Homemade Washes - Reaper Master Series Walnut Brown

For many years in my painting career (pre-2008 or so) I did not use store-purchased washes, for the simple reason that they were not available.  Back then you had to make your own.  Well, sometime in the early 2000s I stumbled upon a particular wash mixture that worked well for me for years: Reaper Master Series Walnut Brown.

This color is part of the Master Series Triad system: Shade, Base Color and Highlight.  The Triad system has served me well for 20 years.  In any case, this particular color, Walnut Brown, was my go to wash for years.  Once GW launched their own wash line I gradually moved away from making my own.  Whether this was a good or bad decision is up for debate (at least to me).

The mixture is simple: 10:1, paint to Distilled Water.  Mix and use.  These kinds of washes are not like GW or Army Painter.  They are runny and take practice to use (like any true wash).  But it works like a charm and gives an effect that I have never been able to find elsewhere.  I use it in a controlled fashion, never as a mass-wash slather on type thing; this is a scalpel, not an axe.  

all of these were washed in this mixture

...again, washed in this mixture.

This wash is not a universal tool.  However, it works great on small areas which might otherwise be clogged or obscured by thick store purchased products.  

These are not 15mm, but were done with my homemade washes about 15 years ago.  

Not bad for a painting bumkin back then.