starsky & Hutch' Gran Torino & 2 cars from the 'Fast and the Furious' movies. All are made in China.

Just an observation.

pewter 02ws6 · Post by **pewter 02ws6** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:55 pm

looks like they are officially released....
look here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 81559&rd=1
and here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 81068&rd=1

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:56 pm

PBH wrote:Speaking of the Aoshima models, one of the explanations of why they're more expensive is because of the US to Japan transportation. However, in my collection I have 5 Ertl models including the Ecto-1, General Lee, 'Starsky & Hutch' Gran Torino & 2 cars from the 'Fast and the Furious' movies. All are made in China.

Just an observation.

All are made in China... But it seems that ERTL's still have the orange foglights whereas Aoshima's KITT doesn't.. That is the only difference that I can think of until I see the Aoshima KITT model myself tomorrow at my hobby shop..

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 10:59 pm

pewter 02ws6 wrote:looks like they are officially released....
look here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 81559&rd=1
and here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 81068&rd=1

Whoa... and the seller is from my country of Singapore.. What a hefty price tag...

MrPayner · Post by **MrPayner** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 1:55 am

Wholly crap.. I didn't expect my order to be filled in the first lot that was received in at HLJ.. this is insanely incredible!

HLJ.com wrote:Your order is currently in our payments department for credit authorization. Once this is completed, we will prepare your order for shipping. There is no need to contact us. If there are any questions or problems related to your payment, we will contact you. Please note that this process may take a few days if the charges are submitted before a weekend or holiday here in Japan.

AND it's both KITT and KARR!!!! What a christmas it's going to be!

Regards
Adam

DanielB · Post by **DanielB** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 5:32 am

Looking at the photo of KARR in the box at HLJ, it appears to have white lettering on the tyres.....

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 5:41 am

DanielB wrote:Looking at the photo of KARR in the box at HLJ, it appears to have white lettering on the tyres.....

Hmmm.... Yeah... You are right!!! Even the graphic picture of KITT on the box is the same as ERTL's packaging... Except ERTL's packaging colour seems out of place for a KR product.. Aoshima's packaging is nicely coloured with the FLAG colours... similar to the Aoshima 1/43 KR cars packaging..

Actually if u compare the box with ERTL's, it is exactly the same except for the colour... (keep in mind that the KITT in the ERTL box below is of the prototype KITT model)

Aoshima

ERTL

I think this settles it once and for all.... Here it goes:

The Cons:

ERTL: Has two orange foglights.

Aoshima: White lettering on tyres.

The Pros:

ERTL: No white lettering on tyres, just plain black tyres as seen in the show.

Aoshima: Correct colour of how the foglights are suppose to look like in the show. To make it short, no orange foglights.

As for me, I will be getting the Aoshima KARR and the ERTL KITT. In my opinion, I wld prefer the dark black tyres of the ERTL KITT instead of the Aoshima KITT with the white letterings.. At the end of the day, the orange foglights ain't that bad...

Do contribute if any of u find any more pros or cons after receiving the model/s..

DanielB · Post by **DanielB** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:22 am

Interesting. Can't wait for mine to arrive now - hopefully the delivery will make it to the shop tomorrow.

MischievousJoe · Post by **MischievousJoe** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:22 pm

I'm still getting the Ertl KITT of course, and I'll wait until Ertl produces KARR. Aoshima's price is just a bit steep for me. I remember reading SOMEWHERE in this thread that one of the official replies from Ertl was that they were going to produce a KARR as well, just not right away. Am I wrong?

I can deal with the orange fog light, but NOT the white lettering on the tires. It's just wrong when anybody who's seen even one episode of Knight Rider knows the white lettering doesn't exist!

DanielB · Post by **DanielB** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:23 pm

They said possibly sometime in 2005. If they make KARR too, I'll get it, but I'm not that desperate that I'll order one from Japan. KITT is the important one, and the ERTL will do me just fine.

