Funny. You first say bigger is better with is very true then you say Apprentice S, which is small. (As opposed to tiny for something like the Champ.)
For depth perception problems I strongly recommend the RealFlight RC simulator. I certainly have never been able to get any real depth perception from it, just an idea of location from relative size. One of the models it has is the NexSTAR which is also excellent as a trainer and comes in both fuel and electric versions. Overcome the depth perception problems on the simulator and get some flight training as well. That makes transferrring to the real thing so much easier.