| Hi Stan and a warm welcome to the forum. Nice to see you getting back into it and, like me a few years ago, coming to realise how much things have moved on!!
Acrylics tend to be faster drying and a thinner coat of paint so lend themselves very well to spraying. They do tend to be difficult to brush on though, especially wide areas so to get you back into things I would recommend enamels. If you want to match colours up there are plenty of comparrison charts but have a look at the new Airfix web site where they give the full range of Humbrol paints and thier equivilents. Some acrylics though are that bit better such as clear paints and metallic finishes so for many years i have used a combination of the two.
I would always recommend the correct manufacturers thinners and brush cleaners. Everyone will give you a list of cheaper alternative chemicals but at the end of the day the correct stuff was made for the job and quite simply does it better. You pay a bit more for it but how much is your model worth to you?
Have a good look around here and use the search facility. I posted a reply regarding undercoats not too long since and the Back to basics thread, linked on the left side of the main page might be usefull to read before you commit. There are also links to some colour charts somewhere so have a good look around and if you get stuck ask the question!!
Don't forget a few photo's of the build as well so we can all see what you are doing.
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“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days" | 
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