As one of the most die-hard SST players out there who actively tries to convert people however I can, I will sadly have to tell you to really think about it.
Personally, I'll keep playing the game even if I have to fly to England because the only other players left are mongoose employees. I love this game. It's what miniatures wargaming was always meant to be. MGP is now taking the final step into making it into a true wargame by making it all about the rules and the game. It is no longer going to both a hobby and wargame (as virtually every other miniatures game is). It is going to be a wargame first and a hobby second. If you want to paint, then sure, you can probably paint over the models, but SST was made for the hardcore tactical minded gamer like myself.
That being said, I would like to caution you for a couple reasons...
1) This game IS going through a transition, so it will be even MORE difficult to convert other players. If you don't know at least 1 other player or have someone to play with, I would say that it's probably best to wait until the update (when you'll be able to go from buying a box to playing the game in a matter of minutes)
2) There ARE going to be pre-painted models in the future, so if you really hate painting, waiting might be a good idea.
However, if you do have someone else to play with and don't mind painting yourself, then I'd say go for it. You'll never find a mini's game with better rules, and they're just going to get better and easier in the update.