Publius - Toy Soldiers

Latest edit: Publius WW1 Russian Infantry - to be used as WW2 French Infantry

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Publius is a Russian manufacturer based out of St. Petersburg. They are not very known in the west, but apparently they have a good range of metal figures in 40mm, which they have been producing since 2009 or so. These figures cover sets like Vikings, Saracens, Normans, Saxons, Tatars, Germanic, Pirates, Knights, etc. And of course, they also have some WWII Soviet troops. At least two of these WWII sets have also been released as 1/32 plastic sets. The sculpting for these figures is among the best in the industry. Unfortunately, they have only made a limited number of sets. What I heard as the reason for this is that the molds deteriorate and only support a limited number of casts. Therefore it is very hard to find these figures in 1/32 plastic and they have become very pricey. But if you can get your hands on some, they are well worth it. Let's take a look at the two sets which I have managed to locate.

Publius Soviet Naval Infantry - Part I

These guys are a great complement to the Pegasus figures and add much needed variety to this service branch of the Soviet Army. As I mentioned, they are really hard to find. I got these guys courtesy of my friend and fellow collector, The Plastic General. He discovered them and managed to obtain some from a contact in Russia. The level of detail and fluidity of movement in the sculpting is among the best I've seen. They are so well done that leave you longing for more poses. 

Publius Soviet Naval Infantry - Part II

I also like the fact that every pose is an action pose, as opposed to having some marching or standing guys, which tend to have a more limited use. And as you can see, there is a nice variety in the weaponry and outfits of the figures. I also like the fact that the bases have some detail and texture, but they are not bulky as has been the trend recently in the hobby. 

Publius Soviet Naval Infantry - Part III

These are the same figures as above, just as a group and in a different shade of color. I must admit that I forgot I had already posted them, but the picture turned out nice, so we can repost them :-)

Publius Brest Fortress Soviet Infantry - Part I

Again, these are some of the best figures I have seen. I love the action-packed poses, how the movement and intensity of the fight is captured, and the great level of detail. For instance, look at the figure on the left, standing on a German helmet. I also like the man on the right firing the MG with the circular ammo drum from the hip. 

Publius Brest Fortress Soviet Infantry - Part II

Great sculpting. The attitude of the man in the middle is totally consistent with the the weapons he carries. Throwing himself into a close quarter combat situation. The woman on the right reflects the important role that women played in the Soviet army, not just as nurses, but in many combat functions. The only things not to like about these figures are that there are only six poses and that they are really hard to find. 

Publius Stalingrad Soviet Infantry - Part I

Publius' third WWII set is just as good as its predecessors. The uniforms emphasize the winter season of the campaign. The poses are loaded with action and movement. When you look at the man in the middle you can feel the tension in the situation that he might find himself in. 

Publius Stalingrad Soviet Infantry - Part II

The only pose that seems a bit stiff, compared to the rest is the sniper woman, but even she is well sculpted. The man on the right is an interesting pose. If you look at him closely, you will notice that he is wearing body armor. I've seen some pictures in which you can actually see the dents left by bullet impacts, so it seems that they were reasonably effective.

Publius Battle of Berlin Soviet Infantry

Another nice set from Publius. Great sculpting, with lots of action and emotion packed into the poses. The only figure that I am not very excited about is the signaler. Not just because it is not a combat pose, but also because Engineer Bassevich had just released pretty much the same pose in its latest set. Also, note that the set comes with a wall section. I would not have minded if that had also been replaced by another combat pose. Forces of valor has given us many factory-painted wall sections that look even more realistic. One thing I like about this set is that these guys can be combined with their earlier sets to get more poses. For instance, there's a naval infantry guy who can be mixed with their first set. The guy with the smock can be mixed with the Stalingrad guys, and the regular infantry guys can be combined with the Brest Fortress figures.

Publius Soviet Infantry - Winter 1944

This is another really nice set from Publius. I often wonder if this sculptor is the same as Plastic Platoon's because the level of detail, quality, and sense of action in the poses is also exceptional. And compared to Plastic Platoon's figures, they are slightly less expensive. And a bonus is that this set actually contained 8 figures. This is supposed to be a winter set, but I like that the figures are outfitted for either a late fall/early winter, or a late winter/early spring weather, making them more versatile. The uniforms included coats, padded suits, and a Plash-Palatka rain cloak. In terms of weapons, they also have a nice range. From a flamethrower, to a captured panzerfaust, passing through all the standard Soviet small arms. Their weaponry, along with the poses make them very usable in a wide range of combat situations. Overall another great set from Publius.

Publius WW1 Russian Infantry

Are these guys not a great fit to add to our WW2 French army? I did not realize that the WW1 Russians had worn similar equipment as the French, so I was quite pleased when I saw these guys. Other than the older man on the left, who is wearing a cap that I haven't seen among the French, the other 7 guys can definitely pass for French with their Adrian helmets and puttees. Even the officer could pass, even though he is not wearing the more traditional kepi. In terms of weaponry, one liberty I will have to take is to allow the Lewis machine gun carried by the man in the middle as a piece of WW2 French equipment. While the French did use the Lewis gun during WW1, by WW2 they had phased it out. But I will pretend that this unit hadn't been upgraded yet. What I really like about these figures is the exquisite sculpting and the intense action poses which is something that we do not have in any of the other French sets available. So these will become the cream of the crop of my French army.  

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