What they said , but I wouldnt use Tamiya paints unless your airbrushing them.
I dont own an airbrush and hand brushing Tamiya paints is horrible if not impossible. I use citadel from Games workshop but Vallejo has a better model colour line .
Welcome to the Armor Forum and back into modeling!! Glad to have you here with us.
I don’t have a lot to add to what’s already been said. I’ve used every type of paint mentioned above. I find the Vallejo paints very hard to find, except for their aircraft colors. Artists oil paints are great for weathering washes and doing figures (I’ve been told…haven’t tried them on figures, yet!).
As for models…Tamiya not only has the best fit, they also have some of the, if not the, best instructions. Their assembly is normally easier than about anyone elses, also. Usually, there is not as much detail on a Tamiya kit as others, and they are coming out with very few new items. Be careful of their older kits. You can usually tell which ones they are because they are much cheeper than their newer kits. Their price is obviously another major factor.
Dragon has some terrific kits. No one is even coming a close second for the number of kits they are releasing. Their newest releases can be hard to find, for a while, though. They normally have more pieces than just about anyone else, and their newest kits have a bunch of “extra”, neat items. Like turned aluminum barrels, photo etched grills, metal tow cables, etc. (Which are normally more dificult to work with.) Also, most of their kits have independent (indy) link tracks. These can be fun or frustrating, depending on the kit and your outlook. On allied kits, they are a bear.
Academy has some really nice kits. Many include a full interior. They normally have some accuracy problems, especially with the interiors, but they have them. Hardly anyone else does. If you’re not into “counting the rivits” on the kit, they are more than sufficent.
Trumpeter does some good stuff. I don’t really like their plastic. I think it’s harder and more brittle than some of the other companies, but some modelers prefer that. Also, they usually have some pretty hefty mold parting lines to deal with. Again, that’s part of modeling to some modelers. Their accuracy is sometimes in doubt.
Tasca has a few outstanding pieces, but they are a little pricey!
The above pertains to 1/35 scale kits.
If you want 1/72nd, then Dragon, the newer Revell, and Trumpeter are the way to go. Dragon has, again, cornered the market on the number of new kits being released. Sometimes they can be a little difficult to build.
If you’re interested in 1/48th, Tamiya is releasing some new kits. They are supposed to be fantastic.
As mentioned above, when you get a line on a kit, ask here on the forum. The members will tell you it’s pros, cons and value.
As for zimmerit (you spelled it correctly), there are almost as many ways to do that as there are ways to build a model. I’d wait until you got a bit of experience with state of the art modeling before attempting it, if I were you.
Again, welcome to the forum. And another great modeling tool…a digital camera so you can post progress and completed pictures here on the forum. It’s really a lot of fun to put something out here for the other members to see.
Good luck