# Hands of Dorn- An Imperial Fists Successor



## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

So I am totally a glutton for punishment..... Those of you around the forums who know me, know that I have a problem with finishing projects. I get bored, distracted, and worst of all I get the painting blahs. Periods of time where I just don't want to sit in front of a model that I have already been looking at for weeks, or anything that looks similar to that model. In times like that I do dumb things to regain my motivation..... like start new projects. For quite some time I have had several pieces sitting around that I was going to use to make a Crimson Fists army as I have always been a fan of their fluff, but after my failed attempt at making a pure BA army (I got bored painting it after one test model) I decided that I wasn't going to make the same twice. So I sat down with my creative writing cap on and took a jaunt over to Bolter and Chainsword to use their SM painter program and I came up with a color scheme that I think will be really exciting for me to paint and some fluff that I really enjoy. So here they are, the Hands of Dorn.

Chapter name: Hands of Dorn

Founding: 26th Founding, M738

Progenitor: Imperial Fists

Chapter Motto and Demeanor: "Never give in, Never surrender"-- Like many of the sons of Rogal Dorn stubborness is an integral part of their genetics. Battle-Brothers of the Hands of Dorn do not yield ground, do not give up, and do not retreat in the face of the enemy. Unfortunately this causes them to loose more brothers on the fields of battle. However instead of causing the Brothers of the chapter to adopt different strategies, the fight all the fiercer, bringing their righteous fury to bear on their enemies to avenge the loss of their brethren. 

Gene-seed variances: The stubborness that the brothers of the Hands of Dorn display is a flaw in their geneseed akin to the level of the battle-brothers of the Blood Angels chapter. It is inherent in them and it is a drive that they cannont deny. All marines of the chapter will fight to the death to hold the enemy at bay, and their tenacity borders on near insanity. However as if to assist them in their endeavors, Space Marines of this chapter tend to grow several inches to a foot taller than members of other chapters and are greater in breadth and strength than is normal for the typical marine. To compensate their circulator system is able to ramp up in the moments before battle to give their enhanced bodies the strength to fuel their enlarged frames. It has been postulated that this genetic diversion has actually caused shorter lifespans than other chapter marines, but this has yet to be proved by any scientific evidence. 

System governance: The Hands of Dorn rule over a system of 7 planets, the Anerion system, each of which are recruitment worlds. The planet closest to Anerion's sun is the systems forgeworld. The next two worlds are death worlds, largely covered in dense jungles and tepid seas, and popluated by feudal tribes of humans. The Hands home world of Valneron is next. It is a fertile agriworld that is directly governed by the Hands themselves. Rich in every sense possible from resources to genetically pure populations, 50% of the chapter is recruited directly from Valneron. The next two worlds in the system, Arjack and Nemarack are also verdant agri-worlds, lightly populated in comparison to Valneron, but responsible for 70% of the systems resources and trade goods. The last planet of the system is a harsh Ice World. None the less some of the most able and fierce warriors of the chapter come from Beloch. 

Chapter appearance: Clad in power armor quarted in vibrant yellow and deep blue, the squads and companies of the Hands follow similar marking patterns to their parent chapter the Imperial Fists. 










Chapter Doctrine: Do to their high recruitment rates and larger casualty numbers the chapters scout company actually numbers close to 150 scouts, that are more rigorously trained than in other chapters. It has been in the annuals of the chapters history that in times of war the chapter will actually employ crusader squads, similar to that of their brothers in the Black Templars, though this has not happened in several millenia. 

Based on their seige warfare and static gunline form of combat doctrine, the Hands of Dorn rarely employ jump pack troops as the bring little to the power of a gunline. For fast attack and rapid insertion of forces the Hands rely on Landspeeders and bikes as their primary form of vangaurd teams. The Veteran companies consist of 40 terminators, 10 Assault terminators, 40 Sternguard Veterans, and 10 Vanguard veterans. It is obvious by the composition and make up of their armory that the Hands prefer long distance ranged warfare and to assist in this endeavor their 9th company consists of 12 Devastator squads instead of the codex approved 10. 

Barring these differences the Hands are a staunch supporter of the Codex Astartes and its tenets. 

So that is as far as I have gotten with the fluff, but I am pretty happy with it over all. I am looking for an army that plays completely differently than the BA successors I already have and I think that I have captured that in the fluff. Anyway since no project log should be started without photos, here is a very rough start to my test model for the Hands of dorn, 4th company, 1st squad.


















Comments and critiques are welcome, but keep in mind that this guy still needs a ton of work. I look forward to your thoughts and comments on the scheme, fluff, and paint.


