STARTING AN IRON HANDS ARMY IN 11TH EDITION: THE FLESH IS WEAK, THE PLASTIC IS ETERNAL
The Iron Hands believe the flesh is weak, and in 11th edition their cold machine logic makes them one of the most satisfying armies to build from nothing. This is the chapter for hobbyists who love engines more than heroes: black armour, bionic limbs, and more sanctioned machinery per square inch than any other Space Marine force. The painting scheme is gloriously forgiving — black plate, gunmetal bionics, a white or red accent — and it scales beautifully, looking as good on a single marine as it does on a battle tank. If your favourite part of any army has always been the Dreadnoughts and the vehicles, the sons of Ferrus Manus were built for you.
The first box
Start with the current Combat Patrol-style set for your infantry core — Intercessors and a leader are the reliable spine of any Marine starter — and use it to nail the scheme. Black armour lives or dies on edge highlighting: a steady grey line on the panel edges, drybrushed metal on every bionic, and the squad reads as grim and gleaming rather than flat. Convert enthusiastically. Every head swap to a helmeted or bionicked alternative, every replaced limb, pushes the squad further from generic Marine and closer to Medusa.
The second augmentation
Now the fun begins: Dreadnoughts. The Iron Hands venerate their interred ancients above all, so a Redemptor-pattern Dreadnought is less a purchase than a rite. Follow it with Iron Father Feirros, the chapter's signature character — a walking fusion of priest and engine, and one of the best character sculpts in the modern range. A squad, a Dreadnought and Feirros already reads unmistakably as Iron Hands, which is more identity than most chapters manage in twice the boxes.
Recommended: Redemptor Dreadnought
Recommended: Iron Father Feirros
Choosing your centrepiece
Armour, obviously — the question is only which. A Land Raider is the venerable choice, a rolling cathedral of guns that suits the chapter's reverence for old machines, while the largest current grav-tanks offer a more modern silhouette with a similarly commanding shelf presence. Alternatively, commit to the bit: a second and third Dreadnought, painted as a wall of ancients, is a centrepiece no single kit can match. There are worse fates than becoming the player whose entire army walks on iron legs.
Cold calculations for a new edition
Points and datasheets were refreshed for 11th edition, and starter sets rotate over time — so consult current points and current contents before finalising a list. The Iron Hands would approve: never trust data older than your last audit.
Purchases to defer
- A motor pool before a single tank is painted; the ancients judge unpainted armour harshly.
- Every Dreadnought pattern at once — the flesh is weak, but so is the wallet.
- Character bloat. Feirros runs this chapter; he does not require an entourage yet.
- Anything bought purely because it has a big gun. Fine, one thing bought because it has a big gun.
The audit of Medusa
No chapter would appreciate meticulous collection tracking more than the Iron Hands, so honour them: log every kit on arrival and record its state without sentiment — boxed, built, or finished. The unpainted pile is an inefficiency, and inefficiency is a flaw of the flesh; watching the finished column grow is the closest the hobby comes to machine satisfaction. When you want the complete catalogue of everything the chapter can field, from the newest recruit to the oldest interred ancient, see the Iron Hands faction page under Data. The flesh is weak. The backlog is weaker. Begin.