“Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good.” - William Daniels
Dear Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day and are enjoying the rest of your holiday weekend! I've been very busy behind the scenes, working hard to restock the store and developing some exciting new future products.
Now, I'm sure many of you have been wondering: "Where are those stone guards and lens covers?" Unfortunately, we ran into an unforeseen issue with a test shipment. We found that the plastic packaging was sticking to the clear coat due to the extreme summer temperatures. This can be fixed with some light wet-sanding and polishing, but I don't want to pass that extra work on to my customers.
As a result, these items will only be available for pickup at Southern Knights until I can get back and design a sliding matchbox-style container to ship them in. I apologize for the delay in their availability, but I can assure you that they are completed and ready to go. Getting these stone guards and lens covers out to you is my top priority for the last week of July. I appreciate your patience and understanding.
The store will be CLOSED July 17th-22nd
I wanted to let you all know that the store will be closed from July 17th to July 22nd. During this time, I (along with my partner, Erika) will be attending the Southern Knights Atlanta event - an annual Knight Rider convention in Georgia, USA.
If you happen to be attending the Southern Knights event, please stop by our booth and say hello! We'll have our hand-crafted, 3D-printed products on display and available for purchase at special show prices. This is a great opportunity to check out our latest offerings and maybe even take some home with you.
We're looking forward to connecting with fellow Knight Rider fans and enthusiasts at the event. Thank you in advance for your understanding regarding the temporary store closure. We'll be back and ready to serve you after the 22nd.
Dashboard overlays redesign
Exciting News on the Dashboard Overlay Front!
Our talented friend, Christian, has been hard at work perfecting our dashboard overlay designs. I'm thrilled to report that the issue of light leaks is now a thing of the past!
Rather than individual panels, Christian has engineered a seamless, one-piece overlay that looks absolutely stunning. The video demo showcases 5 layers of vinyl that create an amazing lighting effect both when illuminated and in natural light. The result is an incredibly realistic and polished appearance.
Christian is currently waiting on the arrival of UV DFT (Direct Film Transfer) materials for the white lines and text on the front of the panels. This is sure to take the visual appeal of these overlays to the next level.
I can't wait for you all to see the final product. This is just the latest example of the innovation and craftsmanship Christian has been bringing us all for the last 2 years. Stay tuned for more updates as these exciting new dashboard overlays get closer to being available.
Research and Development - Upcoming Items
Thanks to the hard work of community member, Hamid, we now have a detailed 3D scan of the main Fanhome dashboard. Hamid has already started the process of converting it to a faithful Season 4 representation.
From there, we stepped in to complete the conversion to CAD and make additional modifications. The most notable change is that we have removed the unwanted "droop" and made the dashboard completely flat on top, as it should be. This eliminates the "dash-on-dash" look of the pilot and early first-season design.
To take this project to the next level, Christian has acquired a 3D scanner of his own. This will allow us to scan the remaining dashboard pieces and assemble a comprehensive 3D model. Once that's done, we can move forward with redesigning the entire dashboard to be screen-accurate, especially in the critical voice box area.
Our goal is to create a single, seamless dashboard piece that removes the awkward seam present in the Fanhome version. This will result in a much more authentic and high-quality final product.
I'm excited about the progress we've made so far, and I can't wait to share the completed, screen-accurate dashboard with all of you. Stay tuned for more updates as this project moves forward.
The Iconic Overhead Console Takes Center Stage
After making great progress on the dashboard, our next focus is the overhead console. While the pilot/season 1 version is certainly cool, the season 2 style overhead console is the more recognizable design, in my opinion.
The good news is that we've based this new overhead console on a prop pulled directly from the original Universal molds. You simply can't get more accurate than that! This means we're working with a genuine article, ensuring an unparalleled level of authenticity.
I'm thrilled that we get to continue our work on this project until we achieve perfection. Bringing this iconic overhead console to life in a screen-accurate manner is an exciting challenge that we are eager to tackle.
Stay tuned for more updates as we make further advancements on this front. I can't wait to share the final result with all of you and see the incredible finished piece in all its glory.
That covers the major developments over the past couple of months. To be honest, life has been a bit hectic for me lately, but I've still been working hard behind the scenes to get everything in order.
On one hand, I've been focused on replenishing our inventory to ensure we have the products you need. On the other, I've also been devoting time and effort towards future projects - as you can see, I've got some exciting things in the works.
I appreciate your patience and understanding as I navigate this busy period. But I'm looking forward to providing more updates very soon, especially after I return from the upcoming Southern Knights Atlanta event.
Until then, please take care, and I'll be back with all the details from the show. Can't wait to share what I experience and discover there!
Best regards, - Ken
