I have a lot of Chippy hours, a few in the 526. They are quite different aircraft, the Chippy was designed as a military trainer, the Zlin as an an aerobatic mount. Personally, the Chippy has nicer handling, the Zlin is much more capable for aerobatics with much more powerful controls.
As for training for the mini Spitfire, I would think the Chippy would be better, particularly for getting the landing correct. It's exhibits true taildragger charachteristics, whereas the Zlin has to be almost flown on with a flatter attitude - the controls are still very effective down to landing speed.