# The Quest for Abaddon



## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

So recently I entered... well Maverike Prime's 4th conversion challenge...I mean my challenge... but it wasn't.... Yeah bottom line: I entered this. As you can see I entered a converted Abaddon.









I wasn't displeased with it, but there is certainly room for improvement. So with that point in mind I'm embarking on a quest, a quest to update Abaddon! This is going to be a work log of my efforts, but due to time and money, updates are going to be somewhat in frequent I'm afraid. With that being said, I do want to encourage suggestions and feed back. So lets get this party going:









Here we have the present Abaddon model. By no means a bad model. Even considering it's 14+ year age, the model still stands well amongst the newer models released in recent years. But what kind of converter settles for 'well'? Still, there are certain features I think characterize the model and would needed in any model that is supposed to be representative of Abaddon. 

1) The Talon of Horus.
-Abaddon's trade mark. Rendered as claw with storm bolter. The fingers of the current model have become the basis for Chaos Lightning claws. 

2) Daemon Sword Drach'nyen
- A large sword containing the power of a bound Warp Entity. 

3) Terminator armor.

4) the Long hair. 
- When I originally did my Abaddon conversion I was going to have the hair unbound and flowing freely cause I mean lets face it, Abs is not going to stop in the middle of a fight to fix his hair. But when I planned it out I relised I was going to be sculpting hair over nearly 1/2 the front of the model. So I think the bound hair will be a necessity for an Abaddon model. 

Those are the key points that I think absolutely must be on any Abaddon model. 

With those points listed, here are my thoughts concerning them:

The Talon of Horus. Previously, the fingers have always been rendered as solid blades and only have a single joint. Previously that is until the Eye of Terror Codex came out. If you look at the cover image, you'll see Abaddon is shown crushing a planet/globe in the fingers of the talon.









Honestly, I think the Talon's claws should be articulated. With that thought in mind, I took the other lightning claw from the Chaos Lord box set, the one that I didn't use for the prior conversion and I managed to built this:








Considering it's a first attempt at an idea, I'm not displeased with it. but I know I can do better. For one thing, I want to make the joints smaller and more integrated to the fingers themselves. For another, I want to incorporate some minor mechanics into the claws. Piston arms along the back of the fingers perhaps.

The Daemon Sword on the current model I think looks somewhat cartoon-ish. On the conversion I used a Blood Crusher sword, and I think it worked pretty well. Though what I'm considering doing the next time is taking 3 swords and splicing the hilts together to give it a bit more barb with it's bit. 

That about wraps up my thoughts for the project right now. If I think of something else I'll post it. As I make head way on the project I'll post more. If you have any thoughts on this, I ask that you post them. Questions, comments, suggestions, all of 'em.


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## Vast (Oct 26, 2010)

The claw is very impressive, but I can't help but feel your plan for pistons would make it a little too... bulky?
Perhaps some thin twine down the center of the fingers to represent the wiring, similar to the picture? 

Regardless of that suggestion, both your conversions are very impressive.


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## Midge913 (Oct 21, 2010)

The second claw is excellent. Maybe if you use some really thin wire across the back like Vast suggested it would obtain the effect you are looking for with the piston like gubbins. Honestly I am very impressed with the original converted model. It is far better than the GW version which I have never thought does Abbadon justice. Keep up the good work! +rep.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

Okay, a bit of a so-so update in my work on a new Abadon model: The marks of Chaos. Abaddon is unique in the current Chaos Codex that he earned the patronage of all four of the major Chaos gods but actively serves none of them. This is shown by the combined benefits of all the Icons in game. Well I was thinking about it, and I started wondering how exactly this could be represented on the model itself.

Thus far I have come up with 2 ideas:

1) Use small icons attached to the model. A Talisman in the shape of the Tzeentch Icon, one of the Khorne Icons from the Berzerker Sprue. I'm sure there are other little details amongst the sprues, I just need to find them

Any suggestions for parts? or what to use in lieu of pre-made bits?

2) The Trophies. For a man to best a daemon, he must be at the zeneath of normal abilities for a man. What about mounting a head of a daemon from each of the four powers on the trophy rack on the top of his armor? Obviously it can't be Greater Deaemons due to size. But a Blood Letter, a Daemonette, Plague Bearer and Horr... well, the face of a horror maybe.



So with those ideas laid down, does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts on these?


