I went in thread first, and yes I was cutting the orings. There's no chance of leakage since they are so tight
I have it 100% kit setup and it really doesn't feel right at all if I'm honest - even with the supplied 30wt oil it feel super over dampened. I think once I've put a proper setup on there (thanks to Lee for his help) it'll be nice.
The setup aside, the actually car is very nice indeed - superb quality which in all honesty I didn't expect, at least not this good.