Future Salamander looking for knowledge and inspiration.

I'm completely new to the hobby and haven't even bought or painted a mini yet. Got interested from SM1/SM2, watched quite a few lore videos, picked up Tacticus (mobile game), and now am wanting to dip my toes into the tabletop side of 40K. My brother-in-law saw that I was interested in playing and walked me through the basics of how the game is played, but I still have a ways to go before I feel comfortable playing with strangers. He also purchased a Salamander army for me that one of his friends is currently painting, so I'm super excited to get my hands on them when they're done! All I really know about the army is that it's comprised of the space marine half of the Leviathan box set, and he is painting them as Salamanders.

On to the real part of the post. I'm playing around with New Recruit and seeing probably way more information than what I need to concern myself with right now. I guess I just have some questions that I'd like some more experienced Salamander players to answer (or anyone that wants to chime in lol).

  1. How do I know what weapons should be chosen for each unit that has multiple options? I know the data cards tell you what can and can't be used and in what quantities they can be used, but is there a standard weapon (melee and ranged) that works best with Salamanders besides the obvious (flamers and meltas)?

  2. How do I go about building an army for the Firestorm Assault Force? Is there a general consensus on what is best to bring, or is it more just personal preference? I think I threw together a list mainly based on the Salamander aesthetic, but I'd like to know if it's actually any good.

2a. What's the best way to post the army details for other people to critique?

  1. I've seen where people say that building Vulkan He'stan is a pain because he's a resin model? Is there a possibility of an updated model coming out in the near future, or is it just better to kitbash a plastic model for him?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but I think that's a good place to start. Thanks in advance for all of your advice!