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## ThoseKrazyKasrkin (Aug 2, 2011)

Looks great so far.
Nice name and stuff
Look foward to more


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## Todeswind (Mar 2, 2010)

I'm not in love with the paint job. Its a bit too dirty looking.


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## Daemon Prince Paintbox (Feb 21, 2011)

I'm sure you'll pull through on this one! Look forward to seeing this model when he's done.


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## Rems (Jun 20, 2011)

Well there's not much to comment on paint wise as you said, it's very early stages. That said it looks like an interesting way to paint yellow. Is that iyaden yellow under the wash?

I'd be tempted to shade with purple rather than brown on the yellow for two reasons. One, as a complimentary colour to yellow, purple shades it really well. Two it would tie the yellow in subtly with the blue, adding to the overall cohesion of the paint scheme, something i think will be important for a striking split scheme like that. 

On the fluff front they sound great. No hint of 'special snowflake' syndrome yet still distinct and personalised. 

I look forward to seeing more.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Todeswind said:


> I'm not in love with the paint job. Its a bit too dirty looking.


Well as I said in the OP this stage is just basecoat and a bit of a wash on the yellow that will mostly get covered over. 



Rems said:


> Well there's not much to comment on paint wise as you said, it's very early stages. That said it looks like an interesting way to paint yellow. Is that iyaden yellow under the wash?
> 
> I'd be tempted to shade with purple rather than brown on the yellow for two reasons. One, as a complimentary colour to yellow, purple shades it really well. Two it would tie the yellow in subtly with the blue, adding to the overall cohesion of the paint scheme, something i think will be important for a striking split scheme like that.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your comments and suggestions my man, I really appreciate it. Yes it is Iyanden under the wash and I wanted to go with a warm tone on the yellow for shading to contrast with the cool of the blue side. That being said I will keep your suggestion of shading with purple as a backup should what I have planned not work out. I am hoping to get another good session in on him tonight along with a commission that I am working on, so hopefully I will have more to show this evening.


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## Minizke1 (Feb 7, 2010)

As a fellow Fists successor player, I approve of this log, and will follow it until the end of time.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Minizke1 said:


> As a fellow Fists successor player, I approve of this log, and will follow it until the end of time.


Thanks a bunch mate!!! I appreciate the encouraging words!

I got quite a bit of work done on my test marine tonight. I am not sure why but the blue highlights look streaky in the photos, but on the model they do not. I am really happy with how vibrant the scheme is turning out to be, I think It will go well with my Angels of Mourning in big Apoc Games. 


















Comments as always are most welcome.


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## Rems (Jun 20, 2011)

Nordland in spaaaace!

All jokes aside he's looking great, and i'll trust you on the non streaky blue as in the pics it does indeed look streaky. The yellow looks good, nice and opaque. (Though i still reckon purple would shade better  ) That said you've found a method for yellow which works for you so why spoil it. Still, looking great. 

Have any plans on the chapter symbol?

Also that chapter motto is suspiciously reminiscent of the famous line from _The Last Starfighter_


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Rems said:


> Nordland in spaaaace!
> 
> All jokes aside he's looking great, and i'll trust you on the non streaky blue as in the pics it does indeed look streaky. The yellow looks good, nice and opaque. (Though i still reckon purple would shade better  ) That said you've found a method for yellow which works for you so why spoil it. Still, looking great.


Thankee much. I am quite pleased with how he looks sitting on the table here in front of me. 



Rems said:


> Have any plans on the chapter symbol?


It is going to be the iconic clutched fist, I think it is going to be in white, but I am sorta undecided and the color at the moment.



Rems said:


> Also that chapter motto is suspiciously reminiscent of the famous line from _The Last Starfighter_


Well balls, it is a Winston Churchill quote that I found appropriate, but the slogan from Galaxy Quest (not the Last Starfighter sorry to say) is quite laughable indeed. That may need to change.....


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## Flerden (Aug 17, 2008)

The second picture looks much better, I like the yellow so far. And it's a cool scheme.


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## Minizke1 (Feb 7, 2010)

Lovin' the color scheme, +rep, a meager amount, mind you, but something to keep you going.


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

Love it . I look forward to seeing the army expand.


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## louisshli (Aug 19, 2010)

Dude... How many plogs you got running concurrently on Heresy Online? I'm digging the test mini, in particular the blue. For the yellow I think it can be a bit cleaner in terms of the shades in the cracks between armor plates and edges. But since it's only a test mini it's fine. Keep it up!


