Eduard

1/35 Stryker Slat Armor & Detail Sets For the Trumpeter kit

Reviewed By  Randy Colvin, IPMS# 31754

Eduard 1/35 Stryker Additional Armor, Set# 36015, MSRP $24.95 Eduard 1/35 Stryker Storage Belts, Set# 36001, MSRP $19.95 Eduard 1/35 Stryker Exhaust Deflector, Set# TP096, MSRP $6.95 Eduard 1/35 Stryker SLAT Armor, Set# 35995, MSRP $54.95 Review samples provided by Eduard: www.eduard.net Wow … where do I begin? I would first like to say that it has been a long time since an aftermarket set of any kind has tried my patience as much as this one has. It seemed that every three steps forward included one step backwards. This is not a quick or thoughtless build, you just can't follow the instructions and expect it to turn out well. Every step has to be thought out before gluing anything and patience is a must. I'm of course only talking about the Slat Armor (35995) set alone. The other three were pretty straight forward and relatively simple to build. The Exhaust Deflector kit (TP096) is simply the exhaust cover bent to shape and a few tie down points in various areas on the vehicle. It looks good and does add something different to the basic Trumpeter Stryker kit by itself.

The Additional Armor (36015) set is a little bit more complicated but still pretty simple and quick to add to the side of the vehicle. It also includes the support bars designed to be used in conjunction with the slat armor set and they are a little bit shorter as the additional armor is spaced out a little from the sides of the vehicle at various points. I didn't run into any problems while assembling this set.

Of course the main attraction is the Slat Armor set (35995) which by itself can turn your Stryker into something more than just the ordinary Stryker. Not only is it delicate to build but it as delicate handle as well. Just trying to hold the vehicle while adding parts of the slat armor was a tough thing to do. The one thing I did make easier on myself was that I decided to use super glue instead of soldering and I also replaced all the square stock supports with Evergreen #153 .060 X .060 in. square stock. The reason I did this was because you have to bend the Eduard stock into a four sided shape and it saved a lot of time simply cutting the plastic stock to shape and sanding the edges to angles as needed. The super glue also allowed me to instantly bond each slat into place very quickly and it also made attaching the photo-etch to the plastic very easy as well. Obviously the most difficult part of the build was attaching the slat armor sections to the vehicle after assembling the sections together. The left and right sides each consists of eight sections and when assembled it is a very flimsy assembly to hold in place and line up with the front section but once it is glued in place and all the supports are added it is very rigged and strong. You will never be able to pick the kit up by its sides so mounting the kit on a base is a must so you never have to touch it. I highly recommend that when building the rear side sections (L, B and A, B) that you go ahead and add the mesh screens (23 and 176) to help get the angles right and also because it is much easier to add the screens at this point instead of waiting until the last three steps in the instruction as Eduard would have you do.

The Storage Belt set (36001) is a very plain set that is designed to be laid on the vehicle holding nothing at all. The storage nets are the main attraction but Strykers are covered in crew equipment and these nets are used to hold thing down. Simply laying them on the top is not very realistic. I used parts my Legends Stryker Storage set to add the nets to so as to give you an idea of what can be done with this set. You have to totally ignore the Eduard instruction and just go at it, doing what you think it should look like. I have found many pictures on the Internet of Strykers with the slat armor, tons of spare equipment and these nets being used in the field and it radically changed the appearance of you Basic Stryker.

Conclusion I see these photo-etch sets as sort of rite of passage, especially the Slat Armor set. I will never look at a lesser photo-etch set again without thinking "this is easy". Eduard has done a great job on these sets as they always have but remember that using every single piece is not necessarily the "best" thing to do. Eduard also makes two separate sets to fit the both the Trumpeter and AFV kits in two separate offerings. I will look forward to showing this thing off as most people want even attempt a project like this, I know a few people who have already given up on their Slat Armor builds as being to difficult but if you like a very tedious and time consuming challenge in model building this is a great place to start. This build took several months of continuous building using up about two to three hours every evening from Mondays to Thursdays and a few hours on the weekend when I wasn't riding my quad so it's tough to say how long it took but I would say close to 100 hours total so far. I would like to sincerely thank Eduard for the opportunity to build these sets for review, I am very satisfied with the way they look and can't wait to finish this thing and put it on a base. I would also like to thank IPMS for allowing me the opportunity to be a member of the Reviewers Corps and look forward to the next build. On a humorous side note I must say that my Wife was more supportive than ever of me on this project but she recommends not giving these sets as gifts to someone you think of as a friend as they might not want to be your friend after that.

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