I feel like I’m in a much better place painting Abaddon now—let me explain.
Abaddon is described, time and again, as larger than a common Astartes. Dark whispers even speak of him as one of the clone-sons of Horus. I kept that in mind throughout—leaning into the myth, rather than just the man.
“I am not your son…” — Abaddon to Horus Reborn, Talon of Horus, ADB.
I’ve already managed to annoy a few people on Instagram by titling this miniature WARMASTER. Of course, in 40K he absolutely is—the Warmaster of Chaos, the heir of damnation. But here, in this depiction, he has no Drach’nyen, no Talon, and no cause.
I imagine this as Abaddon in flight from Terra. The traitors wouldn’t have simply vanished into the Eye at once; there must have been a fractured retreat through the Dark Empire. I see him leading a broken legion in those shadows, still wearing his father’s ghost like a chain around his neck. Directionless. Wrathful. Proud. Spiritually broken, long before he could ever conceive of the Long War.
Or perhaps he belongs later, in the Legion Wars—a pilgrim of the Eye, sharpening his blade for the next great slaughter. Is this the Abaddon who ends the Scouring, who slays Sigismund, who finally breaks free of the Hell behind reality?
The miniature itself is a work of art. Sculpted by the godlike Wilph at Diverging Realm (sadly no longer available), it became the perfect centrepiece for my true-scale Black Legion project. I scaled him to 112%—just enough to tower over an Indomitus Terminator and to feel like he could stand eye-to-eye with the old Angron sculpt.
The head is from Alexei Konev—again, no longer in production. It was originally intended for 54mm, but that’s the beauty of digital sculpts: you can resize them to your will. I experimented with versions at 30, 25, and 20% before settling on this one—I think it’s the 25% scale, though I didn’t note it down.
This minaiture is undergoing a masterclass treament with a full battery of tutorials revealing how I converted, painted and refined this miniature.
Whatever era you place him in—fleeing Terra, wandering the Eye, or standing on the cusp of becoming the Warmaster—we know where Abaddon’s path leads. That inevitability makes this miniature all the more satisfying to paint: not as a finished legend, but as a figure still caught between ruin and ascendancy.
Can’t wait to show you the one I’ve had commissioned sculpted.
See you at Cadia.
