first figure

Don't know this kit in particular but check how the parts fit together to determine if you should paint first. If there are places your brush won't easily fit, paint forst. If everything is easily paintable, build first. However, unless this is a superbly crafted and engineered model, you'll have to do some repainting areas if you piant first.
And you thight there was going to be an easy answer!

LOL, yeah I was hoping for an easy answer, but I guess if this hobby was easy, it just wouldnt be cool.

QUOTE: Originally posted by caseyn5 LOL, yeah I was hoping for an easy answer, but I guess if this hobby was easy, it just wouldnt be cool.

Toy Biz Thor haven't build that one, most of their kits got trashed badly over here and are pretty much no longer available.

Be prepared for fitting problems (lots of clamps and rubber bands will help) and get a tube or 3 of putty for the kit. You will also need a WHITE primer to make the colours look good.
Also check the parts careful I had 3 of their Kits and all had missing or wrong parts, slightly worse than Polar Lights in quality control.

IME, most plastic figure kits may they be Aurora, Polar Lights, Toy Biz, etc have a list of problem areas, more than your average resin or Vinyl kit.

As was mentioned dry-fit the sub-assemblies and see what you can paint prior to assembly and what should be painted after.
Pose on the Thor(checked it on the Net) looks vary straightforward and I reckon you can assemble him in whole prior to painting.

BIG thing with Figure kits of any medium is surface preparation, seen too many kits that just feel wrong.

Here is a tip:
When you paint the Kit, at times hold it up to a mirror and check the reflection this way you can spot a lot of problems that are hard to see looking at the kit itself.
Strange but true.

Take care and work slowly, good masking skills are a must of the large scale figure modeler.

[edit]
Kit Review: http://www.modelman5.com/tbthorpics.htm
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Also, as you're working on him, if you have a digital camera, take pictures and look at them on your monitor. I've found any number of mistakes on my guys doing that.

Thanks for that tip MadModelfactory, I will definately use it when I get to the painting stage. Today i started my project, did a little cleaning up of the parts and what not. As you had said, there are problems with the fit of many of the parts. I definately will need my putty, I got a big box full of rubberbands that will come in handy also. I plan on using tamiya white surface primer, do you think that is a good choice or shoulld I go with an automotive primer, as I have seen that people use them on their figs. I'm sure I will have more questions as my project progresses, but thanks for all the input so far.

OMG another victim of ToyBiz !!!! LMAO I feel your pain , I am going back and forth with Wolverine , Suggestion put all the parts together before doing anything , your going to find that you'll have a massive amount of gaps , then comes the work , putty , sand and primer and thats just the begining hang in there and remember you can always put it away and return to it later .

QUOTE: Originally posted by caseyn5 I plan on using tamiya white surface primer, do you think that is a good choice or shoulld I go with an automotive primer, as I have seen that people use them on their figs.

Either one should be fine.

Personally, I use either Tamiya or Gunze primer both work equally well.
I am a bit leary of automotive primers as many tend to have a rougher grid, at times I use 2 coats of primer:
#500 followed by a #1000~#1200 grid to get a smooth finish to make skin look better, slight sanding in between.

Said that Anime Kits require a smoother surface than other figure kits.

thanks for the heads up SewerRat, so far I have glued together the main sub assemblies(torso, arms, and legs) and yes there are quite a few gaps that will need to be filled. What putty should I use?I have Tamiya basic type, but I think I may try to get some Milliput. any thoughts on Milliput or suggestions for something else?

Also thanks for that link MMF, that will definately help with color selection when I get there.