“Throughout history, whenever the People have taken a stand against oppression, they have turned to Peoples Arms to provide them with the means to defend themselves and those they love from the forces of Capitalism and Imperialism. Who else could the People turn to, other than an arms manufacturer that is of the People, by the People, and for the People: Peoples Arms!”
Peoples Arms sales brochure, TN1920
Despite their hackneyed marketing campaign’s claims to the contrary, there has not been a Peoples Arms throughout history. The Terranovan arms manufacturer was founded in 1684 in Timmins as Unger Arms. When the Timmins Communist Party nationalized manufacturing in 1702, Unger Arms was expanded and set up as the official Timmins state armoury. Unger Arms was renamed Peoples Arms in a deniable, albeit deliberate attempt at brand name stealing from Paxton Arms.
Peoples Arms prospered over the cycles as a manufacturer of low-quality, mass-produced firearms, supplying the Timmins Peoples’ Militia as well as outlying Badlander homesteads. However, in 1851, as Timmins was integrated into the CNCS Protectorate System, a young weapons designer named Achmed Tukhachevsky came to prominence at Peoples Arms when the TA-1851 assault rifle was produced for TDF deployment.
Cheap to build, simple to use, and reliable, the TA-1851 was a hit with the Timmins part time militia (full time regional defence had by this point been taken over by the Northern Guard). Soldiers found the weapon slightly less accurate at longer ranges than earlier rifles, but the high rate of fire and the fact that the TA-51 required minimal cleaning won them over. A shortened carbine (the TAK), a sniper weapon (the TVD), and a squad support weapon (the TPK) all quickly followed. It soon became a source of prestige for Northern Guard infantrymen garrisoned in Timmins to possess a TA-51.
Had this been any other city-state, the story would end there. However, the Timmins Manufacturing Directorate, the governmental body which oversees all production in the infamous Timmins knock-off factories, saw an opportunity to produce yet another knock-off item for mass, worldwide distribution. The TA-51X (the X indicates export version) was thus assured the questionable status as yet another “Made in Timmins” item. This would also mark the first time a Timmins product was itself reproduced in a Timmins knock-off factory.
Since it first started coming off the knock-off assembly lines, the TA-51 has become a standard of rovers and small-time revolutionaries everywhere on Terranova. Though its reliability is questionable, when it works, the TA-51 works well. During the War of the Alliance, existing stockpiles of TA-51s were put to good use by partisan forces across the planet. Even certain irregular elements of the Peace River Army employed the TA series. This became a source of minor embarrassment to Paxton Arms, whose first post-war marketing campaign was ruined when some of the trideo and still footage used to glorify Paxton’s role in turning the tide against the CEF occasionally showcased a PRA member fielding a grimy TA-51.
Game Statistics:
All Peoples Arms TA-51-family weapons have the following perks:
Easy to Modify, Battle Rifle, HEP: Desert
The TVD Sniper rifle does not have Easy to Modify but does have the Sniper perk.
The TPK Squad Suppor Weapon may be altered to benefit from the Assault Weapon perk.
The TPK Squad Suppor Weapon may be altered to benefit from the Assault Weapon perk.
The X series of weapons made in the knock-off factories all have the same perks as their standard counterparts and also have the Made in Timmins flaw.
Performance:
TA-51 7mm Assault Rifle:
TA-51 7mm Assault Rifle:
(TA-51 base model)
(shown with red-dot sight and under-barrel grenade launcher)
| Mass | Cost | Magazine | Range | Damage | Accuracy | ROF |
| 4.3 | 30, box | 50 | 25 | 0 | 1 |
TAK 7mm Assault Carbine:
(base model shown with standard folding stock)
| Mass | Cost | Magazine | Range | Damage | Accuracy | ROF |
| 2.7 | 30, box | 18 | 23 | 0 | 1 |
TVD 7mm Sniper Rifle:
(base model shown with standard bipod)
(shown with optical scope, standard bipod, and matching mass-produced sound suppressor)
| Mass | Cost | Magazine | Range | Damage | Accuracy | ROF |
| 4.31 | 10, box | 50 | 27 | 0 | 0 |
TPK 7mm Squad Support Weapon:
(base model shown with standard bipod)
(shown in sustained-fire configuration with with red-dot sight, 75 round drum, and standard bipod)
(shown in assault configuration with red-dot sight, 30 round box magazine, and foregrip)
| Mass | Cost | Magazine | Range | Damage | Accuracy | ROF |
| 4.76 | 30, box or 75, drum | 50 | 26 | 0 | 2 |