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## Fallen (Oct 7, 2008)

i dont like the idea of the demon heads, perhaps something else; like skulls for khorne, flies/decay for nurgle, tzentch & slaanesh are blanks ATM, maybe a familiar (the naked demon comes to mind for slaanesh...) or you know, SM heads an ultra marine, a blood angel, a dark angel...and some purple marine for slaanesh.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

Fallen said:


> i dont like the idea of the demon heads, perhaps something else; like skulls for khorne, flies/decay for nurgle, tzentch & slaanesh are blanks ATM, maybe a familiar (the naked demon comes to mind for slaanesh...) or you know, SM heads an ultra marine, a blood angel, a dark angel...and some purple marine for slaanesh.


Not that I'm not planning to have trophies from the Space marine chapters, but how will they show the fact that Abbadon has obtained the favor of the Chaos Gods?


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## Azwraith (Apr 23, 2009)

im thinking if you make him look like he is in the act of walking.. you could have say the ground below him dying (nurgle) blood coming from his eyes.. (khorne) his hair changing colour (tzneetch) and maybe a woman on a chain for slaneesh.. or like a whip on his hilt or osmething.


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

Skulltakers sword is nice and big, but not overly spiky. That would make a god daemon sword.

I like your Idea about flowing hair, but, Why not make a helmeted abaddon? I mean, you could really go to town and make a seriously unique helmet.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

Orochi said:


> Skulltakers sword is nice and big, but not overly spiky. That would make a god daemon sword.
> 
> I like your Idea about flowing hair, but, Why not make a helmeted abaddon? I mean, you could really go to town and make a seriously unique helmet.


Mainly because it's Abaddon. Though I may do interchangeable heads, one helmeted, one bare headed.

That said, I had another thought. I'm getting closer to pegging down details for my prototype of an improved Abaddon model but I've recently come to a thought. More specifically a pose for the model.

if you look at the cover of the Eye of Terror book:









you see that Abaddon is crushing a globe/planet in his talon. I want to emulate that pose but with an space marine helmet. The metaphorical "I Destroy not only you, but your brothers" kind of pose, or rather the slightly more honorable version of " CURSE YOU!". So I'm going to model the talon as piercing into the helmet of a space marine. Now I noticed that the Sicarius model comes with a very ornate helmet that is obviously Ultra-smurf and I bloody near pass out from joygasm as I imagine having Abbadon's talons piercing the helmet with blood trickling out of the eye socket and dropping down Abaddon's arm. Now, here's my question:

Which chapter should the talon actually be crushing? I mean what Chapter has the most reason to hate, or be hated by Abaddon? I know The Blood Angles have a long standing fued over his previous campaigns, but the Imperial fists were actually there at the seige of Terra and helped to thwart Horus' attack. So what do you think? 

Ultra-smurf?
Yellow-sons?
or Twillite wannabes? 

Which chapter would be most fitting for Abaddon to have recently decapitated the leader of and is now holding the severed head/helmet up for all to look upon in horror and shock?


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

I would say the Imperial Fists, as they're the ones who tenaciously defended the Imperial Palace and even now, defend against the XIII Black Crusade at the Eye. It seems to me that they, more than any others, are the ones that Abaddon would hate.


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Perhaps one of the Astartes Praeses Chapters? The White Consuls are of Ultramarine stock?

The Blood Angels would be useful - perhaps a beheaded Sanguinary Guard/Sanguinor body under his foot and a deathmask in his palm to echo Horus versus Sanguinius?

Alternatively, instead of a loyalist, why not a Traitor one? There's a story I remember from the Storm of Chaos (Fantasy) where Archaon is attacking Middenheim, and suffers a defeat, and the force is lead by Haargroth, Archaon's lieutenant, and Chosen of Khorne. To keep the Khornate forces from going loco on his survivors, Archaon kills Haargroth, beheading him. 

That shows that he is even willing to kill his own side if it results in victory, and that his troops fear him more than there opponents.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

Vaz said:


> Alternatively, instead of a loyalist, why not a Traitor one? There's a story I remember from the Storm of Chaos (Fantasy) where Archaon is attacking Middenheim, and suffers a defeat, and the force is lead by Haargroth, Archaon's lieutenant, and Chosen of Khorne. To keep the Khornate forces from going loco on his survivors, Archaon kills Haargroth, beheading him.
> 
> That shows that he is even willing to kill his own side if it results in victory, and that his troops fear him more than there opponents.


I'm very heavily leaning toward having trophies of the other legions mounted on Abaddon's trophy rack.