MrPayner · Post by **MrPayner** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 8:33 pm

Sadly.. the HLJ site is showing the Aoshima 1/18 scale models as discontinued now.. Hopefully for those people that were holding off it will become available again. I'm glad I decided to order mine when i did.

In repsonse to some of the posts above.. I would rather have white lettering on the tyres than orange driving lights. White lettering is easier to remove, but i quite like the look of it anyway.

Regards
Adam

PBH · Post by **PBH** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:23 pm

I think that we're still jumpin' ahead of ourselves with the final decisions. Let's wait until SOMEONE has the car IN THEIR HANDS!

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:07 pm

I just enquired with the post office abt my package (ERTL KITT)... They said I will receive it today!!!!! Woo hoo!!! I will also be collecting KARR later at the local hobby shop..

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 12:39 am

It has finally arrived!!!! I have in my hands now, the ERTL 1:18 KITT!!!!

Here is my mini review...

So basically, all of u already know the functions of this model such as opening doors, trunk etc.... I will go straight to the details of the car and one problem I am facing with it.. Here it goes:

This ERTL model is by far my biggest ever KITT so far.... I never had the Kenner Knight 2000 Voice Car.. So, to me, this is big... The car measures abt 27 cm....

What everyone wants to know is how the dashboard will be.. Well, the dashboard is done very nicely. The gauges are all stickers except for the monitors, the switch pods and the yellow and red buttons around the voice modulator section. Rather weird that ERTL did not colour the voice modulator red, instead it is black, ie; unpainted. Unlike the previous pic that we all saw, the 2 monitors in my ERTL KITT is very neatly painted. None of the silver is out of the frame. It looks good actually, very shining! The detail that I like is the logo on the gull wing steering wheel... It is painted red with a very tiny and detailed black drawing of a Knight.. Just like the one seen in the show.. I repeat, it is painted, not a sticker.. Very nice!!! Oh and by the way... The model has steering capabilities. Turn the steering wheel to the right or left, and the tyres will do the same... Really cool!!

Now for the disapointment. I was very disappointed when I noticed that the license plate is a sticker.. I was hoping it wld be painted at least.. The sticker on mine is slightly peeling at the bottom left corner of the KNIGHT plate.. Ain't that sticky.. Maybe Aoshima's is painted... Will confirm after collecting KARR later today..

Now for the problem that I am facing with one of the features of this model... I pulled out the grappling hook and I do not know how to retract it back in place... Is there a button somewhere???? I'm surprised there aren't any instructions abt the grappling hook... I struggled for an hour and I finally gave up.. I just tied the hook underneath the chassis and never touched it anymore. I will wait till some of u guys have the model and see if u will face the same thing like i did

Please help me out if u know how to retract the hook back in place...

Flip the car around and u will find a very detailed chassis.... This is a pure 1:18 model.. Very detailed, it is like looking at an enlarge version of the chassis of the 1:43 KR cars..

Now, I gotta go get KARR at the hobby shop!!!! Cheers!!!!

Knight Industries 3000 · Post by **Knight Industries 3000** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 1:12 am

Thanks for posting the images! The car looks great! It ain't perfect, but neither is the Voice Car, which is one of my favorite Knight Rider collectibles.

As for the grappling hook, maybe turning the front or rear wheels in reverse might pull it back in. Just a wild guess.

MrPayner · Post by **MrPayner** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 1:28 am

Hey Imran,

Nice pics.. there could possibly be something under the bonnet that would allow the grapling hook to retract..

Just checked HLJ and they're closed for the weekend, I was hoping to get them shipped before close on Friday but it looks like monday now.. oh well..

AP

Lost Knight · Post by **Lost Knight** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 3:46 am

Personally, I would definately buy the Aoshima version with the correct fog lights and simply use paint thinner and remove the white lettering. The only thing that would give me second thoughts is its damn price, being that you could by the Ertl one much cheaper and it is the exact car. When Ertl releases K.A.R.R., it's more than likely it will be consistent with K.I.T.T. and have amber fog lights as well. That just flat out annoys me.

