On the Way - M777

I didn’t want to taint my 2022 Nationals thread with this, but I thought I’d share this experience from the show:

I saw both the M777 and M119 built up at Mr. Vargas’ table. I pulled out my phone to compare my photos with the trail on the M119 - it does seem off. Of course several issues have been noted with the M777 already. Mr. Vargas was selling one of each kit for a total of $150. Not a bad price for a kit without obvious flaws. I asked it that meant that I could just get the M777 for $75, and that I could fix the little inaccuracies. His hackles instantly go up. No kit is completely accurate, he says. (True to a small degree perhaps, but let’s face it, there are some that are extremely accurate, and these ain’t them.) He said nope, $90 was the price for one. At this point I’m thinking that the better deal would be to just get both. I looked at my wife and she gave me the signal. Up to you. To put it in context, we had just found a S&W Model 629 at Bass Pro in Omaha. They wanted $1499. They’re very hard to find. The only reason I didn’t get it is because I specifically want a five inch barrel with a full underlug, not 8 3/8. And it was used. So this very same woman encouraged me to get the gun. Mr. Vargas was on the way to making a sale. I asked if he might be offering the M119 with the newer style tires in the future.
That’s when things got weird. But of all the nuggets that came out of his mouth this was the most memorable:
“You know why I don’t offer the most up to date versions? Because guys like you come along and want specifically what they used. If I do the older version I don’t have to worry about that.”
Well, in addition to not making much sense (the first time I fired the M119 it indeed had the older tires) it just seemed as if he was full of it. Still, I’m about to pull out my wallet. I’ve actually got my hand on the edge of it. After all, I can always find tires that are a closer match.
That’s when he turns to his partner and says something very offensive in Spanish. Perhaps he didn’t think the half Asian guy in front of him had taught in primarily Hispanic schools in Texas for eight years. Or that the Chinese wife has been a speech pathologist in Texas schools for 22 years. She understands Spanish quite well. She gave me the slight head shake, but by then it was unnecessary. No kit is worth it. I’ve got plenty of other things to build, and styrene versions will come out of these two guns, without the mistakes, because some guy like me will have helped research it,

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Unbelievable… I’m sorry that this happened to you, Rob. Completely unnecessary to be disrespectful. That shouldn’t be a way to interact with any customers.
I do hope that styrene versions come out soon. Or some other 3D hobbyist like me may attempt to 3D design/print a more accurate version and accept constructive feedback.

You should have answered him in Spanish and watched his jaw hit the floor!

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So guys, just a quick questing, in light of the fact that half the worlds population knows at the moment what an M777 is, how long will it take for a plastic one to appear ? Any guess ? Maybe even from two or three companies ? Im sure the UKR companies will make some kits…

M777 has been in US service for nearly 20 years and the big styrene companies have passed on it. My guess is we’ll see a lot more Panthers, Shermans, Tigers, etc before we see an M777 in styrene. Unfortunately, towed artillery just doesn’t seem to sell well enough to attract attention from the big boys.

I’m building a collection of US artillery 1900-present. I’ve had to get good at building resin kits and now 3D printed kits. Fortunately, these cover many of the towed artillery gaps.

This particular artillery piece was on my “most wanted” list for years. Like all kits, it has short comings; but it builds up nicely. If a better kit comes along later, I’ll buy it. But for now, I have an M777 in my display case and with an IPMS Nats First Place award to go with it.

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Well done Rick :+1:

H.P.

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Thanks HP! It was a fun kit to build. After the long wait for someone to release a kit of it, I started the day it arrived in the mail and finished it pretty quickly.

Very nice work, I love the imposing siluette of your M777. I hope to see plastic kit one day.

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BEAutiful!!! Great build and a 1st place trophy to go with it.

I get the frustration of the experts in the posts. Because we all have something we are passionate about. ME-109s are my passion and i brood from time to time.

I think this is a gorgeous piece of work and after seeing it built up i will be ordering one soon.

Congratulations on the the first place!!!

Cheers,
Todd

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