Ok so I attempted the M1126 with the slat armor and needless to say..I failed badly. It was my first attempt at PE building. I had problems with the parts bending on me and not aligning to well. Oh well. It was the griffon slat armor and although it was really good and detailed I was wondering if anyone tried the Voyager? If anyone has any tips I think I will attempt it again since I have to have my hip partially rebuilt and will have lots of downtown.

Hi Kevin

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Maybe Stryker PE slats building was not the best way to tackle PE ...Anyway did you see this thread about available PE slats sets ?
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/112044&ord=&page=1

HTH

Frenchy

You're a brave man, or have too much money. I've been using small PE sets for about 2 years but would be in fear of doing a Stryker slat set....I'll wait for someone to do in plastic. Can't be long now: Trumpeter have done plastic slat with their recent Leopard AFAIK

Brave..no..dumb YES! lol. I think i'll try it with the voyager set if I can find it. I normally spend my money on racing Ironman's but I am out this summer getting my hip rebuilt so i'll have money to buy another stryker and PE set. I've read that the Eduardo set is too easily bent and thats definitly not for me!

Kevin,
I almost finished my Eduard set. Unfortunately, I partially demolished it when I was rearranging my stash. Its not destroyed, still repairable. My advice for You: get the Slat from Eduard, the jig from Eduard. It bends just as other pe, You need finesse when working with it.
You will need scalpel blades 11 and extra liquid cyano glue. The slat is buildable with a lot of patience, careful planning, You dont even need to use too much glue. Another essential tool are flat pliers for the bending part. And a cutting mat. And the most important thing, never give up.
Building Slat has a learning curve and You jumped into the hardest thing possible. Perhaps You could train on something easier and cheaper, like pe replacement for the Trump Up Armored Challenger.

If I was you, I'd take measurements of the faild pe slats and find styrene in the necessary size. This should be much easier to assemble and look just as real as the pe set.

Yeah i guess I got in over my head. However, I did have a folding tool, cutting matt, plyers..clamps etc. I was reading someone used a sodering iron????? I don't think I can do that. Maybe i'll try the edward I don't know or just try the griffon one again.

I got my inspiration from this build. He used soldering, but it can be done with glue, too. While building my set I had the impression that this is the most complex model kit on the market.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/132015&page=1

My basic strategy was to build a perfect frame first. Then I used the jig to align the slats. Remember, dry fit twice, glue once. When everything was aligned I added cyano glue on the tip of the 11 scalpel blade and just barely touched the joints. The first frame was difficult but I got the hang of it. I estimate it took me around 12 hours to finish the birdcage. Now I damaged it, so round 2 comming up soon.
I think the first and basic step for good alignment is cleaning. Cutting off the stubs from the slat is not enough, You have to sand it a little bit, too.

The things I write about seem pretty obvious but I learned it the hard way. My first adventure into slat was the Challenger 2 upgrade from Accurate Armour. After my first fail I left it alone for a few years, then I took it apart and managed to save it.

Thanks everyone for the advice! I was at the local hobby shop today and looked at the styrene..good stuff! Duh can't believe i ignored it. I was thinking of using that instead of the PE for the supports and what not and use the frame and slats. If not succeed try and try again! So far I have the LAV, M1, the Bradley, and the stryker..well not so good stryker. I am building a 1/35 scale of fallujah. I have two 4x4 plywood sheets that i am going to use to create the village and represent as much as i can in american forces. If anyone has a good website for Modern us infantry to order i would appreciate that. Anyone also who has any ideas/suggestions i can start posting photos once i begin construction. I really enjoy talking with everyone on here..thanks again,

kevin