Hi James,
I, myself, am working with an airbrush for the first time. I'm fortunate enough to have a friend at work who does A LOT of 2D airbrushing on paper and canvas who handed down to me a Badger 200. Between him and this forum, I've learned a lot pretty quickly. Five pieces of advice have been crucial to my relative success as a beginner, and I hope it will help you. 1.) Check out the article "ABCs of Airbrushing" available on this forum. It's packed with great, simple to understand information and lives up to its title. 2.) Practice, practice, practice. 3.) Before airbrushing your model, practice on a plastic milk jug. Sounds kinda silly, but I was surprised at how much more similar to a real model it felt to spray a milk jug rather than a box or other paper product. I spray that thing before every session to make sure I have my air pressure and spray width correct. 4.) Do a thorough cleaning of your airbrush regularly. 5.) When in doubt, ask. Especially use this forum. The guys (term used universally) in this forum know what they're talking about and are always ready to share their experiences with us rookies. They're great, and you'll appreciate them.
The only thing I would add personally is to urge you to relax. If you have any experience modeling, it won't be hard to transition to airbrushing. From the first airbrush pass you ever make on that first model, you will NEVER go back to spray cans again, no matter how much cleanup or maintenance you have to do. It really makes that much of a difference. Also, I don't have experiences with any other airbrushes, but I love my Badger 200. And if it really is only $37 at Bear Air, by all means, pass on the $20 E-Bay airbrushes and get what you really need. The Badger 200 is a hybrid between a single and dual action. Acts like a single, but you can adjust the spray like a dual. Great beginner brush.
Anyway... hope that helps. Just stay focused on the enjoyment part of our craft, and all the other stuff will fall into place. Good luck. Looking forward to seeing some of your work.
Dan in Virginia Beach