Welcome to the forum Nobby.
While I am not an expert on these kits, I can only reccomend you read some of the builds in all rooms to get an feel for the great ideas and tips many of our fellow boat builders give out as part of their build logs. We have some top notch builders and most if not all of us are enthusiastivcallly whittling all type of materials into boats and ships.
Don't be afraid to share your progress as there are no nit pickers or cliquey funny types here and you will get fair critique and lots of support.