Ronnie, for figure painting in general it's a better idea to get a basic set of colours to begin with and go from there; you can get plenty of advice on colour mixing here for whatever paint type(s) you choose to use. Once you have a starter palette although you can begin with mixes you read here or in books don't be afraid to begin messing around on the palette and see what you achieve with the paints you have, you can learn a lot that way and everyone needs to do this to see all the potential colours their palette can achieve.
Buying colours based on recommendations in a painting guide supplied with a kit is really more for modern uniform colours and vehicle/aircraft paint schemes, but even here a lot of modellers use their own mixtures and custom blends to suit the condition of the model, representing light and shade, and simple personal taste as well.
Einion
