From an old Navy Chief Petty Officer to the MSgt. Greetings,
As a modler in 1/35 scale for armor and figures, 1/48th for WWII Navy and some USMC aircraft, I have to admit that over the past 40 some years I have finally come up with a solution for figure detailing and painting that is simple: practice...
So here goes.
1. I use Tamiya and DML WWII figures exclusively, no other manufacturers produce the high quality details that make or break a good military figure for the money. With that in mind, scrub the figure parts in warm soapy water with a green scouring pad and rinse, this removes all of the oils found in plastics.
2.) Airbrush or handbrush on a primer color, I use acrylic hobby paints which are the brand found in the craft sections of WalMart or Hobby Lobby, the colors all match military colors and after finding a color chart to help noticed very little difference in shades. Acrylic paint can be thinned with water, BLUE windshield wiper fluid or Isopropyl Alcohol, in any case use the thinner to mix about 50/50 when using an airbrush. Dry with a hand-held hairdryer set on LOW Heat. The paint will dry to a smooth finish, it's like a poor man's paint drying booth for Tanks and such.
3.) Paint the face colors first, using darker shades for the underlying details and then lighter shade for the skin which is most exposed, any shades from dark brown up to light tan and of course you use whatever shade is suitable. This can be done with paint brushes and the eyes I leave barely visible. In the case of tank crews, simply cover the eye area with the goggles if provided in the kit! I do.
4.) The primary way to detail paint is to attach all of the belt accessories and such to the body, include the helmet, etc. Attach as desired. Paint the separate parts first, then attach. After all the primary colors are painted on (the basic uniform colors) dry with the hair dryer thouroughly.
5.) Next, the fun part and the details come out. Mix flat black paint with water until fairly thin, apply to the entire figure and let the wash get into all of the parts of the uniform, belt, etc. and the face. Dry the entire model with the good old hair dryer again. Pick out a fairly flat semi-ridged paint brush and using a very small amount of the next-lightest color to the one used as the base color, apply the paint in fast stroke motion over an area to bring out the detail, say in the folds in a shirt pocket, this method is known as "dry-brushing" and after time you will get really good at it.
6.) The advantage of using Acrylic paint is the fact that if you make a mistake and we ALL do, the ease of covering it or washing it down with water is very good. Practice on some older figures that have not been painted yet and see.
The best of luck,
GMC John M. Staehle, USNR (Ret.)