The biggest mistake you can make it to think that everything has to be perfect.

Building your first plane, be it ARF or kit, is plenty stressful ... it is an airplane right ?? ... and airplanes need to be perfect or they will fly like corkscrews, right ???
See line one above and chill out, its not going to be perfect and its not going to matter.
I know you don't believe it won't matter; but after a few more builds you will believe it.

Even though gluing the big pieces together is what you are scared of that is the easy part, all of that will have pictures and instructions (assuming that you get a top tier ARF, if you go bargain shopping at auction or the other direct from China importers then there may not be much in the form of instructions for anything).

Getting the pushrods installed so that the servos use 100% of the travel to achieve the desired control deflection is important, spending the extra time to understand mechanical advantage and to get this right is worth it.

Don't be in a hurry, you can do it once correctly and it will look nice, or you can tear it out two or three times and have it look like it has crashed and burned, its your choice.

Don't even mess around with 5-minute epoxy, 30-minute epoxy just works better and its pot life is plenty short anyway.
The 90% Isopropyl alcohol that you can get at Wal-Mart works fine for thinning and cleaning epoxy.
There are those that will carp on and on about it, but 90% alcohol works fine.
The only time you should be thinning epoxy anyway is to use it as a fuel proof coating, the rest of the time it needs to be used at full strength.

If you get stuck or need help ask for it, experienced in-person help is the best kind, pictures usually help here when asking a question.

One day I was flying with two friends. One had a well used U-Can-Do 60 with a OS 91 Surpass II engine. He was flying too close to the ground and crashed it. Tore the nose up. He stripped the plane and gave it to the other friend. This other friend rebuilt the U-Can-Do and used a OS 120AX on it. He flew it for 2 years with well over 100 flights and then sold it to another guy in town.

The plane originally came from one of Tower's scratch and dent sales where the wing ribs were crushed.

So this ARF has had a long unlikely life.

Good advice above but I do have an exception. Don't thin epoxy unless you need to. If you'll purchase some "Finishing Epoxy" and use it only to fuel proof firewalls and tank compartments you won't need to thin it. Regular 30 min. epoxy for joining plywood and where strength is needed.

Don't believe the times printed on a box or in an ad regarding how long it will take to assemble and be flying. Just take it a step at a time and just keep going until its done. The box may say 6 hours and it may take you 6 weeks - just don't rush.

There is more than one way to do things so if something doesn't seem right - STOP and think about what it is you are doing.

Use good tools and only buy one when you need it and get a good one - you'll probably need it again. This is more true with things like needle nose pliers, ball drivers, screw drivers, etc. Power tools don't need to be heavy or powerful. A good hand razor saw/miter box combo is worth it.

Spend your time getting the plane set up like you like it at the start. Get the engine you want and the radio you want. Its far better to spend the time up front than to constantly be redoing it later.

Search this site for a "build thread" on the model you select. The tips you'll pickup are invaluable not to mention some online friends.

If you don't find a "build thread"; start one. Again, the tips you'll pickup are invaluable...

I believe a .60 size trainer is easier to see and a .90 four-cycle nicer to listen to.

Plan on having fun,

and Happy New Year,

Clay

Clay, Good advice

When choosing an engine for your ARF, make sure the fuel inlet on the engines carburetor will line up with the output fitting of the fuel tank.

Some ARF's have the fuel tank located in such a position that some engines wont run correctly with, unless of course modifications are made and the tank is relocated.

As an example, I built ( ahem...assembled ) a .91 size pattern plane. Recommended engine was either 4 or 2 stroke. I chose to run the 2 stroke. The fuselage/tank installation was designed for a 4 stroke specifically! Major surgery was required to relocate the fuel tank to get it right!

Also, before you glue or epoxy anything, double check it, and then, just walk away. Do something else for ten minutes and then check it again. Now feel free to epoxy. I have found that if you don't get your mind of it, you over look mistakes. I don't know why, but its like having someone else check an important letter for you to make sure you caught the mistakes.

woo, its past my bedtime! I have to back to school monday