I see you have a pondelino, have you had any problems derailing? I do, but have still to investigate why. It was noticed during its running in on an oval on the dinning table. I think it may have something to do with the tilting mechanism. I believe once tilted something may be fouling because once it returns on straights it jumps off the track on one bogie only.
Nice start on the layout. Lots of potential fun.
Painting the boards first is a good idea. It will help with planning out your scenics, seeing what will fit where and it helps to hide the wood when some scatters don't cover as you wish.
Regards,
Mark