WW2 Minis

The miniatures and vehicles we use for WW2 are mainly ESCI, with a few Airfix packs. These minis are in the 1/72 scale- about 20-25 mms.
Painting them sounds hard- especially armies of 50-100 at a time! But it isn't, at least if you're like us: (not painting the shoelaces on each mini... ;-) ). It's more time consuming than hard, but if you're efficient and have the right tools- you will be alright. It's something like a mass production line- Start by giving each miniature a base coat in whatever color the uniform is- Basically it's:
Germans-dark green, Russians-brown-olive drab, US- Olive green, UK- Khaki. After you've given each miniature (in sets of maybe 20 at a time) a base coat and let them dry, paint the flesh with a small pointed brush (size 0).
Now it's only details- boots brown, straps- brown or green or whatever, etc... Just try to get color photos or some movie that you'll be able to see a soldier in full battle dress with equipment. When you've finished painting each soldier, give him a coat of white glue- that's for protecting the paint.
One important tip is also to hold the miniatures by its base with a clothespin- for stability and not getting your hands dirty.

Vehicles
Building tanks and trucks is just like building those model airplanes you had when you were a kid, only you'll want to put more effort in and be more careful. Just follow the instructions. Go to the section Product reviews to see which company is best.