Identifying WW2 Individual Italian Heavy Weapon

black cavalier · Post by **black cavalier** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 12:09 am

I just got a pack of the Italian Heavy Weapons & am not sure what one of the weapons is. It's the only in the bottom right of the picture:
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/it17.html

It's on the strip with the 2 command figures (pointer & observer). It might be a mortar, but the angel of the barrel looks to be too low for that. Also, it kind of looks like it's built like a MG, so I thought it might be an ATG, but the crewman is sitting up & not barrel sighting.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Nils

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:33 am

Hard to tell from the photo, but I believe the stand you ask about is the 45mm mortar. If I recall, the pack comes with both the 80mm mortar (regimental level) and the 45mm mortar (company level).

You can see 45mm mortars on the left in this picture of my Italians (in continental uniforms).

black cavalier · Post by **black cavalier** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:37 am

Yeah, the stand just about the 4 man squad stand looks like the one. Thanks. Nicely based BTW. I was planning on doing something similar. How did you do them?

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:00 am

black cavalier asked:
Nicely based BTW. I was planning on doing something similar. How did you do them?

I use pennies. I find them available, cheap, and tough. Available matters, as I just hate coming up one or two items short from finishing a full TOE, and to run out of bases would frustrate me past the boiling point. But I always have a few extra pennies lying around...

Prime first. Then spray-paint a neutral earth tone (in this case Testor Model Master SAC Bomber Tan).

Infantry are fully pre-painted before basing.

Large glob of white glue (I use regular old Elmer's) to cover the whole top of the penny to the depth of the top of the little rectangular base molded to the fig. Plop the figs down into the glue with some care, squishing them around a bit to make sure they aren't floating on the glue. Leave to dry, checking back occasionally to see none of the figs fall-over during the drying process (the glue shrinks, and so pulls a bit as it dries).

Once dry, brush the glue with similar toned paint (Polly-S Sahara Sand is about the same as Testor SAC Bomber Tan). Try not to paint over the nice job you've already done on the figs! (One advantage of Elmer's glue is that it is largely colorless when dry, so you don't have to ensure absolute complete coverage with the paint.)

When dry, brush the stand with another thin coate of white glue (1/2 diluted with water to make it easier to brush around), using care not to get much onto the figures. Then bury the stand in flocking (I haven't tried static grass yet, like others here use). Leave under the flocking for about 20 minutes, then remove and use an old dry paint brush to brush off any flocking on the figures (try not to brush any off of stand).

When dry, spray with Testors Dullcote, let dry, then spray again.

That's how I do it. I don't think my results are quite as nice as the bases others here do, but my infantry winds up being very robust. So far at least, I have not taken any "casualities" wargaming with my GHQ infantry based this way.

armypainter · Post by **armypainter** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 3:20 am

It is a brixa(spelling?) light mortar.

tstockton · Post by **tstockton** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:56 am

armypainter,

Took your "tip" and did a quck on-line search... turns out it is a Brexia 45mm light mortar. The few relevant articles I found generally credited it with being of little value. Most spoke highly of the Italian 81mm mortar.

Regards,
Tom Stockton

armypainter · Post by **armypainter** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 9:41 am

Glad to help

I just painted some of these, and they are worthes to game with.

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:03 am

tstockton said:
Took your "tip" and did a quck on-line search... turns out it is a Brexia 45mm light mortar. The few relevant articles I found generally credited it with being of little value. Most spoke highly of the Italian 81mm mortar.

From what I've read, the Brexia was a poor balance of high complexity and weight, for low firepower and range. Just what everyone wants in a mortar.

The Italian 81mm seems to have been well enough regarded except for one critical factor ... availability to the troops. The Italian Army did not place their medium mortars at Battalion level like most other armies, but rather held them (a small number of them, too) at Regimental level. So the one thing mortars did best in other armies, giving fast-and-flexible firepower to the lowest unit levels, was not in the mix for the Italians.

But then again , that's why you've got those maginficent Brexias!