Cleaning a seam along an aircraft wing and cleaning one along a tank hull are the same skill on different plastic. Painting a face is not. The six subject guides below start from the point where general technique runs out and the quirks of each branch of the hobby take over.
Aircraft
Aircraft are the classic British starting point, and the genre with the largest kit range from Airfix, Tamiya, Eduard and Hasegawa. The aircraft guide covers cockpits that are built before the fuselage closes, clear canopies and how to mask them, seams on wing roots, camouflage edges and the rigging of biplanes. It is the guide to read if the model you want has wings.
Armour
Tanks and other military vehicles reward patience with textures: cast steel, welded seams, tracks, stowage. The armour guide compares link-and-length tracks with rubber-band types, explains zimmerit coating on German vehicles, and covers crew figures and simple dioramas. Weathering plays a larger part here than in any other subject.
Ships
Ship modelling has its own scale rules and its own fiddly parts. The ships guide sets 1/700 against 1/350, compares waterline and full-hull builds, deals with photo-etch railings, rigging thread and how to finish a sea base. Expect long builds with many small steps.
Cars and motorcycles
A car model lives or dies on its paint. The cars guide works through body preparation, gloss coats, polishing, bare-metal foil and engine detail, and applies equally to motorcycles. The finish is the main event; the chassis and engine reward effort second.
Figures
Figure painting stands apart from the rest: no glue-and-seams stage worth speaking of, and almost everything depends on brush control. The figures guide explains 54 mm figures and busts, priming, faces, layering and glazing. A single figure can be a weekend project and still teach you more about paint than a month of vehicles.
Sci-fi
Science fiction, space and fantasy kits include licensed film subjects, robots, and the snap-together Gunpla kits from Bandai that need no paint at all. The sci-fi guide covers licensed kits, fitting LEDs, kitbashing and how to get the best from a snap kit with simple finishing steps.
What each subject asks for
Time and temperament differ more than skill. Aircraft ask for steady hands on clear parts and tidy masking. Armour asks for tolerance of repetition, since tracks and wheels come in dozens. Ships ask for eyesight and tweezers, and cars for a dust-free spray area and a long wait while lacquer cures. Figures ask for a good brush and a daylight lamp, while sci-fi kits ask mostly for imagination, because the subject is invented and nobody can tell you the paint is wrong.
If you are unsure, build one small kit of two different kinds and see which one you want to repeat. The choice usually makes itself by the second evening. A cheap kit from the bargain shelf is ideal for the trial, because nobody minds a ruined paint job on a twelve-part model, and a mistake made there costs nothing on the one you care about.
Choosing between them
Subject and scale are linked. Aircraft are usually 1/72, 1/48 or 1/32, armour 1/35 or 1/72, ships 1/700 or 1/350, cars 1/24, and figures are quoted in millimetres of height rather than as a fraction. The scales guide lays out the sums behind these figures, and it is worth reading before you buy a box because a model the size of a dinner plate is a very different commitment from one the size of a pencil case.
Do not choose by prestige. A tidy 1/72 Spitfire is a better model than an abandoned 1/350 battleship, and no club judge will think otherwise. Pick the thing you would stop and look at in a museum, since the build is long and a subject you like carries you through the dull stages of sanding and masking.
Some people stay with one subject for life, others hop. Either way, a club is useful: modellers who specialise know the pitfalls of their branch in detail. Find one near you through the club finder, and when a build is finished, the competitions guide explains how entries are judged.
Everything in these guides assumes the basics from the beginner’s guide: cut parts cleanly, dry-fit them, glue sparingly, prime before painting. Come back to it if a build goes wrong in the early stages, because most problems that show up in the paint began at the glue. When you are ready, open the aircraft guide and begin with the cockpit.