News/Updates 

       

New Link

Just a quick note about a relatively new hobby store online: Monster Hobbies. The owner is a decent guy, and they seem to have a rather unique collection of car and other model kits. You can check them out right here.

Quick Transformer Custom

I recently picked up a Classics Cliffjumper, and decided to give him a minor helmet adjustment. With a nice, sharp X-Acto, I trimmed back his horns so he looks a bit less like Bumblebee and a bit more like his old G1 self. I've added his photo to the TF custom page, but since there's not much of a writeup for him I'll add it here to save you a click:



All-Mopar Photo Update

Some of my photos were looking a little pathetic, so I shot new ones. Al's Dodge and Blade's Charger both have new main photos, and the Fast & the Furious Charger has a whole new set of photos, including lots more detail shots.

Grimlock & Kickback Movies



Kung Fu Rodeo has posted a link and instructions for a couple of "unofficial" TF movies, one featuring the Dinobot leader wandering through a construction site and another with the Insecticon showing off his size-changing ability. Go here for more screencaps and link info.

Product Update from the Model Car Garage

The Model Car Garage has six new products on sale right now:

MCG-2276: Flamed Kenworth/Peterbuilt Big Rig Badges ($9.99)
MCG-2277: Custom Flamed Tail Pipe Exhaust Tips ($8.99)
MCG-2278: Custom License Plate Frames and Badges ($6.99)
MCG-2279: Nut and Bolthead Details ($6.99)
MCG-2282: 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Detail Set ($22.99)
MCG-2283: 1957 Chevy BelAir 12th Scale Detail set for the Monogram Kit ($45.99)

To see these and other upcoming MCG items, check out the "New Arrivals" page here.

Updated Guest Gallery

Several new models have been added from two modelers: first, Logan has added a Challenger, Bandit's car, Ecto-1, Jazz, and A Hazzard County police car. Next, new guest The Mad Modeler has send a few pictures of his racing Willys and '55 Chevy. After you check out the gallery, be sure to click on the link to his personal album to see more of his work!

KITT for Sale

From Yahoo News:

DUBLIN, Calif. - KITT, the flame-throwing, river-jumping, talking muscle car from the `80s TV show "Knight Rider," is up for sale. Restored to its debut-season glory, the modified black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am is offered at $149,995 at a Dublin auto dealership. Johnny "Vette" Verhoek of Kassabian Motors has had the car, officially called Knight Industries Two Thousand, on display for about a month.

It is one of four documented "camera cars" used for close-up shots and scenes where David Hasselhoff, who played Michael Knight in the series, was behind the wheel.

Although it cannot achieve the 300 mph speeds that KITT reached, soar 50 feet in the air or throw smoke bombs, key features of the star car are intact. Perhaps most important, the red scanner light on the nose glows and makes a humming noise.

The car has two working video screens on the dashboard, and the cockpit features buttons that light up in green, yellow and red: ski mode, rocket boost, micro jam, silent mode, oil slick and eject.

Most of the buttons don't do anything, Verhoek said. Nor can the car hold a conversation or drive itself.

KITT isn't even street legal because of missing smog equipment and other modifications. Whoever buys the car will probably keep it in a private collection, or it may be purchased by a museum, Verhoek said.

The car belongs to Tim Russo of Livermore, a Kassabian customer who figured now was a good time to test the market, with the 25th anniversary of the show's debut coming up.

Russo purchased the car 10 years ago at an auction in San Diego, and has spent the last decade finding parts to restore it.

The Last, Greatest

OK, so it's not really about the big guy, but this is Transformers related. I picked up the latest and quite possibly last of the Alternator figures, Ravage and Rumble. If these are the last of them, at least the series went out on a high note. Both figures are very well done, and worth the price for the car models alone. Here is Ravage with his brother-in-design Hot Shot (the Jaguar XK and DB7 were both designed by Ian Callum).



And as long as we're on the subject, check out the latest TF movie stills available at Yahoo! Movies.