Iron Panda

Faction: Martian Sympathizer

Nationality: Singapore
First Figure in Colorway: Large Martin
Figures in Colorway: Large Martin (1/6, 1/12), Damn Large Martin (1/12), Snow Panda Damn Large Martin (1/12), Square Mk1 (1/6, 1/8, 1/12), 4Square (1/6), Dropcloth Mk1 (1/6, 1/12), Heavy Bramble (1/12)

The Iron Panda Division was once part of the Earth Coalition but they soon followed the Germans and became Martian Sympathizers. They believed that the Martians should govern Mars themselves and that the war itself between them shouldn't be fought at all.

The Iron Panda colorway consists of black and white. Decals show up in either black or white. A variant of the colorway, Snow Panda, is blue and white with decals being white or blue.

Decals

Note the symbol on the right shoulder (our left).

It's not the most prominent decal on Iron Panda but it is one of two that isn't letters, numbers, or a saying. That's the drawing of a monster like head, with drool running down its jaw, and it's wearing a helmet. It sure isn't a panda going by the groups namesake but it might be the division's personal logo or insignia. It bears some stylistic similarities to the Deep Powder Corp cartoon character but this one is much more sinister and definitely not as cute.

Like other military units the use of disturbing imagery isn't new. For the Iron Panda are they trying to make the enemy see them as monsters or do they believe they are monsters? For their enemies they might be monsters and the Iron Pandas have grasped onto that imagery and are using it for their own benefit.

Note the teardrop under the right eye (our left).

A teardrop decal can be found on the Large Martins, Damn Large Martins, and some of the Square Mk1s.

At first this looks like a teardrop tattoo which is a common prison tattoo and has a variety of meanings (murder, lost family member or friend, rape victim, rapist, and more). Could the Iron Panda Division be a penal group? Full of criminals pressed into service to fight the war?

On the other hand the teardrop might represent the loss of a well liked commander, loss of nobility or innocence in fighting a war, or someone with some white paint thought it would look cool on some robots.

Note the word crunch on the "hand".

The word crunch can be found on the meat tenderizer hands of the Large and Damn Large Martins, the arm and cloth of the dropcloth, and the feet of some of the squares.

Simply, the word has been put next to areas on the robot that can crush (arms, feet, hands). That or it could be a written out onomatopoeia, for humor or not, of the sound that the robots cause when they hit an enemy.

On a more metaphorical level, crunch, could also be what the Iron Panda do their enemies. Crush them all.

Note the TRP 14 and star.

TRP 14 and a star seem to be a unit designation. The number 14 can be found on all the bots outside of TRP and the star.

Exactly what TRP stands for is beyond me. As we've seen with other colorways it might refer to the units commander or have a different meaning.

Not the X in brackets on the square on the right.

Lastly we have an X surrounded by brackets. For the most part it's just that but this decal can be seen on another colorway, Deimos II. Indications is this might be an EC marking.

Sayings

Note Dead Eyes Open

The most prominent saying across Iron Panda is dead eyes open. The saying refers to the eyes left open after someone dies. Eyes are usually shut manually by someone else after death as the sight of dead eyes can be unsettling. Leaving the eyes open after death is usually the opposite of what you do.

For the Iron Panda Division this might refer back to seeing themselves as monsters or creating the image of them being monsters. Are they the ones with these dead eyes open? If they did they would be presenting themselves as soulless and terrifying.

Wars might be fought physically but they can also by fought psychology. The Iron Panda Division seems to understand this well.

Note fuck the reds.

The other saying found on some Iron Panda bots is fuck the reds. This saying was an addition made by the soldiers do to it not matching the typeface used for the other sayings. Soldiers love to scribble on anything and robots are not different.

First, the reds that it refers to are not the Soviets. It refers to Martians. This saying was done when the Iron Panda Division was part of the EC. Interestingly, the saying seems to have stuck around even with the group becoming martian sympathizers. At that point the saying might of switched to the Soviets who are apart of the EC and Iron Panda has engaged them in combat.

Names

John H: John Holmes

African Defense

Faction: Martian Sympathizer
Nationality: German
First Colorway Appearance: Armstrong
Figures in Colorway: Armstrong (1/12), Heavy Bramble (1/6, 1/12)

Africa was the most violent and intense theater of the Great War. Africa was divided nearly in half (vertically) between the Earth Coalition and Martian forces. Germany and its African Defense force were originally part of the EC but that all changed when Germany and its military became the first Martian Sympathizers.

African Defense force doesn't have any direct ties to the real world. The closest would be the Afrika Korps.

