RE: build from plans
Steve,
I went through a similar sequence. My 1st plane was a Kadet Senior ARF with an OS 46. I replaced it with another ARF (Avistar) so that I could continue flying quickly. At the same time I asked my LHS for a good 1st kit. The owner is an excellent builder himself. He recommended a SIG kit as the plans are excellent, the technical support is excellent and the wood stock supplied is very good. I chose a 4Star60 kit (but Ihad a Saito 91 sitting on the shelf). A 4Star40 kit might work well with your 46. It is exclusively laser cut which means that the fit of the parts will be excellent. If the kit has die cut parts (wing ribs) you will have to spend a lot of time cutting and trimming parts for accuracy. I just finished building a SIG LT-40. Very enjoyable build. I followed RCKen's "Pay It Forward LT-40 build".
Perhaps while selecting a model to build, search the "Kit Building" forum for a specific model and read the build threads. Some are pretty long but they will give you an excellent idea of the build process, problems encountered, solutions to address the problems, etc.
Good luck!
Btw, error towards ensuring that things are straight. And, don't be afraid of starting you own build thread so that the guys with mega experience can share their thoughts with you when you need 'em.