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Flerden said:


> The second picture looks much better, I like the yellow so far. And it's a cool scheme.





Minizke1 said:


> Lovin' the color scheme, +rep, a meager amount, mind you, but something to keep you going.





Bane_of_Kings said:


> Love it . I look forward to seeing the army expand.


Thanks guys! I appreciate the kind and encouraging words!



louisshli said:


> Dude... How many plogs you got running concurrently on Heresy Online? I'm digging the test mini, in particular the blue. For the yellow I think it can be a bit cleaner in terms of the shades in the cracks between armor plates and edges. But since it's only a test mini it's fine. Keep it up!


hmmmmm.... Personal Plogs I think this will make 6....<sigh>... Unfinished Project King in name and action methinks. Thanks for the kind comments mate, always nice to have you stop by.

I got more work done on my test marine tonight. For the pose I am going for a Marine whose bolter has run dry and he has been forced to draw his BP to continue on in the fight. Green shoulder pad trim to represent 4th company, and the opposite shoulder will have the tactical arrow and squad number. Anyway here are the pictures:


























Comments and critiques are most welcome.


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## bunkertube (Sep 19, 2011)

Wow, the blue / yellow looks fantastic.

Following this eagerly.


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## Minizke1 (Feb 7, 2010)

There's nothing wrong with trying new things. Completion isn't important if you don't want to keep going. That being said, KEEP GOING!!!

Edit: oh my god 300th post. *single tear*


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## louisshli (Aug 19, 2010)

Looking way better now Midge. The blue & yellow is coming together nicely, and complements each other rather well. I like the green lenses you did on the eye and the pose is well executed.

I agree with Minizke1, keep it up! I want to see this progress to where you have at least a full tactical squad, along w/ some support units (tanks, vets, HQ, etc).

For the Emperor!!


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## zxyogi (Dec 7, 2009)

Very nice Midge,liking this colour scheme very much!!
Nice one,keep em coming!!
:wink:


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## Minizke1 (Feb 7, 2010)

louisshli said:


> For the Emperor!!


And for Dorn!


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Minizke1 said:


> There's nothing wrong with trying new things. Completion isn't important if you don't want to keep going. That being said, KEEP GOING!!!
> 
> Edit: oh my god 300th post. *single tear*





louisshli said:


> Looking way better now Midge. The blue & yellow is coming together nicely, and complements each other rather well. I like the green lenses you did on the eye and the pose is well executed.
> 
> I agree with Minizke1, keep it up! I want to see this progress to where you have at least a full tactical squad, along w/ some support units (tanks, vets, HQ, etc).
> 
> For the Emperor!!





zxyogi said:


> Very nice Midge,liking this colour scheme very much!!
> Nice one,keep em coming!!
> :wink:


Thanks for all the kind words and compliments fellas! I am pleased to report that he is complete! 


































Comments and critiques are most welcome. I am not sure when I will get to it in the painting schedule as I have some commissions and some dwarfs for the painting challenge to work on, but up next the block for this army is a standard multi-melta and DCCW Dreadnaught with some FW embelishments.


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## Rems (Jun 20, 2011)

Loving it Midge, very vibrant. An army of these guys would be very eye catching on the table. 

The green works well as a accent colour. May i suggest using it for the red wax seals aswell? (also interesting you're one of those guys who paints the waist band thing as a belt eh?)

Any thought as to whether you'd carry the same scheme across to the vehicles? Quartered schemes are notorious for looking very strange on vehicles.


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## Minizke1 (Feb 7, 2010)

Looks absolutely gorgeous. I love the base, but that's not to distract from how well the yellow is painted. Can't wait for mo- DID YOU SAY FORGE WORLD


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Thanks Rems! I will most likely carry the quartered scheme onto the vehicles, but I am not 100% sure. I will probably see what it looks like before I make a final decision.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Wow!!! Threadomancy go!!!!!

I felt that I needed a change of pace recently so I picked up a Dread for these guys and got to work. Here is where I am so far:


















I will be working on him sporadically over the next couple weeks so look for updates there.


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## Lethiathan (Nov 11, 2011)

Hmm. By any chance did you merge Crimson Fists and Imperial Fists to get the scheme? I personally love them!


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## Bane_of_Kings (Oct 28, 2009)

I'd completely forgotten that I'd ever commented on this thread. But anyhow, awesome models . Keep up the good work.


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## Death Shroud (Mar 1, 2008)

Very nice colour scheme and paint job. Background is good and suits the chapter well, Nice work!


