Up until this point in time I'd never spent as long painting a miniature as I did painting this guy. In recent times I'd become unhappy with how my miniatures were turning out, I'd see the more gritty and realistic styles used by other painters and couldn't help thinking that my miniatures looked a little cartoony and inferior in comparison. Once I got a little way into painting Abaddon I decided to try and make it the best thing I'd painted to date and that meant it needed to be much more visually interesting. It wasn't easy at first because I'd been painting the same way for ages but with a little help from the people at Oz Painters I was able to gradually push it in the direction I was wanting.

I'd heard from people that weathering a miniature actually reduced the painting time because the painting done before the weathering was applied could be much rougher and the weathering itself doesn't take that long. Unfortunately that wasn't my experience, I think it pushed the painting time up by over 50% (that and the battle damage). I'll probably be able to push that down in time because I was perhaps a little too careful and neat but in the end I think it was worth the effort. Painting the miniature in seven separate parts probably didn't help either though, the two trophy racks, the head, the body, the two hands and the base were all painted individually and then assembled and then touched up. I always thought this was the way to go but I'm not so sure any more, I now think a miniature should only be painted in separate parts if it's absolutely essential.

Anyhow I think this was one of those paint-jobs that marked a definite improvement in my overall painting so the time spent was definitely worth it.