The bots (all two of them) that make up the African Defense don't share similar color schemes. They share similar decals but both take on different looks based around animal stripes and spots. This gives African Defense a more haphazard and non-uniform look. Its also a definite theme with the bots using animal like camouflage.

The Heavy Bramble sports red, yellow, and grey as it's primary colors. It also has tiger like stripes covering sections of its body. The Armstrong's main colors are brown and black and has hyena like spots covering its main body. Decals for both come in white and black.

Decals

Note the AD09 on the arm

Note the AD on the body and the 09 on the right shoulder (our left)

Found on both the Armstrong and Heavy Bramble is an AD09 decal. A variation of this can be found on the Armstrong with AD and the 09 being separated on the front of the bot (AD on the body and 09 on the right shoulder). The 09 without the AD can be seen on the Heavy Bramble as well. The AD stands for African Defense and the 09 might refer to the specific unit the bots are apart of in the African Defense as a whole.

Note the black cross on the launcher

Note the black cross on the body

Balkenkreuz

Another common decal on both African Defense bots is the balkenkreuz (black cross with white border or just the flanks themselves). The balkenkreuz (English: Balkan's Cross) came about in WW1 when it was used on German aircraft and was further refined in WW2 when it became a common symbol across German forces.

There are two different balkenkreuzs on the Armstrong. They are both the standard balkenkreuz with a black cross surrounded by a white borders. The first is a balkenkreuz with thick white borders on the front of the Armstrong. On the Armstrong's jump pack their is a balkenkreuz with a thin white border. Luftwaffe aircraft from WW2 also sported these same balkenkreuz seen on the Armstrong (fitting for the bot that rocket jumps across the battlefield).

The Heavy Bramble is sporting a variation of the balkenkreuz. It has the black cross but thick white border is absent and the cross flanks are white instead of black.

Note the four lines on top of the jump pack

Note the four lines on the right shoulder

Both the Armstrong and Heavy Bramble sport four lines on multiple areas on their bodies. This might look familiar as they are the hooks of the swastika with the main cross missing.

This raises a number of questions for the WWR universe. Is the Nazi party still around? WW2 must of gone a lot differently then (it already kind of has if Germany has forces working outside of its borders like the AD). Does this similar but different symbol refer to a change of some sorts? Questions like this are a little too big answer with a colorway breakdown (might be a future article talking about specific and interesting aspects of difference from the WWR world and ours).

Note the skull spitting bullets

Note the white hand on the main body armor

Both bots have one very distinct and very different decals on them.

The Heavy Bramble has a white severed hand with its fingers slightly flexed (like its trying to grip something. In a way it bears similarities to a zombie hand (you know the one coming out of the grave or is cut off). This might be a symbol of defiance against the EC.

The Armstrong sports a skull that is spitting bullets out its mouth. This might be in reference to death from above (the Armstrong is a semi-flyable bot). It could also be connected to Totenkopf and the use of death's head symbols in the German military in WW2 (are we the bad guys?).

 Sayings

Note freiheit on the launcher

Note the saying on the chest plate

On the launcher and on the left chest plate of the Heavy Bramble is the word freiheit. This is German for freedom.

Also on the chest plate below freiheit: um jeden preis. When put together with freiheit this translates into: Freedom at any price.

With the African Defense being a Martian Sympathizer force this is probably in reference to freedom for the EC. For the African Defense it seems they are more then willing to lay down their lives to help the Martians win or stop the fighting.

Names

Armstrong: Fridel - No real world connections

Deep Powder Corp

Faction: Unknown (either Earth Coalition or Martian Sympathizer)
Nationality: Unknown
First Colorway Appearance: Bramble Mk2 (Deep Powder) / Large Martin (Mr. Frosty) / A whole damn set (Frosty Choad)
Figures in Colorway (Deep Powder): Bramble Mk2 (1/6, 1/12), Bertie Mk2 (1/12), Bertie Mk3 Mode A & B (1/6, 1/12), Harold (1/6, 1/12), Square Mk1 (1/12), Square Mk2 aka Snippy (1/6), Bot Sniper Frank (1/6), Mighty Square (1/6), Caesar (1/6, 1/12), Grunt (1/6, 1/12)
Figures in Colorway (Mr. Frosty): Bramble Mk2 (1/12), Large Martin (1/6, 1/12), Dropcloth (1/6, 1/12), Square Mk1 (1/6), Square Mk2 (1/6, 1/12)
Figures in Colorway (Frosty Choad): Large Martin (1/12), Damn Large Martin (1/12), RPG Bramble (1/12), Bertie Mk2 (1/12), Square Mk1 (1/12)

The first thing to understand about the Deep Powder Corp is that it's a loose group and not heavily centralized. It serves as a patrol corps in Europe and has many of its smaller formations spread out over the continent. Some of these formations are the 3rd, Mr. Frosty, and Frosty Choad.

