Traditional Hotrod Flamejob

If you plan on making your own Masks and painting your self , a couple of tips :
Paint colors in order , lightest first, followed by next lightest , and then darkest , no matter how many colors are used .
Lay masking tape onto a piece of glass or mirror ,draw on flames with a sharpie (a pencil also works well) then cut out shapes and apply to model . you can have a lot of fun with this technique . remember flames have no definite pattern so you will probably end up with your own personal style .
Remember to wait a couple of days between colors(for drying) and any mistakes can usually be covered up with following darker colors
After gaining a little experience you might want to try flame masks using Bare Metal Foil
(this is something I have been experimenting with as of late with pretty good results so far)

I've been building cars for 11 years, and I still haven't gotten up that much nerve
There have been a few flame job how to's over the last couple of years in "Scale Auto" magazine, I'm sure back issues are available from them or maybe your local hobby shop carries old issues. Good luck and show pics when you're done!

Glenn

There are some flame decals available with certain kits, and as this being your first kit, I suggest you go this route.

The other way is to mask the flames using precut masks, stencils, or making your own, and then using a airbrush and a fine tip to do one color at a time.