1:32 German Mortar Team in winter uniforms (WWII)

The mortar as the center of a small scene

The medium mortar was the basic fire support of the infantry companies. It broke down into the barrel, the baseplate and the bipod, so three men could carry it even where no vehicle could get. The crew worked on a slope or in a shallow pit and aimed to orders from a forward post, which is ideal for a scene, because the movements of the individual men fit logically into one another.

Winter as the theme, not as a backdrop

A white cape or a jacket turned inside out moves the group into the years when the German army was learning to deal with the Russian winter. The groundwork does not have to be extensive: frozen earth with islands of rime, two sled runners, an abandoned stump and a few empty containers from the rounds. Frozen ground has a different surface from summer ground, harder and grayer, and it is precisely this difference that makes a winter scene convincing more than any quantity of white material.

Putting the group together and building up the color

Place the men so that a circle of work arises: one holding a round over the muzzle, another steadying the bipod, a third watching the direction. The empty place between them belongs to the weapon, not to another soldier. Darken the barrel and add a hint of oxide scale at the muzzle. Tone the white surfaces toward gray and dirty the lower hem of the clothing markedly, because that is the part that rubs against the ground. At this size the faces will stand even a fine reddening of the nose and the cheeks.

It is a good idea to hollow the pit under the baseplate out of the groundwork for real, so that the weapon does not stand on the surface as if on a table.

Empty containers from the rounds scattered around the position are among the cheapest and at the same time the most effective additions to the whole scene.