Black wash on figures help...
 

I recently picked up a lot of tmnt 2012 series loose figures. I wanted to give them a nice look and highlight all the lines on the body. I've never messed with doing repaints or black washes before. If some one could give me a quick how to on this, I would really appreciate it. I've saw a couple of vids on YouTube, but they all use different techniques/ materials.

1. What paint or marker works best? where can I get them?
2. Will I need to coat them with sealer after I do the black wash?

Straight black washes will make your figures look dirty - you're better off using a darker shade of whatever the base colour is. For example, if you want to add shading to something that's green, use a darker tone, maybe with some brown mixed in.

You'll need to thoroughly scrub the figures in warm soapy water to get rid of any residual mould release left on there.

As for paint, always use acrylic, never enamel - enamel has a tendency to react with the plastic and will never fully cure (I've got figures that I painted with enamels 15 years ago that are still tacky to the touch). What brand is up to you - I swear by Citadel and Vallejo, but any decent quality paint will do.

It's worth giving the figure a spray with Matt acrylic sealer afterwards, especially if you plan on handling them. It'll protect the paint job and reduce the plasticy shine.

Thanks for the info...

and in case you don't know, washes are watered down. If you are totally new to this and don't know, washes are watered down. Like he said, acrylic is a must. You can't water down enamel either along with everything else already stated. For super fine cracks, you may even want to buy a Vallejo Wash b/c of water tension. It can sometimes be hard to get in tiny cracks. Sometimes I'll add alcohol to my wash break the water tension.

One thing that I sometimes do if I am desperate is I would use shoe polish to give it a wash and it works quiet well actually, you should try it. I might post pics and show you the results.

Thanks for the replies... I have been pretty busy and have had no time to try this or buy supplies for that matter. I'm assuming I can pick up all the supplies at Michael's?

Michael's, A.C. Moore, heck, the craft section of Walmart, etc. most places have this type of stuff. Especially the acrylic paint, you should really be able to find it pretty much anywhere.