Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm planning to repaint all 4600pts of my Tyranid, going for a far simpler, and more effective colour scheme involving mostly washes (as they always should have been - beware new Kid players, the Leviathan scheme was invented to antagonise hobbyists).

For the painting I was planning on doing 50/50 shade + medium to get a nice clean finish. But, given how many models I have to paint, I was wondering how feasible it is to make a large batch of the mixture, basically pouring two Lahmian Medium Pots and one Agrax Earthshade pot into a larger receptacle, ready for successive paint jobs. Would this work, or would weird things happen if a mix was left over time?

Probably a stupid question, but just thought I'd check.

Check out Lukes APS on Youtube... he has some great tips for cheap Lahmian medium and make your own washes. Worth a shout if you have a huge number of models to get painted.

I appreciate the tip, as it looks like a good channel, but unfortunately none of the videos on washes goes to my question. One was on making Lahmian Medium, another on making washes with 99.9% alcohol, and another on painting with washes.

What I am asking, however, is whether, I can mix a large amount of medium with a large amount of shade, and have it sitting there for potentially months. Is it possible for it to stay usable over a large amount of time, or would it ruin it (and so waste a lot of medium and shade)? So, what I am really asking is whether I need to mix my medium + shade every time I sit down to paint, or can I mix is up and keep it in a jar or bottle (properly sealed, of course) for months?

I wouldn't bother wasting medium on washes. if you want thinner washes just mix with water and apply over a satin varnish.

I'd consider inks rather than shades. Shades already have much diluted pigmentation, and thinning this further with Glaze (lahmian) medium is going to mean you're painting multiple coats which is the last thing you'll need on Termagant #158.

If you go for ink and another brand of Glaze medium, you'll at least be able to thin the ink as thin as a wash if that's what you wish, but will also be able to make a much more pigmented fluid and get substantially more medium for your money than with GW.

Appreciate the advice, I'll definitely consider it.

As for why I'm going with what I'm going with, it's because I saw this beauty on Reddit, and fell in love:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/comments/9z6a7y/swarmlord_speedpaint/

So although I will do research on these other options, would it be possible to pre-mix the medium with the shade as would be needed for this paint job?

I think you'll have to experiment. If it was paint then I'd happily say go for it, as the medium is just paint without pigment in it, but the washes might have additives that cause strange effects.

My gut says it would be fine, but what might be fine on the palette may have weird interactions if left standing for weeks.

You should be fine combining the washes and the medium in a separate bottle. We already know that the pigment from a wash combines with the medium on a palate so as long as you shake it really well you'll be fine. I'd follow his recipe of 1:1 though. 2:1 medium will probably thin it too far.

Ah, I only said 2 Lahmian Mediums to one Agrax Earthshade as the shade is 2x the volume, so it would still be 1:1.

Thanks for all the advice from everyone. It seems the received wisdom is that it will not be a problem, but if it is I appreciate all of the alternatives listed.

Lamhian medium is not a wash thinner. You will loose surface tension, so it will be more like normal paint (pigments will stop flow into the reces). Forget about that.
Go to lidl, buy a bottle of W5 dishwasher rinse aid (the one in blue bottle). With this you can have as much wash as you want and in any colour you need, really helpful for everything.

There's an awful lot of people who are telling you what you should do rather than answering your question on this thread lol.

But as long as you store the paint in the same way that you look after all your other paints you shouldn't have any weird side effects, as long as the 'recepticle' you speak of seals and is airtight.

Sorry, the reason I said to check out Lukes APS is that he makes his own Lahmian and Washes, which you can use on your models no dramas. You can mix the wash up with no problems, but you may just want a little drop of flow aid in there to break the surface tension.

I see no reason why you couldn't mix them and keep them, it's just like any other wash really.

Searching for painting with just washes, I came across this https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/comments/9z6a7y/swarmlord_speedpaint/ which has inspired me to give it a go. The guy in the link did 3 washes of 50/50 Agrax to Lahmian and from the looks of it had no problems at all.