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## Asamodai (Oct 19, 2008)

I'm going to vote for a Blood Angel helmet in the claw, a sort of mirroring of Horus' slaying Sanguinius.

Oh and rep for the original conversion.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

Asamodai said:


> I'm going to vote for a Blood Angel helmet in the claw, a sort of mirroring of Horus' slaying Sanguinius.
> 
> Oh and rep for the original conversion.


hmm, that would give me an excuse to buy a box of Saguinary guard. A death mask is decidedly Blood Angely.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

So I'm gearing up to build my first prototype of my new Abaddon model. As I draw closer to being ready, I'm making some choices based on some things I've read. Since this is Abaddon we're talking about, he needs to be on a suitably heroi... er... villianous base. So I was flipping through sites and I found Dragon Forge studios. They've got some nice scenic bases. For the prototype I'm thinking of using this "Lost Empires" base, they offer. I think the statue's face looks very Sister of Battle Saint's rendition look to it, like perhaps it was a statue of a saint that Abs has toppled and now stands over. I think it would carry a very nice "I stand on the rubble of what you believe in." kind of feel. Figure I can paint the points where Abaddon's feet are touching the statue with a burned look, as if his presence on the statue is burning it. 

But for the final build, I'm thinking of getting the Brother Artemis Inquisitor model and casting a broken part of it in plaster and making that the base. That way I can incorporate some definite Imperial iconography into the base.

As a follow up on my previous question, about what helmet Abs should be crushing in his claw, I'm going to use one of the Sanguinary Guard Helmets. Firstly because the SG are supposed to rock hard when it comes to Space Marines. But secondly because it will echo the act of Horus killing Sanguinius. using the jointed Talon I developed prior, I'm going to attempt to have Abs piercing the eye socket of the helmet. That way it's deliberate, concentrated effort and afront to the blood angels. A devoted "I destroy your best, even beyond defeat!" sort of insult. It's not enough to simply kill them, Abaddon will utterly crush and destroy his enemies.


So thoughts anyone?


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## Asamodai (Oct 19, 2008)

Sounds awesome to me.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

And so the Tyrant begins to take shape!

After several months of planning and discussing and contemplating and re-thinking I ordered a series of parts and kits I intended to use for my New Abaddon model. I am not finished by any stretch, but the model is begining to take shape and I though you all would like to see it as it stands now:









The base is from Dragon Forge's lost empire series while the cables on the torso are from the conversion bits they sell. 









Here we have the Daemon sword. Careful observers will be able to spot why it takes 2 blood crushers to make the sword.









I figure Abs is a man of action, not words. Deeds, not stories. He's not going to waste his time explaining why he should be in charge. You're going to know why he should be incharge and just to remind you, he carries some his more worth while trophies with him. Here is the battered and broken helmet of a World Eaters Champion that challenges Abaddon once before.









Let's face it: If there's one character in the game today that would be likely to show the helmet/trophy they acquired from killing a Legio Custodes member, it would be Abaddon. I'm looking for a Chaos Helmet plum to add to the helmet, but haven't found one yet. Really don't want to buy a full box just for that.


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

Looks great so far- Hope to more soon!


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

Okay, that's looking really promising. I still think he could about another millimetre of length to his torso, but this should be a very nice model when done


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Keep up the good work!


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

Well a bit of a major update here. I've been working on Abaddon a fair bit the last couple days.









That's an over all shot of the model thus far. here are some more detailed shots:









I completed the trophy rack by adding a Sorcerer-ish looking helmet, that's been properly beaten and broken of course which is mounted atop a Geanstealer's skull. IN the back is a Necron head mounted on top of a Dark Angle's helmet. For some added grotesqueness I attached a pair of tethered skulls to the back of each of the exhaust stacks of the back of the model.









I figure Abaddon would be a fairly decorated fighter and thus would carry signs of such decoration in the forms of talismans and icons. TO show this, I've attachs a couple hanging Icons on the armor. There's a Khorne icon hanging from his right knee while a Chaos undivided talisam adorns his left hip plate. 









Here are some shots of the converted Talon prior to attachment. I think it pretty well speaks for it's self.

Next step... the head. Oh this is going to be fun. 

