I have read all ten pages of this BRAT Mech subject several times with great fascination and mourn that it seems to have died out in Nov 2010. So let me ask two simple questions please:
I purchased a BasicMicro red LED "Cylon Eye" strip and note that it is made on a very stiff apparently brittle circuit board. Yet you obviously found a way to curve it to fit around your turret platform. How is it possible to make that board conform to such a curve?
Did this thread transfer somewhere else under a different that I missed?
Are you sure the led strip on the brat is the same one? as for the reduction in brat material, this kit has been out for a while now so many of us have already played with it and posted several bits of information on this. The brat is still the best entry level biped you can buy, that hasn’t changed in the slightest. I highly recommend the brat for beginners as well as advanced bot builders. It really is a bot for everyone.
Mike, Thanks for responding to my question about curving the BasicMicro LED strip. No, I am not sure it is the same strip as pictured on some BRAT Mechs. But I purchased it from Lynxmotion along with some other additional parts for the BRAT my grandson and I are building. Since it looks almost identical, I presumed it was the same. (Does that make a PRESident out of U and ME?) So if anyone knows how to curve it safely, I would still like to know.
You are right about BRAT being a great starting/learning/teaching platform. I have Robonova-1, VEX, NXT, and Pololu Pi. BRAT and SES look to be the most fun. My recently 12 grandson did almost all the physical construction himself, and we are muddling through the electronics and programming together.
I took the time to look at the LED chaser pictured, and it looks to me that all they did was curve the board and fasten it using 2 black zip ties. The circuit board is made of fiberglass and is able flex a small amount. I don’t think by looking at the curvature that it’s too bad, it looks gradual enough that no traces would break. The strip is also narrow making it easier to bend so it should be easy to form a gentle arc. I would not try to form an arc more than what James has done for his brat, because you risk breaking internal traces.
I’m not for sure exactly how James went about installing the LED chaser. You might want to send him a PM message asking how he did. My guess is that he simply attached one side first using a zip tie, and then curved it around and attached the second zip tie. I wouldn’t try to hand form the strip first. Attach one end, and then slowly curve around to align the second hole and attach using a second zip tie. This way the board only has to bend the minimum amount, if you try to hand form the strip, you may have the tendency to bend more than you need to.
I am also pretty sure that James did use the Basic Micro Cylon LED display. I did that as well on mine back then. As Mike mentioned, I would not bend it very much, but it does bend a little…
Sorry, but no. I used the Dimension Engineering LED strip. It was much more flexible than the Basic Micro one. I don’t think you’ll be able to replicate the effect with that one.
Whoa! Thanks for catching me; I was trying to figure how to soften it with a torch because the boiling water wasn’t working.
Did you use Dimension Engineering’s Sinewinder? (It looks very similar to the Basic Micro strip.) On their site they link it to your CH3-R video, but it is mounted flat, so flexibility isn’t indicated. Or did you use their DELight Strip LED, and if so, did you also need its controller or use it alone?
Thanks, Mike. I didn’t want motor oil in my kitchen, but I had a propane fired, full immersion, turkey fryer. Can you PM me your home address? My insurance adjusters want to talk to you.
Oh, do you recommend removing the LED bar from the BRAT first? My BBII is very flexible now, and the battery won’t hold a charge.
Would Snailkeeper consider yours an inflammatory post? -Ted
buy one from DE. 
-Ted