Hey Cloud:
Welcome back. I got back into the hobby about 10 yrs ago. Started w/ 1/72 Luftwaffe then went over to 1/35 WW2 stuff.
The hobby has certainly changed since I was a kid. Great (I mean satisfying) kits that are terrific OOB are these for starters:
Skybow Dodge trucks (beep, command car, weapons carrier)
Tamiya King Tiger, Production Turm (new production version)
Tamiya Tiger I early production or Afrika Tiger
Tamiya Steyr 1500
Tamiya Cromwell
Tamiya Marder III (either version)
Tamiya M4, early prod Sherman
DML Panther A or D
DML Elefant or Ferdinand
DML T-34/85
All have high levels of precise engineering and are very accurate just OOB (of course, ALL of them have their tweaks for the super-detailer).
email me offline if you want more info: roy_chow@icoc.org
Also, check out this: www.missing-lynx.com
It's probably the premier AFV model site around.