Another thought...
Pick up some of the Reaper Bones minis from a local game shop. They have quite a catalogue of figures in the bones lines and they're all under $5 a model. (Your standard character is going to be like $3 and I've seen some that are a buck) Find models you think you'll enjoy having - nothing sucks more than trying to slog through a model you dislike, or worrying that you're going to ruin a $100 limited edition resin model.
Start off cheap. There's no need for Windsor Newton 0000 brushes when you start. Sure, cheap brushes don't last as long, but expensive brushes don't last long if you don't know how to maintain them. Army Painter has a brush set that's relatively cheap that gets you a detail brush, a dry brush, and a standard sized (Like a size 2) brush. That should work perfectly to start off and you'll get those three brushes for the cost of one brush from Games Workshop.
Don't start with an airbrush. You need a compressor. You have to thin paints. You need gloves and a place that has ventilation. The airbrush has its place, but it's not at the novice level.
Give your models a wash. Some warm soapy water and an old toothbrush. The molds the models come out of have release agents and these can cause primer to not stick. Doesn't seem like a big issue with plastic minis, but on metals and resins, I soak in vinegar, then soak in simple green, scrub, warm soapy water, scrub, dry, then prime.
If you're just wanting models to paint, check out Ebay. You might find someone ditching their dwarf collection there. Even if it's painted, you can soak the models in simple green. A day or two and the paint will come right off with a tooth brush.
Space marines, knights, and monsters are good starting points. They are wearing helmets or have monstrous faces. The bulk of the work will be one color with details that you can then go pick out. If you start with some fancy lad or lady model, you'll spend all your time picking out different belts, buckles, ruffles, rings, coats, hair, faces, and hours later, you'll look at it and think, "That looks like butt." Whereas on a space marine, you plop down the main color of the armor, pick out the belt, eyes, gun or sword, and it'll look all right.
When you're spraying on primer or varnish, watch the humidity levels. If it's humid outside, your primer will go on chalky and if you varnish, there's a chance the varnish will fog up and turn that model you worked on milky white.
I haven't stepped foot in a GW store since they closed the battle bunker near me. However, they used to let people take a model and paint it in the shop.
GW has a line of "Start collecting" ranges. That's usually the only place you'll find GW models discounted outside of their board games. Due to Age of Sigmar and GW's need to copyright everything, they may be called Doo'warves or Du'woorvs or something now.
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