All the Deep Powder groups have a variation of whites, blues, and blacks as their main colors.

Decals

Mr. Frosty

Deep Powder. New main decal.

Deep Powder. Old main decal.

The old main decal that was used by the 3rd looked like stems with pedals on the end. It looks like wilting flowers and with the winter theme this would be apt for the Deep Powder Corp.

The new main decal of the 3rd is a snowflake. Mr. Frosty also have a snowflake as a prominent decal. They might look the same from a quick glance but the snowflake found on the 3rd is thicker and more defined then the Mr. Frosty snowflake. The Mr. Frosty snowflake is thinner, has more branches, and the branches don't connect to one another.

Note the lines on the body and going down onto the cloth

Lines on the main body and partially on the face shield

The main decal for the Mr. Frosty group are a series of lines. There direction and number (minimum of 2) of the lines varies. Some of the lines will form an F on some of the bots (Large Martin and the squares) this might stand for frosty or maybe they just like the letter F. On the Dropcloth the lines look like a 77.

Note the FC on the main body

The main decal for Frosty Choad is FC which is the initials of its name. If you're wondering what a choad is it is a derogatory term that refers to a penis that is wider than it is long. There, now you know.

Note the cartoon character on the bots right (our left)

On all the Deep Powder 3rd bots with the snowflake decals there's a cartoon character which has been drawn onto them. It's a person with two pointy incisors holding a bomb above their head and a word bubble. The world bubble doesn't have words but another drawing. It's a skull with a singular X inside of it. It looks like the little guy is saying death and about to lob a bomb. It's not uncommon for soldiers to draw on their equipment but this particular decal is found on other bots. One possibility of what it could be is the 3rd's mascot.

Note right shoulder (our left)

On some of the Mr. Frosty bots there is a Minus 77 decal. This sticks to the winter theme found for Deep Powder with the Minus 77 referring to temperature. Now whether it's in Fahrenheit or Celsius is up for debate (-77F = -60C, -77C = -106F).

Note left shoulder (our right)

Speaking of minuses there is one found on Frosty Choad bots on the left shoulder. Going back to the winter theme again with negative temperatures.

Note left shoulder (our right)

On all Deep Powder 3rd bots there is an arrow pointing upwards.

Note chevrons on face shield

Chevron on right side (our left) of the Square. Also note the square on the squares face (ha!)

On all Frosty Choad bots there is a series of chevrons on them. One is pointing towards a group of two. Also on all the bots (with arms) there are two chevrons located on their right shoulders. Two chevrons denotes the rank of corporal.

Also located on all Frosty Choad bots is a single square. This square is located in a variety of places. The Large Martins have them located around one eye, one on the square's face, one of the Brambles chest plates, and the Bertie's hand.

Mr. Frosty Decal

On some of the Mr. Frosty bots there is a decal sporting their name sake. A kind of skull with Mr. Frosty written below it. Either a unit badge or their mascot. It's an interesting choice as there was a children's toy in the 1980s known as Mr. Frosty which could make flavored ice (it didn't work all that well).

On all Deep Powder, Mr. Frosty, and Frosty Choad bots there are numbers.

For Deep Powder the most prominent is a big 3 or 3rd. Found on the Bertie Mk3s are the numbers 3 and 4. These are possibly there own designations as bot 3 and 4. The number 27 shows up on a few Deep Powder bots. This possibly might denote their own formation under the 3rd (3rd say being a division while 27 might denote the brigade under said 3rd division).

On Mr. Frosty all bots have a 77 surrounded by brackets.

On all Frosty Choad bots there is the number 17 followed by an M. 17 meters? 17 miles? Or something else entirely?

Sayings

Frigide Hassen

One saying found on the Deep Powder bots in frigide hassen. This is German for hate cold. Now this is a translation error (admitted by Ashley Wood). It's supposed to be flipped being read as cold hate. This saying falls in line with the winter theme of the Deep Powder Corp bots but the saying of cold hate has much more to do with feelings then it does with weather. 

Cold Heart

On the Mr. Frosty bots a saying that pops up is cold heart. Like cold hate the saying itself has less to do with weather and more so a feeling or emotion. Cold hearted is to be unfeeling or unsympathetic.

Zucker Tod (left tread, our right)

Another saying found on Deep Powder is zucker tod. This is German for sugar death. Sugar death fits into the winter theme of the Deep Powder Corp. Sugar is white and it does have the ability to kill. Also sugar is known as the white death which really fits in with the whole winter theme.

