Intheblue,
I might suggest looking at Sky Shark RC and take a look at their fantasy kit. There is good hardware included in the kit and a list on the website and in the manual for what you will need to supply. There is also another thread going on in this fourm that talks about it. I have one and the laser cutting is really good and the manual is also really good too.
As this is my first kit I have really enjoyed building it and it is a good learning experience.
John