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

Wow midge, i was not sold on the original test mini in its early stages but the end result was excellent. The dread looks great so far and i am sure it will be even better than the test mini. Don't let this thread languish. Whis is well worth doing. The results speak for themselves.


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## jaysen (Jul 7, 2011)

Midge, can you go over in detail your process for producing that ultra smooth yellow?


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

I love dreads. Keep it coming. This force needs more loving. Very nice yellow on the finished article.

As I said in another of your many threads, you are a painting machine. Keep it up.


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

Not sure why I didn't see this until just now. These are technically quite good. But blue and yellow quartered together looks way off to me--especially with the green company markings, which clash a lot with the blue and the yellow. The Index Astartes-style picture initially looked black to me-- a quartered yellow and black scheme would look VERY sharp on Imperial Fists successors-- have the sort of blend of Black Templar and Imperial Fists "recognizable" heraldry, and really play up the "we're the Emperor's knights" kind of image.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Lethiathan said:


> Hmm. By any chance did you merge Crimson Fists and Imperial Fists to get the scheme? I personally love them!


That is what I was going for. I love the color themes of the Crimson Fists and I love the yellow on the Imperial Fists, but I didn't want to do a straight army of either. 



Bane_of_Kings said:


> I'd completely forgotten that I'd ever commented on this thread. But anyhow, awesome models . Keep up the good work.


Thanks man! Glad you like. 



Death Shroud said:


> Very nice colour scheme and paint job. Background is good and suits the chapter well, Nice work!


Thanks Death Shroud! I still have a bit of work to do on the background and fluff, but at the moment I am far to busy to get any of it down on paper. I am hoping that things in RL will slow down a bit here in the near future, giving me a bit more time to get back to my writing. 



shaantitus said:


> Wow midge, i was not sold on the original test mini in its early stages but the end result was excellent. The dread looks great so far and i am sure it will be even better than the test mini. Don't let this thread languish. Whis is well worth doing. The results speak for themselves.


Thanks a bunch dude. It seems that I always take the round about way to get anywhere when it comes to painting and the initial stages always look off, even to me. But I am pleased with the final outcome and I am tweeking my recipe on the yellow a bit, as evidenced on the dread, and I am hoping that the change in steps will not only speed things up, but make for a more fluid seamless transition on the yellows.



jaysen said:


> Midge, can you go over in detail your process for producing that ultra smooth yellow?


For the yellow I do:

1)Basecoat of Iyanden Darksun over white primer
2)Heavy wash of Gryphonne Sepia
3)Work things back up to a 50:50 mix of Iyanden Darksun/Golden Yellow. The shaded wash should still be visible in the recesses and shadowed parts of the model. 
4) First highlight of pure Golden Yellow
5) Second highlight of pure Sunshine Yellow
6) Final stark highlight of 3:1 Sunshine Yellow/Bleached Bone

Hope that helps. I saw in your thread, or some other post you made, that you were considering doing some Lamenters to complement your BA. Let me know how things work out for you.



Khorne's Fist said:


> I love dreads. Keep it coming. This force needs more loving. Very nice yellow on the finished article.


Thanks man. I agree that they need more lovin', but then again so do all of my personal armies. I have become so busy with commission work, I only get random spare moments of time to work on my own stuff. Hopefully I will be able to work things in more frequently. 



Khorne's Fist said:


> As I said in another of your many threads, you are a painting machine. Keep it up.


Thanks for the encouragement! I really appreciate it. 



The Son of Horus said:


> Not sure why I didn't see this until just now. These are technically quite good. But blue and yellow quartered together looks way off to me--especially with the green company markings, which clash a lot with the blue and the yellow. The Index Astartes-style picture initially looked black to me-- a quartered yellow and black scheme would look VERY sharp on Imperial Fists successors-- have the sort of blend of Black Templar and Imperial Fists "recognizable" heraldry, and really play up the "we're the Emperor's knights" kind of image.


Thanks for your comments man. The color used in the Index Astartes picture is actually Necron Abyss which is the base color for my blue. I was thinking about trying to keep the blue darker on the dread, trying to get it closer to the darker color in the picture. I am pretty sold on the blue and yellow at this point, but now that I look at the pictures I agree that the green is a bit to jarring a contrast. Anyone have suggestions as to a different color to roll with to suggest company color? They are a pretty stringent codex following chapter, but company symbols, colors, and indicators are rather fluid even amongst staunch codex supporters. Things are early in the army progress and changing the company colors at this point would be easy. I am definitely all ears when it comes to suggestions. 

