Warhammer: Tilean Mercenary (+ New paint thinning technique!)

Before we get on to this post, I wanted to share a new technique I learned over at the Warhammer Fantasy Battle Reporter forum: Almost ALL experienced painters will tell you not to paint direct from the pot; you should put the paint on a palette of some sort and thin it with just a little bit of water. I've tried it, and I can never get the mix/ratio right- it's either too thin or not enough to make it worth my while (ie- still seems as thick as it was right out of the pot.) I also don't like putting paint on a palette where it will dry out faster, wasting paint. So I've been mostly using the paint straight from the pot.
Well, EagleX16 over at the aforementioned forum suggested this: Dip your brush in the paint, then dip the brush into some water. Don't necessarily submerge the brush in water, just kind of poke the surface of the water with it. And it works!! The paint is perfectly thinned and goes on well. Here, I've been flying an old twin engine transport of a thick-coated brush, and someone brings me a P-51 mustang and says, "try flying this."
"Oh shit, this is much better!"
You should notice a difference, especially if you're a straight-from-the-pot person. The paint will go on smoother, the brush will glide faster and the colors should be just as bright. Give it a try!


In the Warhammer world, for those not in the know, The Empire is a collection of (somewhat) unified provinces. When they go to war against a common enemy (or one another), they'll sometimes fill their ranks with crossbowmen from Tilea, a country that lies to the south of the Empire.
This is about the most standard uniform of the Tileans, red and yellow alternating.
I wanted to do this figure in these colors because red and yellow are commonly the most difficult to deal with in most painting ranges. But it just took some patience, the right basecoat colors (I chose a warm gray for the red and a darkish tan/orange for the yellow) and a couple extra layers to get some decent hues.

This figure is also one of the first EVER that I purchased when I decided to get into minis painting. In fact, I remember what exactly I bought that day at the brand new Games Workshop in Fairfax, Va.: A pack of 3 Reiksguard (yep, you got three fgures in a blister back then), a pack of 3 Tilean crossbowmen, and a pack of 3 greatswords. I still have all those figures.

This figure will be added to my mini museum of my random Warhammer figures. Maybe I should build a shelf ... Charlie!