Guys thank you so much for your advice, lots of really useful information there.
In terms of tools, as chance would have it I do have some halfords red primer in the garage, tweezers and masking tape, other paint brushes (and a craft knife....somewhere)
Luckily I have a model shop in town (and a halfords) fairly nearby so anything else I need i.e craft accessories, extra paints etc I should be able to locate fairly easily.
I did in-fact go for the 1:400 Revell 100th Anniversary one and it should be arriving within the next 2 days.
If more paints are required (which I am fairly sure they will be) then no problem. I guess that's the penalty of being a newbie
I did wonder about how to treat those 'nubs of plastic' that are left attached to the part after cutting it away from the sprues. Craft knife/sanding sticks seem like the best approach
Very good point about buying a smaller model though, even of a different model altogether, just to nail down the basics and 'see how it all fits together' as you said.
All the photo's I have seen of this model look very impressive and If I can get it looking anywhere near those I will be happy.
No doubt i'll have some other questions along the way and may even start a new thread as you suggested but anyhow I'll keep you all updated on my progress.
Thanks Again,
Chris