David Hasselhoff dominated syndicated TV for years thanks to re-runs of Knight Rider and Baywatch tearing up the airwaves at all hours of the night. While that is all well and good, we remember Michael Knight and KITT turboboost-ing their way in primetime on NBC more than Mitch Buchannon sweating on the beach! Man, we couldn't get enough of Knight Rider and now Diamond Select Toys has flooded our senses with leather jackets and Trans Ams thanks to the release of two new Minimates vehicles! Join us for our review of KITT, KARR, and two Minimates of The Hoff!
On Knight Rider, police detective Michael Long was given a new face and a new name so that he could become the driver of the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), a state-of-the-art sports car loaded with artificial intelligence and plenty of high-tech gadgets. But when Michael and KITT need to race against the clock to stop an evil plot, they enter Super Pursuit Mode! Deploying spoilers, air intakes, and rocket boosters, KITT can temporarily become the fastest thing on the road, and that added speed often means the difference between life and death.
On Knight Rider, Michael Long was given a new face and a new name so he could become the driver of the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), a state-of-the-art sports car loaded with high-tech gadgets, plus an artificial intelligence that made it not just Michael's ride, but his partner, as well. But the evil Garthe Knight doesn't take too kindly to being replaced by Michael, and neither does the KITT prototype, KARR (Knight Automated Roving Robot). Both have a bone to pick with our heroes.
Both cars use the familiar formula of compact cuteness and badassery set forth by DST's previous BTTF Delorean releases. The tight lines and detailing of the cars are still present while reshaping the the body of the car into a smaller design. Ugh, we suck at describing it but thankfully we took a crap-ton of photos!
KITT is in his Super Pursuit Mode which was seen later on in the series after he was rebuilt a second time. instead of simply hitting a button and yelling "Turbo Boost!", KITT had and actual transformation occur to give the appearance of insanely fast speed. You'd think Michael would have worn a helmet, but there was no way he was gonna mess up his hair. The car is mostly painted in a high-gloss black with silver highlights. the familiar red light bar is present and accounted for, this time as a pre-added decal. The interior is sculpted as an exact copy with both seats, dashboards, steering wheel, and center console all harkening back to the original car. the wheels are mounted on simple axles (think Hot Wheels) and roll smoothly when pushed across a floor-- or into traffic.
KARR is the evil first version of KITT. Of course, being replaced AND having to be stuck with Garthe Knight and his goattee would be enough to make anybody a little pissed at the world. The car itself differs from the regular version of KITT thanks mostly to a piantjob featuring large amounts of silver trim around the bottom edge of the car's body. The rest is done in the same great glossy black and the interior is identical. KARR scores the same wheels and hubcaps as KITT, which is a bonus seeing as how they are made of rubber. In a head-to-head race, KITT still managed to beat KARR! We're chalking it up to the sweet spoiler.
The figures use the familiar Minimates buck but add accessories to bring out the inherent Hasselhoff of the characters. Micheal sports his sweet black leather jacket and wrist communicator, while Garthe has an evil white suit, pimp cane, and perm. Both figures have a ball-joint head, ball-joint shoulders, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, swivel waist, ball-joint hips, hinged knees, and swivel ankles. Not bad for such a tiny, blocky package!
In order to keep the complicated dash decals nice and straight, DST is leaving it up to you to add them, and the head and taillights, using the included instruction sheet and sticker sheet. while our hands shake like a 90 year-old paint-huffing lunatic, even we still managed to apply these in their proper place! Thanks for helping us feel like we accomplished something, DST!
These Minimate vehicles are both very, very cool. For more on Michael Knight and his automated car, and the entire Minimates line, be sure to check out the official website!
Stay tuned to MTV Geek! for all your DST and Minimates coverage from this year's upcoming Toy Fair!
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