The German 12 cm sGrW 42 mortar was copied from the Soviet PM-38 mortar (in turn based on the French Mortier Brandt de 120 mm mle 1935) that was first encountered during Operation Barbarossa. In Flames of War they pack quite a punch, with a 56" range, AT 3 and firepower of 3+. They are however, unable to fire smoke bombardments like their smaller brethren.
Whilst firing, the recoil of the weapon forces the base plate into the ground. To model this, I filed the bottom of the base plate flat, and then built up a ridge with milliput for the mortar legs to stand on. Once painted, I will build up the bases using Vallejo coarse pumice to form a shallow firing pit for the mortars.
I like variety within my platoons, so replaced several of the mortar commanders, command team and observers with miniatures from different packs. I'm also fond of mounting guns and observers at an angle to the base to give them more visual variety, it helps avoid everything appearing too 'square'.
I also like to bevel the edges of the metal infantry bases to make it easier to blend them into the base with coarse pumice. It was especially important with these mortar crew as the bases they arrive on are quite thick.
Now that assembly is complete, the infantry will be removed from the bases and attached to lollipop sticks ready for painting. The guns and trailers are glued to the bases so will be painted while still attached. I find that painting the infantry separately allows you to reach all the hard to get places without any trouble.
In case you're wondering, the 'odd' looking stain on the cutting board is the result of a leaky bottle of superglue that decided to stick itself to the mat, it took quite some prying off!
While researching the weapons, I came across the below video of american troops operating a captured 12 cm sGrW 42 which made for interesting viewing.
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