Avoid trumpeter until you've got 10 years of building kits under your belt. Why? It's not worth it. They charge an arm and a leg. The up-swing is they're usually WORTH it, once you have the skills and experience to appreciate it. However, if you're going to butcher a 1/24th 109, don't do one of the $200 new Trumpeter kits, do the old Airfix one that only costs $50.
As for Tamiya kits: I don't gravitate toward them. They cost more than other kits. Mind you, you have to find the right balance between low cost and adequate kit quality. (in other words don't go bargain basement or the kit will suck). I've had some fun times with old 50's Airfix kits, with 80s and 90s Monogram kits, with a couple old ("cheap") hasegaway kits. Academy is a nice line for low price, but they usually have questionable accuracy on some kits. They also are releasing vehicles in 72nd scale (I wish more would).
Basically go to the hobby shop of your choice, figure out what you want, then look at the brands, and if there's one brand (like Trumpeter) that's $50 over all the other manufacturers, skip it.
All in all it really depends on the aircraft. Company X might make an A-10 better than company Y, but company Y far surpasses X in quality with their P-51A kit.
