Painting a Dark Angels Predator

[Kaika87]

So I've come down to having only 4 models unpainted on my shelf that I intend to use in my 2000-point list. Two Deathwing terminators, my Chaplain, and....the Predator tank. And I'm hung up on the Predator. I'm mostly a novice painter, though I've started to dabble in some awesomeness, so I've only really tried three methods. I first took a small bit of the hull and tried painting straight DA green onto it...no. Didn't work so well. Lots of brush streaks, but I was ready for that and quickly washed it off. Taking some spare bits from my spray-painted black Ravenwing sprues, I gave an extra bike fender a coat of DA green as a test to see if spraying Chaos Black would make for a good base coat. No streaks this time, but it seemed too dark for my tastes. And with skull white I know of limited success. The chest emblems of all my Deathwing, which I sprayed a basecoat of white, always came out way too bright before I went back over with a second coat of green to get the shade I wanted, but again, no streaking was nice.

 

So I guess my question boils down to this, if you want to skip to here. What's the best shade to basecoat a Dark Angels Predator? And do you usually end up painting multiple coats, or do you get to the shade you want in one go? I've seen so many pictures of cleanly-painted DA green vehicles, I'd like to just at least get to that point, and worry about more advanced detailing later.

[Shadey]

I start with a chaos black and dark angels green mix but I tend to do my Dark Angels a little darker than most. Still putting in a little black for a base isn't bad as highlighting will bring it up a bit. Highlight it up to almost pure goblin green. You can do the highlighting with drybrushing. (However much paint you think you need to remove from the brush before doing this, remove a little more. We all know the basics of drybrushing but not everyone knows exactly how 'dry' you do have to make the brush.) It won't look as good as blending but it is easy to do.

 

Try watering your paint down more. Most people don't like to do this as it will mean extra coats (may need 3 or 4), so many people ignore this when told cause they couldn't be bothered and it shows. The result is worth it however It's possible to get a brush mark free job without spraying.

[puck]

I've heard good things about airbrush kits (never used them) but I'm assuming you're not looking to buy anything new to paint with. In general the motto I have is: "if it can be done in one coat do it in two" this really is the best way to get a nice even coat with no brush streaks. Honestly its pain in the butt to paint something that large not once but twice but hey you wouldn't be in this hobby if you weren't a little bit masochistic am I right?