User:Jonnybgoode44/sandbox:Army of Toy Soldiers

The Army of Toy Soldiers (also known as Toy Soldiers Unite, after the name of their website) is an online community originating in the United States but with members world-wide. It is currently registered as a not-for-profit organization in Great Britain. Originally, it was the fan club and street team of steampunk entertainer Doctor Steel, and played into the Dr. Steel fiction, in that it was allegedly a tool in his plan for global domination. Since Dr. Steel's retirement, it has continued as an organization dedicated to Steel's ideals, namely "building a Utopian Playland."

Structure
The Toy Soldier Army has three main regiments: Toy Soldiers, Nurses, and Toy Scouts. The Nurse and Scout regiments are reserved for those who are female or identify as female within the Army, whereas people of any gender can be in the Toy Soldier regiment. The Army is further divided into divisions based upon geographical location and on creative interests ("Special Ops").

The Army is currently led by the three head admins of the website, two residing in the US and one in the UK. There are no ranks — all Toy Soldiers are considered equal — although Toy Soldiers often give themselves fanciful "ranks" as part of the fun. However, Toy Soldiers who go "above and beyond" may be awarded the honorary title of "Yellow Jacket". Originally this title was given personally by Doctor Steel, but since Dr. Steel's retirement this award has been given out by the admins of the official website.



Uniforms
Toy Soldiers wear paramilitary "uniforms" with patches and color schemes, but are encouraged to design their own uniform so long as the required patches and colors are used. The basic color scheme for soldiers is black with yellow trim, although red trim may also be used sparingly. Nurses generally wear white nurse uniforms with red trim, although a brown military uniform with garrison cap is also worn (see inset image). Scouts wear beige tops and black skirts or slacks.

Operations
Toy Soldiers continue to promote Dr. Steel's philosophy, individually through "missions", while larger group events are known as "operations" or "invasions". Some Soldiers use their connections and access to the media for promotion, while others may choose to "propagandize" their school or workplace. Toy Soldiers have frequently done charity and volunteer work in uniform, such as starting local clothing or toy drives and even donating to drives such as Toys for Tots and Adopt a Highway. The Toy Soldiers have their own holiday, "Toy Soldier Day," which is observed every year on March 4 (a play on "march forth"), and simultaneous invasions of Disney theme parks worldwide take place on the nearest Saturday to this day.

Promotional material ("Propaganda")
Promotional material for the Toy Soldiers is referred to as "propaganda". The decision to use a term with such charged connotations was a deliberate satirical allusion to famous groups in the past who had plans for world domination, in order to spotlight or "hang a lampshade" on the tricks of mass manipulation. Some of the material was designed and created by Steel himself (such as the "propaganda posters", designed to resemble WWII propaganda posters), but Steel encouraged his fans to design their own propaganda as well.

Current activities
Since the announcement of Dr. Steel's retirement, the Army of Toy Soldiers have continued on as an organization dedicated to spreading the philosophy Dr. Steel presented, such as making fun the top priority and striving to achieve one's creative potential. The Dr. Steel "angry face" logo has been dropped, having been replaced with Steel's grinning robot head logo (see infobox, above).

The Army continues to "invade" comic and steampunk conventions and have had a regular fan table at San Diego Comic Con since 2008. Since 2010, the Toy Soldiers have participated yearly in the Doo Dah Parade in Pasadena, CA and have become "veteran crowd favorites." In 2012, several members of the UK division participated in Professor Elemental's music video, "I'm British."