I will probably be knocking out some more work on him tomorrow night and maybe Monday night, but then I need to get back to commission stuff for a few nights. Stay tuned for updates.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

LOL, a quick glimps at the dread made me think you pulled off some sort of Difler conversion on the dread. It pays to pay closer attention! If it looks anything like your last Space Marine you did than I am sure it will look stunning!


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## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

You could try using just numbers instead of colors to denote company affiliation. My Lions Rampant have a similar issue with odd color combinations when it comes to company markings, and I've found that in their case, just displaying a number on one greave seems to work quite well. In my case, anything theoretically pairs well with white, but not everything pairs well with white trimmed in green-- for the Reserve Companies in particular, the number on the greave has been a far better solution than incorporating colors that clash with green like purple and cyan. 

Another option would be to mix a touch of blue into the green, and have an almost teal midtone for the company markings. That'd help blend it in a bit with the blue, but final edge highlights of a solid green would still make it pop visually as being a 4th Company model.


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## Skylifter (Aug 9, 2010)

Looking good. There are way too few yellow-blue SM heraldries out there.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Disciple_of_Ezekiel said:


> LOL, a quick glimps at the dread made me think you pulled off some sort of Difler conversion on the dread. It pays to pay closer attention! If it looks anything like your last Space Marine you did than I am sure it will look stunning!


Thanks bud! 




Skylifter said:


> Looking good. There are way too few yellow-blue SM heraldries out there.


Thanks!



The Son of Horus said:


> You could try using just numbers instead of colors to denote company affiliation. My Lions Rampant have a similar issue with odd color combinations when it comes to company markings, and I've found that in their case, just displaying a number on one greave seems to work quite well. In my case, anything theoretically pairs well with white, but not everything pairs well with white trimmed in green-- for the Reserve Companies in particular, the number on the greave has been a far better solution than incorporating colors that clash with green like purple and cyan.
> 
> Another option would be to mix a touch of blue into the green, and have an almost teal midtone for the company markings. That'd help blend it in a bit with the blue, but final edge highlights of a solid green would still make it pop visually as being a 4th Company model.


Hmmmm.... The more I look at it the more I am conflicted. I like the way that the company color on the shoulder trim breaks up the scheme and provides a bit of contrast, but I am also convinced that the green as is just is a bit much. I think that I will do up another test model for both a different tone of green for the shoulder trim and one with no color on the shoulder trim and the company indicated by a numeral on the knee. 

However that brings me to another query: I have seen, and in fact I have used, the numeral on the knee to represent squad number, such as in the photo below of some of my BA successor Marines:










Is this method also acceptable to represent company number?


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## Skylifter (Aug 9, 2010)

That is absolutely acceptable. The markings on marines don't necessarily need to be easily understandable to outsiders. Any marine will see the squad marking on the shoulder and realise the marking on the knee must then be company. No problems there, I think.


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## jaysen (Jul 7, 2011)

I'd be like, "Daggum that's a big freakin squad." Of course, I'd eventually figure it out, maybe. I like the green trim. Who says SM's need to be color coordinated? Also, there are tons of historical examples of blue and yellow heraldry.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

jaysen said:


> I'd be like, "Daggum that's a big freakin squad." Of course, I'd eventually figure it out, maybe. I like the green trim. Who says SM's need to be color coordinated? Also, there are tons of historical examples of blue and yellow heraldry.


I think to avoid any confusion I am going to go back and change the Roman Numerals on the shoulder, by the tactical squad arrow, to the Company number, then do the stylized arabic numeral on the knee for the Squad marking. I have already gone back and removed the green trim and I must say that I like it better without.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Double post.....BOOOOO!!! But get over it its my log. :biggrin:

Anyhow I got all the yellow armor done on the dread and I am planning on getting the blues done tomorrow. I will be putting photos up of my progress tomorrow. 

I have also painted over the green trim. I like it much better at the moment and I have decided that I am not going to do anything to indicate company markings. One of my inspirations for this Chapter was the stoic Crimson Fists and as such I will be follow their lead by not showing Company markings at all. I am going to leave the Roman Numeral Squad markings on the shoulder pads.


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## Melikor40k (Feb 7, 2011)

love the color scheme on these guys, great work


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

Melikor40k said:


> love the color scheme on these guys, great work


Thanks man!

So as promised here are some shots of the yellow on the Dread:


















I will be starting in on the blue tonight.


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## Arcticor (Mar 19, 2011)

I just looked through your project log. I love the way you do yellows, I'm totally stealing that. Its so bold and fitting for imperial fists (banana marines). +rep for the log, keep us updated.


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