The first color used here is the good ole standby basic color, "flat white." (a gloss white has the tendancy to quickly erode) You should use white unless you have some weird ass color scheme that only you want to use. At any rate, this process is important, especially for this type of model, where even with the primed surface, some colors still don't like to stick. In other words, this is a second layer of surfacer (but not quite.) This step is imperative for figure models because of the variety of colors used. The white not only allows for smoother painting, but it also doesn't get in the way of any lighter colors like yellow or pink (NOTE: in the pic, it's an airbrush, but you can use spray paint as well)
Aside from the normal, paint from light to dark, and painting in layers, another thing to keep in mind is the process of masking. Masking is a big *yes* if you want that professional looking model. In the case of this model, everything but the hair and the flesh is white. So when masking, you hide those white parts away with special modeler's tape, and just expose the portions you plan to paint. For very delicate designs, use a design knife to cut the patterns out of the mask. This makes it easier to airbrush or spray paint without the fear of leakage or over spraying an area
Putting down the main colors of the model make the entire process much easier. Keep in mind that the picture above is the product of repeating steps 11-13 a couple times each. The main color of this model was put on by an airbrush and the white showing is the flat white from step 10
