I am relatively new and stick to assembly for the time being. The entry cost for painting is too high with the airbrush, compressor and colors.
That said, I am mildly too lazy to even assemble this much. But it's there.
You can always brush paint with Vallejo's model color lineup. I highly recommend them for their ease of use. Just thin them a bit so you don't get brush strokes. Alternatively you can paint with oil paints which dont leave any brush strokes but take a long ass time to dry so layering is going to be difficult. I know a few people who don't airbrush and their models come out pretty great.
If youre going to get an airbrush. I always recommend the harder and steenback ultra 2 in 1 to everyone. Its a super good airbrush for its value and comes with a 0.4mm nozzle and 0.2mm nozzle. I use it all the time, although I use my H&S infinity for finer work. For a compressor you should just make sure to get one with a tank. I have the Fengda FD-186 and I see a lot of other people recommend this one as well.
That MBT does look super gnarly though. I havent build a kit from zvezda yet, I should definitely check them out.