Dry brushing black.

Trust me on this and hold that brush!!

A little sanded graphite and some sand colored paint applied with your finger (with its natural oil) will pop

out that uniform like magic.......this method can be used on ALL colored uniforms.

Thanks guys this helps.

if there's anybody else with some ideas please post them, I'm still learning.

Unless there's a lot of texture, hair or fur, for example, you should try to layer on your highlights. Dry brushing often looks unnatural and some figure guys will not even consider looking at a figure that looks dry brushed.

Now, as to lightening, it depends. Add blues to get a cooler black, good for a minimally used black leatgher coat. Add flesh for a warmer black, cloth or worn leather.

I just did some black hair on a bust I',m painting.  I used Black gray for the base, added straight black over that, then did some mahogany (very dark) brown, dark and moderately dark brown, dark blue and finally just a hint of white on the highest layers to give the effect of a sheen.

I got a good effect using satin ,flat and gloss clears on a leather flight suit. Black is hard to do in any item. Dry brush is generally done in lighter colors so grey would be the usual.