Names

Harold (Deep Powder): Winnipeg - Winnipeg
Square Mk1 (Deep Powder): Snippy - The name Frank gave to his Square. Frank thinks Snippy is embodied by his dead brother who died in a car accident at 11.
Bot Sniper (Deep Powder): Frank - He's Frank...
Large Martin (Mr. Frosty): Mr. J Frosty -This guy
Dropcloth (Mr. Frosty): Snowballer - Snowballer or Snowballer
Grunt (Mr. Frosty): Dunn - Dunn
Damn Large Martin (Frosty Choad): Stephen - Stephen Morris
Large Martin (Frosty Choad): Ian - Ian Curtis
Bramble Mk2 (Frosty Choad): Peter - Peter Hook
Bertie Mk2 (Frosty Choad)- Barney - Bernard Sumner
Square Mk1 (Frosty Choad): Gillian - Gillian Gilbert

Terrans and Martians

Only the dead have seen the end of war. - Martian Foreign Minister Gustav Von Maghen

Before the Great War

Before the Great War would kick off it's important to understand where both sides were. For the Terrans it would form the Earth Coalition (E.C.) which would see countless nations unite under one banner. A banner that saw may countries join under it for religious reasons.

The Martians had left the Earth at an unknown time but the main reason was religion. The Martians are mainly atheists but there could have been non-Christian religions that also fled to Mars to escape religious oppression back on Earth.

It seems in the time that the Martians left that the relationship with Earth was peaceful. Neither side had come to blows with one another. That would all change on September 1^st, 1986.

The Great War

On July 13^th, 1986 Martian Foreign Minister Gustav Von Maghen was visiting Geneva when he was arrested. He was informed by the Earth Coalition Foreign Minister Enrich Souille that he was under arrest for crimes against Earth and God. Along with his arrest Gustav was also informed that the E.C. now recognized all of Mars as its exclusive property under its direct control.

On September 1^st, 1986 the first E.C. liberation force was sent to Mars. This was the beginning of the Great War.

This liberation force sent to Mars was woefully unprepared. Only a third of the soldiers were acclimated for the Martian gravity and their robots weren't equipped with the correct filters to combat the Martian dust. The Martians themselves were very prepared. They had custom fit-outs for their larger bots that would take advantage of Mars' weak gravity compared to Terrans' bots.

This liberation force would make little headway on Mars. That alongside an unforeseen logistical
mishaps, like seeing a shipment of enemy Rothchild robots dropped at the wrong coordinates. Those coordinates being the bottom of the Valles Marineris (a total accident if one is to believe Rothchild). The Martian command estimated that the liberation force would be defeated in eight months or less.

Mars did not sit idle after being invaded. They themselves would retaliate against Earth with their own invasion force.

The Earth Coalition Fractures

At an unspecified time the Earth Coalition fractured. The fracturing was caused by what is known as the martian-sympathizers. Countries that started to feel for the Martians plight and wondered why they were even fighting them to begin with.

These martian-sympathizers didn't directly alley themselves with the Martians but they did withdraw themselves from the war. This did not sit well with the countries left in the E.C. and in return the E.C. declared these sympathizers enemies. In turn the Earth would become a chaotic and brutal battleground with Terrans fighting against Terrans and Martians fighting against those not on their side.

It didn't help when N.O.M. came out from the shadows and dealt both sides a nasty blow.

The war as it stands now is a fight between N.O.M., Terrans, Martians, and their sympathizers. All the while Rothchild has been evicted from his moon base and licks his wounds in the Colombian jungle.

Ways of War

Terran Grunt

Terrans: The Terrans had no problem throwing meat into the machine and seeing what comes out the other side. Meaning the Terrans would stick a rifle in any fighting age males hand and tell them to go fight for God and country. Training was minimal to none for some of the fighting forces in the E.C. but the E.C. didn't mind with their drowning them in bodies doctrine. Some of the fighting forces of the E.C. did posses better training, equipment, and different methods of conducting war but the majority were ill-trained and ill-equipped. When it came to the bots the Terrans used them as supplementary units to the humans they fought alongside. Either embedding them within human units or having them fight in their own formations but backing up or by leading the way for the human soldiers. Another aspect of the Terrans is that they didn't have an issue using nuclear weapons to accomplish their objectives.

Slaughterhouse Dropcloth

Martians: The Martians were very different from the Terrans when it came to war. They didn't have the same numbers that the Terrans did so the majority of the front line fighting was done with robots instead of soldiers. The soldiers of Mars were very well trained and equipped compared to their Terran brethren. While the Martians didn't employ nuclear weaponry like the Terrans they did not find the use of terror tactics above them. Most evident with the Slaughterhouse units that were planted in secure territories and activate at night to kill anything they could get their meat cleavers on.