Inbox review of a new 3D printed kit of the M777 Howitzer
I failed to take any in-progress pics since there really wasn’t much to see. It went together well with no major issues. All the support attachment points were small and in areas where they were easy to sand away. The instructions are a little vague, but looking at a few pics of the M777, I was able to work through it and got everything in the right place. Being in large pieces with all the smaller details printed on, it only had a bout 30 parts. It went together really quickly, only a couple hours of build time. The kit also comes with 15 155 rounds with lifting lugs (none fused) and a curved rammer staff.
The only things I added is a lug nut that is missing on both wheels. There should be 8, but there were only 7 and a space where the 8th one should go, so easy fix. I also added the antenna and its mount on the right trail pad.
It has parts to build it in travel mode or in firing position. I have built it in firing position and painted it overall NATO green.
Here it is so far.
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Some detail pics.
I still need to do some more detail painting and add unit markings, maybe a barrel name. Then on to weathering and making it look in use
I have completed the M777A2. I detail painted some of the components and added placard decals. I also gave it a light weathering with a drybrushing of a medium brown dirt color and a wash of a sandy color.
Here it is overall.
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I also made decals to mark it as gun A24, from 2-23 FA, 1ID with a barrel name of “Assassins Creed”.
I also printed up a safety T and ammo data sheet to mount on the rear trails. They are reduced pages out of an Artillery TM, lifted from the web.
I added cables for the brake lines and the lights as well. The end connectors on the brake air lines are 3D printed parts from James Lee. They look really good in my opinion.
Some pics of the other details.
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Overall, this was a really great kit. It went together pretty well, but I needed to reference actual pics to get where everything went since the instructions are really basic and vague in areas. I really like how it came out and am very satisfied with it.
Wow, looks great Gino! I love the restrained dust and dirt, it can be a pain to make a single colour subject interesting but the grime really does the trick!
And yeah the 3D printing stuff can be awesome if the creator knows the tricks and techniques. I bought some 3D printed 1/35th/54mm figures and they’re all printed in a single piece, no assembly required and yet the detail is excellent! About as good as a MiniArt figure- not as good as say a really good resin one like Alpine but still better than Tamiya.
