I started, like many others before me by taking a 2012 Leonardo figure and then repainting him in Donatello's colors. I tried to mimic the 1989 Donny's skin tone, but I wanted it to look more olive than brown. I started by removing the belly and belt using an exacto knife. I then sanded him down, taking extra time to sand the joints and fingers, to ensure the paint wouldn't chip. I used the exacto knife on the middle parts of the shoulder, arm, knee and leg joints to scratch them up good. I found that these parts were most likely to lose paint, so I took extra time to ensure there was a lot of surface area here.

After a quick wash with soap and water to remove any debris, I lightly painted the entire skin using an olive mix I created myself. I painted the bandanna, teeth and belly white, then painted his elbow and knee pads brown. I went with a tan color for the foot and wrist wraps and an off white for the hand bandages and ocra yellow for the belly. His shell was first painted a dark blue/green, then the raised portions were painted the lighter blue/green, which really looks nice after it's done. I also painted his sides and... crotch(?) the same light green, to make it look more like a shell. After these were all finalized with 2 coats of paint, I gave his skin another coat of olive. I do it this way to let the paint dry and settle into the scratched and sanded surfaces. If it does chip away at all, the olive color tends to remain, as opposed to the original green underneath. Always make sure you are applying just a little bit of paint to the joints, enough to coat them. If you blob it on, it'll get gunked up inside the figure and never dry correctly. Finally I painted his bandanna purple, which really pops due to the white base and then reattached the belly with super glue.

I don't like the plastic belts that come with the figures, and since this was a Donatello and not Leo, I made a custom belt out of strips of leather and a silver ring (all of this can be found in the jewelry section of an arts and crafts store like AC Moore or Michael's) the sewed the Xs on myself. I used the bo staff holder from the original Donatello, then colored it black with a Fabre Castle permanent marker. I prefer them over Sharpie, which tend to come out discolored and also smudge and run after awhile. The holder is attached to the belt strap and the belt to the figure with super glue.

I sanded the bo with a coarse sand paper, to give it a bit of a splintered look, then painted it white and afterwards brown. I think it looks a lot like real wood this way. I then used regular masking tape to wrap around the bo, and made sure it stuck with super glue. This is a great way to color the grips on all of the TMNT weapons, which are difficult to paint due to the waxy plastic used to create them.

After a little line work with a super fine permanent marker for the belly lines and teeth, I sealed him up with a colorless sealer, and Donny was done. I have the other 3 done as well, and I'll be adding them soon!