With the return of Darnath Lysander in appropriately hefty Terminator armour, and a brand new Imperial Fists Combat Patrol, the sons of Dorn are proving their mettle on battlefields across the world. Whenever these yellow Space Marines are mentioned, Warhammer Community logistician Darcy always likes to remind us he’s got a massive, gorgeously painted collection.
To mark the recent arrival of Lysander and chums, we thought we’d take the opportunity to show off his work.
Darcy: I’ve been collecting Imperial Fists on and off for almost 10 years now. I’ve dabbled in other armies, other game systems, and even other Space Marine Chapters, but eventually the Emperor’s praetorians always draw me back, and I get a lot of joy from adding new units to my army, each clad in brilliant yellow ceramite.
It all started when I needed to paint up the Loyalist side of a Betrayal at Calth boxed set.* The more I read about the Imperial Fists, the more I felt that this was the Chapter for me. Their mix of hard-headed bluntness, strategic thinking, and an amount of idealism that is perhaps unwarranted in the 41st Millennium earned them a near-permanent place on my hobby table. Of course, I made this decision before ever thinking about the realities of painting a whole army in yellow.
While there are now loads of ways to achieve a good yellow colour scheme on an army – Contrast paints have been a game changer here – this wasn’t always the case. I was lucky enough, however, to come across a yellow recipe that I enjoyed using and have stuck with over the years. It begins with a base coat of Zandri Dust spray, followed by a heavy, all-over drybrush of Morghast Bone, before pin washing** some Agrax Earthshade into the recesses and highlighting every edge I can reach with White Scar.
I then liberally shade a mixture of Nazdreg Yellow and Contrast Medium (at about a 1:6 ratio) across the entire miniature.*** Once this is dry, I reapply most of the White Scar edge highlights before applying another coat of the diluted Nazdreg Yellow. One final round of White Scar on the most prominent edges, followed by another shade, leaves a lovely, smooth, highlighted yellow finish, ready for all the detail work to start.
I finish things off by applying the heraldry of the Imperial Fists Fifth Company – black trim and detailing – to the chest eagles and shoulder pad edges. Leather pouches and purity seals are painted with warm colours, while I use colder colours for any power or plasma weapons. I base all my Imperial forces in a Mars-inspired basing style using cracked earth-effect Technical paints. I find applying a layer of Ardcoat before applying Martian Ironearth works wonders for the effect.
If I had to pick a favourite unit, I think it would be a hard choice between Bladeguard Veterans and Terminators. I love painting Bladeguard – the poses, the detailing, and the massively over the top shields make them one of my favourite ever kits. I had a lot of fun figuring out how to give their shields a marble effect, which I think really helps to sell their over-the-top grandeur. That said, I have an awful lot of nostalgic love for the classic Indomitus Terminator silhouette, and the 2023 refresh of the kit delivered everything I could have hoped for. Clean, crisp, and instantly recognisable, the entire unit is a joy to build and paint.
Now, as I look over my collection, I can see the tales it tells of how my power sword painting has improved (see if you can spot the early attempts), of the units I’ve bought for gaming reasons and those I couldn’t resist picking up to paint, of the units that have let me down on the battlefield and the others that always seem to pick up the slack. It all brings a smile to my face.
As for the future, I was recently given the chance to paint the new Darnath Lysander, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I can’t wait to add some more Terminators to stride into battle alongside him. Perhaps another tank as well, and one of those big Dreadnoughts with all the guns.
Some of you may be wondering why there are some Imperial Knights included in this article about an Imperial Fists army. Well, there are two main reasons for this. Firstly, this pair of Knights proudly wear the heraldry of the Imperial Fists and are often seen fighting alongside them as allies on the tabletop. Second, I asked the other members of the Warhammer Community team very nicely if they could be included, and they said yes.
Cheers, Darcy! The tips on painting yellow are especially appreciated, and a huge collection painted in a colour that’s often considered tricky is a real inspiration. On Monday, we also showed off brand new Assault Terminators and a Terminator Ancient. Is it a coincidence we last saw Darcy marching out of the Warhammer World store with armfuls of Nazdreg Yellow Contrast paint? We think not.
* A board game set during The Horus Heresy that was released in 2015, which contained the first ever plastic miniatures from the Age of Darkness.
** Short for “pinpoint wash”, this involves using a fine-tipped brush to get a darker colour into the very deepest recesses of a miniature to provide shading and definition. No pins needed!
*** In bygone days, Darcy used Lamenters Yellow glaze for this purpose. To this day, you need only mention this paint to get him all misty-eyed…
