I have been looking on the r/c site for tips and techniques and couldn't find the kind of starting info I needed. Here is a site I found that gives instructions for airbrushing tank models. It seems like a good beginner guide.  

http://www.internetmodeler.com/scalemodels/painting/Airbrushing-Armor.php

I got some of my old 1/35 model tanks that I cleaned off and I am going to do my first experiments on them before doing full on the panther.

guy at flight craft told me princess auto has cheap/not bad ones

that's what I would like to do on a tiger

don't buy the crap at princess auto. Buy a lower cost badger like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Badger-350-2-Single-Action-Airbrush-Set-/172149924690?hash=item2814ef6352:g:NX0AAOSw9uFW-X8q
Start with a decent primer knowing that white primers brighten colors and dark primers darken colors. Now what I do is prime a light grey and run a black or smoke color around the panel edges I want to highlite. like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3vZZEwkjXQ
then I do light coats 10 minutes apart ( usually 4 or 5 but depends on color I choose )
then the brown/red and forest/dark green. I keep my pressure low at around 10 to 15 psi from my compressor and I  prefer a bunch of thin coats rather than heavies to prevent runs.
wash model to remove all fingerprints before priming.
everybody likes things their own way, get a piece of cardboard and practice before doing.
Tamiya is my choice of paint as well, great coverage and water washable

Thanks for the tips! I was originally going to use a white primer. That way I could say its a snow camo till I get going. ☺ Realizing it will lighten up the rest of the camo, I decided to go for a dark grey primer. I read about vallejo and have some ordered.

For my test run on my old models, low pressure works for me, I still have to work on the thickness of the paint 50/50 is a bit too thin.

The badger airbrush set looks the exact same, mostly, as the one I got at a surplus store for $12.

Got my airbrush on Amazon.ca for about $22, and it's wicked... perhaps I don't know any better but I really enjoy using it. 

Small electric compressor for about $100 works well, is quiet, and reliable.