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I just started painting a Warmachine mini and I laid down my first base coat, it is all streaky and blotchy, how long should I wait before my second base coat or should I be washing it and then moving onto a lighter shade of the base coat?

Until the first coat is dry.....?

Was that a trick question?

It would depend on what you are doing. If the paint is thin, you are going to want to put down multiple layers. On the plus side thin paint dries quickly and you will want to do multiple layers to make sure you get an even coat of paint so it isn't streaky or blotchy.

Did you clean and prime the mini before painting?

Yes I cleaned and primed the mini before I started painting it. I have been thinning my paint with the Vallejo Thinner.

If you're using Vallejo paint as well, try putting a small metal nut or a piece of metal sprue in the bottle so it will mix better when you shake it. Also try to ease your brush stroke pressure.

I've never used Vallejo thinner but I've used liquitex matte medium and if I didn't stir it up enough it would have an inconsistant consistancy which resulted it blotchy or non-adherant coats. Now i prefer just distilled water. It really shouldn't take that long to dry.

Also, if you handled the model a lot after priming then there can be skin oil on it the surface which can also make the paint misbehave.

I heard distilled water is awesome to use, I never tried it, I was at my FLGS and saw the Vallejo thinner and just picked it up. I might have to find empty eye dropper bottles and try distilled water. I am using a 75/ 25 mixture of paint and thinner. 75% paint and 25% thinner.