I'm looking forward to your build thread. This was my first R/C kit, and a good flying plane. I highly recommend building it with ailerons (4 channel). As far as cutting parts goes, get a good exacto knife and supply of #11 blades. Single edge razor blades are also good. You need a very flat surface to build on, a hollow core interior door is cheap, lightweight and portable. You can stick pins into it, but using the above mentioned acoustic tile on top of it is great, the tile is easily replaceable when it gets boogered up as you cut, glue, etc. When you mark pieces from the plans, always cut on the outside edge of the line and then sand the pieces to fit as tightly as possible. The tighter the joint is, the stronger it is. The old woodworker's adage "measure twice-cut once" is all too true.

Make yourself some sanding blocks. Take a plain pine board, 1x3 works great, and cut it into several pieces about 6 inches long. Use spray adhesive to glue sandpaper to one wide side, allowing the paper to fold over onto the thin sides, and use a different grade of sandpaper on each one; I recommend 80 grit for the coarsest, then 100 or 120, and 150 or 180, and then one with 240 and one with 400 for very fine finishing. These sanding blocks are great for shaping and fine tuning pieces.

Another good tool to have is a metal straightedge. You can use it as a cutting guide and the blades won't damage it. A small carpenter's square is also handy.

Dry fit EVERYTHING to make sure they are correct before gluing, and read ahead several steps before you glue anything to make sure you're not going to "paint yourself into a corner". Above all, take your time, and enjoy the build.