"Fairly new to the hobby" and propjets are not a good mix. I have a friend who is not so new to the hobby who lost his almost new F-20 propjet due to pilot error. I don't think a .40 will be a good choice, it's going to be on the low side of the power requirements. Underpowered propjets are a stall/spin/crash waiting to happen.

Anyway, propjets are a wee bit past what would be considered a beginner's plane. The people who hang out in the "Extreme Speed Prop Planes" forum live and breathe this stuff, your question might be better posted there.