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I was toying with the idea of modelling a diorama of the IF Phalanx and was wondering if there was any literary references from which I could extract a design concept to be as lore-accurate as possible. If you can point me in the direction of any books, Black Library or otherwise, PDFs, websites or anything that could help me build at least a loose idea of what it's supposed to look like interior-wise and at most, a specific detailed description, that would be fantastic.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to read this in advance, much appreciated!

It's old, but you can't beat Space Marine by Ian Watson. Probably the best 40k novel ever written, which is a shame as it was one of the first but nevermind, and about a third is set on Phalanx.

AFAIK there is no detailed layout or description, not even in the Ian Watson novel, which gives more impressionistic descriptions. Yes we know there are firing ranges, armories, hangars etc... but those could just as well be any Imperial installation.

There is also two others:

Sons of Dorn - which gives a description of the main docking bay - there's a single primary bay which (internally!) docks rapid strike craft and small craft, and which is (obviously) huge.

It has a huge relic chapter banner hanging from the walls, which are changed to commemorate significant victories (the story follows a scout - during his entire tenure in the 10th, none of the battles fought by the chapter counted as 'significant'....), alongside one banner for each company (each about 16' square but small in comparison!).

The current one is Black-on-Yellow, with a motto of 'VII', 'Roma', and 'Sons of Dorn' (after the fist's first, unification-war era battle honour), and older transports with famous histories suspended from the ceiling or walls as trophies and monuments. The book also mentions duelling arenas (more elegant swordsmanship with combatants having their feet restrained in duelling blocks, not world eater/ork style "fighting pits")


Phalanx, from the Soul Drinkers series, is unsurprisingly set mostly on the Phalanx. Aside from prison cells, the three areas most mentioned in detail are an arboretum garden (directly or almost directly adjoining the trial hall), the hall where the trial takes place (a sort of open Grecian Amphitheatre able to hold a representatives of a dozen chapters at once, with an armourglass dome allowing a view of the stars), and - randomly given what you're talking about - a hall of dioramas, recreating famous battles fought by the fists, primarily from Rynns World - there is a Rynns World memorial - a stone amphitheatre with names of every crimson fist lost. The 'Forge of Ages' is essentially the armoury deck.

Externally....There is the cover artwork for Phalanx, but that is to me pretty clearly a Ramiles class star fortress. still, tt's possible the Phalanx is such an animal, just mobile. To my knowledge there isn't a detailed external description - although there may be one in the HH novel Flight of the Eisenstein somewhere.

The cover art:

Thanks everyone! This was incredibly helpful and now have a Black Library shopping list. Appreciate the input from all!!!!!

Counters Soul Drinks Phalanx would be your best bet.
Though Watsons SM did have the hall of pain or whatever it was called, loading bays and a chapel with Dorns skelly bones and both hands in it.
As the saying goes. Even a dead Fist keeps his hand in.