Paint your figures all flat black first, this way if you miss a spot or two it will look like shadowing.  Then start with the lighter colors and end with the darker colors for the clothing and skin.  Always use flat colored paints.

I've finally added as much plaster cloth as I expect I'll need, and have moved on to priming the base before painting it.  Priming made it look unfamiliar, [ ... ]

A favorite animated film of mine is "The Man Who Planted Trees".  In it, a man spends a lifetime planting trees, and in different ways, affecting thousands [ ... ]

 This is Micro trains Line SD40-2 Santa Fe model which I customized with working ditch lights.