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I'm trying to take my painting game to the next level, and I'm getting some supplies for my birthday

I want to make sure the stuff I am getting is going to be good, since a lot of it is just generic "art supplies" and not specific to modeling. I was thinking of doing some watercolor washes, and was looking at this set to give me a variety of colors:

http://www.amazon.com/Reeves-Watercolor-Paint-Assorted-Color/dp/B00251CPIM/ref=pd_sbs_ac_9

to go with this I was thinking about a brush-on liquitex gloss varnish (is there a difference between the "professional gloss varnish" and the "gloss fluid medium and varnish"?), and then generic spray matte varnish from ace hardware to finish the model. Am I on the right track here? Should I look at modeling-specific varnish instead of generic artist kind? The paints seem kind of cheap, like "student grade", but I don't know if that will matter just for washes.

Thanks for the advice!

Do you mean watercolour, or water based. There is a major difference. Seriously I would avoid watercolour paints, as all it takes to destroy a paint job is one drip of water. However, water based acrylic paints are pretty much perfect for modelling use. I would advise sticking to one of the recognised brands. I use gw paints myself purely because that's what I learned to paint with.
When it comes to clear coating (varnishing) a mini, I'm afraid I cheat a little. I use a thinned down automotive lacquer as I am a qualified spray painter. It isn't cheap as the setup costs are high but it gets excellent results.

Textram wrote:
to go with this I was thinking about a brush-on liquitex gloss varnish (is there a difference between the "professional gloss varnish" and the "gloss fluid medium and varnish"?), and then generic spray matte varnish from ace hardware to finish the model.

There is really little point in applying a coat of gloss first. While some painters insist that the gloss is tougher, in actual practice with most modern varnishes there is so little different that all you're doing is adding one more step where you can potentially screw up the model with a bad batch of varnish.

if you really feel the need to varnish your models (I've never varnished my gaming models, and nearly 20 years of use hasn't hurt them perceptibly, aside from a little wear on some of the older metal models... if you're using decent quality acrylic paint there is little need, and it can really kill more subtle shading) then invest in a decent quality craft spray, and try it out on something unimportant first, as many varnishes change the colour of the paint. Cheaper hardware store sprays are likely to add a yellow tint to your paintjob.

Ok I think I did not communicate my idea clearly. I want to use the gloss varnish as a base for a watercolor WASH, not a base coat. I have read that the gloss varnish under the wash helps it flow into the recesses of the model better.