I have to say, this project has been really challenging. Firstly because this is the first time I've put this much forethought and planning into a conversion. Seriously, about 85% of the work I had laid out before I purchased the parts. But secondly because of the level of detail I'm putting into the conversion. I mean I've done detailed conversions before, but something about this one is different. This isn't some random commander I decided to make a name and model for. This is Abaddon. Love him or loath him, everyone knows him. His model has been a staple of Chaos Marine Codexes for more then a decade. I've always felt a certain amount of trepidation about converting an established character and this was no exception. Thus far I have to say, I'm liking how this is turning out.

As always, comments and criticisms are welcomed and encouraged.


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

Absolutely incredible work, loving the SG helmet in his fist as well as the storylines behind each of the trophies upon his rack. This is turning out to be quite epic!


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

I've had a really great time on this project. I'm giving thought to expanding the project to include Lords of the Chaos Legions. So it'd be a series of 9 models, one from each of the traitor legions using the same concept of approach I used for Abaddon, planning out details before begining conversion and developing the idea behind the model in the planning stage. 

So I'd be building a Word Bearers Dark Apostle, an Iron Warriors War Smith, a World Eaters Lord, a Night Lords Terror Monger, a Thousand Sons Sorcerer lord, an Emporer's Children Perfected Lord, an Alpha Legion Commander, A Death Guards Plague Lord, and Abaddon the Despoiler (Not sure if I'll do a new model, or use the one I'm building now).


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

You have done a magnificent job so far. The attention to detail is most impressive. But as you said, it is the most recognisable character in the chaos stable. Got to say that you have done him justice so far. The talon is magnificent.


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## Maverike Prime (May 4, 2010)

*I present, Abaddon the Despoiler*

I present to you the scourge of the Galexy, the prodigal son of Horus the Warmaster, the Champion of Champion of Chaos, the Lord of the Black Legion, the Bane of the Imperium, the being who's name is a blight on a thousand world, The Leader of the Black Crusades...

Abaddon the Despoiler!​









There are a couple tiny areas I need to fix up with green stuff, but the project is 99% complete! I set out on this project with a personal drive, to update Abaddon to a form and size that A- Matches up with the newer models, B- is iconic and unmistakable, and C- Does the character justice. I feel the final product of this project has succeeded in meeting these goals.

I'm not stranger to doing conversions, but in the past I've had some trepidation about converting new versions of existing models. Will my conversion be recognizable as the character? Will it look as good? Will I get all the War gear on him he's supposed to have? When I set out to update Abaddon all of these questions were on my mind, and truthfuly the fact that it is Abaddon made the challenge all that much greater. 

I admit, a year ago I wouldn't have done this. There was just something about about rebuilding a model that's already been made that seemed.. I donno, arrogant. Like I'm saying the original model isn't good enough. Perhaps it was Tzeentch weaving it's magics about me that offered an opportunity for change. A while back I had begin hosting Conversion challenges. While each challenge was different, there was always the challenge of each that people seemed to enjoy immensely. 
Well life kinda came up and smacked me in the face for a bit and I was unable to actually host the 4th challenge in the series. 

Well, WarInHeaven decided to run the challenge in my place. As luck would have it, I managed to have about 6 days open up and was able to enter the challenge. Something about the challenge made updating an existing model just feel different for me. It didn't feel quit so... arrogant now. I entered a hastily converted Abaddon. While the initial conversion was decent, I knew I could do better. So now I was personally challenged. 

The result is what you see before you.

The single largest point of inspiration was the cover image of the Eye of Terror Codex:

















How'd I do?


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## LukeValantine (Dec 2, 2008)

at least 2.5 times better then the current abbaddon model (Thing is really starting to show its age.).


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## CosmicStorms (Jan 21, 2011)

That is an impressive model, clearly outshines the current Abaddon and I imagine it'll look even better painted.


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## Asamodai (Oct 19, 2008)

Agreed, rocks the 'proper' models socks off.


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

You need to do something about that loin cloth.

It looks 'stuck' on. And it's at a dodgy angle.

I'd suggest GS'ing your own to get some flow in it.


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## HorusReborn (Nov 19, 2008)

He looks like he's suffering from dwarfism.. pass a message from him, he's a **** and will be for eternity.. the current GW model states it too!! LOL all kidding aside, the torso does need to e extended at the mid section to fit with the rest of the scale. Nice work though man in all honesty. You did some great work, but I think some added effort to the mid section will really show off your modelling skills that you posess!


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## TattooedGreenMan (Nov 4, 2008)

Great conversion. + Rep from me.


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

+rep to you for a seriously sweet conversion


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