Hi Dan
Personally I would go with the Align Trex 450. You can't beat them for the money and most importantly the spares are easily available.
I would always recommend buying a decent flight simulator before forking out your hard earned money on a model. You can then practice and crash as much as you like for free:)
Secondly get on the BMFA website and join a club near you that can offer advice, training.
I use this website as an invaluable source of information.
Heli skills and setup 101
Edit. As for a transmitter. I have always been a fan of Futaba but have now sold all my Futaba transmitters and moved all my models over to Spektrum/JR. The DX7 is great value for money and much more user friendly and great for helis
As for servos I would consider Hi tech HS65MG's very smooth, strong. Metal gears are a must, you'll strip plastic gears even with a small crash.
The Futaba 401 Gyro is perfect for a 450
Hope this helps