Other than this, the only other thing that bugs me about the model is the rear trunk window having that frame on it and being tinted. Anything else I can live with like the lack of turn signal blackouts. I think the dashboard looks great as well, even if it is a sticker. As long as it has accurate detail, I don't care. Bottom line, white tire lettering is easier to correct than amber fog lights. If it weren't for the price, it would be a no-brainer for me. Also, by buying the Aoshima version I can have KARR right away and won't have to wait half a year or more for a cheaper, less accurate looking version.

I'll bite the bullet and spend the extra money on the Aoshima if it will be more accurate...I plan to have the models the rest of my life anyway so it will be worth it to me. I may be paying more now, but at least I won't be bothered every time I look at the model by a blatant ugly inaccuracy.

kywolverine708 · Post by **kywolverine708** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 5:12 am

Don't get me wrong about this. I am greatful for them(both companies) making the 1/18 K.i.t.t. replica. Of course, I cant wait to get it in my possession. But to me the grappling hook and ejector seat is kinda of a kiddy thing. It seems to me save the money on that for correct tires, foglight colors and maybe carpeted interior. A seated Michael Knight (that actually looks like David Hasslehoff did in 1983) that you could remove from the seat. To me those improvements would cost the same as grappling hook molding and action work, the ejector seat molding and action work. I plan on mine being a replica to place as a centerpiece in my 80's vehicle collecton and not a toy.

imranbecks: how does the scanner action look????? Is the color deep and noticeable? Does it look like the show?

Skav · Post by **Skav** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 6:00 am

well, i've just placed my order at anticsonline.com...after more consideration, i think the headlight isn't as noticeable as lettering on the tires.

so, screw it.

DanielB · Post by **DanielB** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 6:56 am

Damn it! I want mine - still no word from the shop as to whether or not they're in-stock. How is the scanner?

pewter 02ws6 · Post by **pewter 02ws6** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 8:01 am

[quote="Lost Knight"]Personally, I would definately buy the Aoshima version with the correct fog lights and simply use paint thinner and remove the white letteringquote]
if you check the ebay link i posted,there is a guy selling both the Aoshima version of KITT AND KARR. the pic of Aoshima's KITT has amber fog lights also but KARR doesn't and they both have the white lettering on the tires. i think you will be worse off paying more for Aoshima's KITT and having to remove the white lettering and still be stuck with amber fog lights. the ertl version of KITT seems to be the more acurate of the two.

imranbecks · Post by **imranbecks** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 8:43 am

I just got back from collecting the Aoshima 1:18 KARR!!!!! Here are some pics>>>

Let me tell u this, after what I experienced with the grappling hook on the ERTL KITT, I did not dare pull out the grappling hook on KARR....

I even saw the Aoshima version of the 1:18 KITT, but I did not get it as it is almost the same as ERTL's... Here are the differences.. Some of them, u all already know..

The ERTL KITT doesn't have KITT's red modulator painted red, it is just blank, but Aoshima's is painted. As we all already know, the tyres of the Aoshima has the GOODYEAR letterings while ERTL's doesn't and the Aoshima model has the correct white/clear foglights. Note that both the ERTL and Aoshima KITT have a silver coloured base whereas the base for the Aoshima KARR is coloured black. I'm displaying both KITT & KARR with just the middle portion of the base coz I have no space. Look at picture 2 and 3 of KARR above, that is the middle portion of the base. The entire base is just too big for my shelve!!!

Thats about it... Other than that, both models are the same..... Even the display base from both manufacturers are the same except for the colour of KARR's base as I have mentioned earlier..

To those who have yet to decide which one to get, make your choice guys!!!! Its up to you.... Either way, u will get a great quality model regardless of its manufacturer (ERTL or Aoshima).

Both models regardless of manufacturer= HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!

1/18 Die Cast KITT Coming In December

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