John,
As a novice, I would respectfully suggest that tackling a model of HMS Victory is a bit too ambitious really. Many people lacking modelling experience buy these kits but become discouraged at the complexity and give up. You could be looking at a two year project if all goes well depending on how much time you have available.
The general advice is to start with a less complex project to get an idea of what is involved with building a model of this type, then you can assess whether you are ready to take on board a much more substantial project such as Victory.
It might be worth looking at HMS Sherbourne from Jotika's Nelson's Navy range as an preliminary project which would familiarise you with the various techniques in building plank on bulkhead models: **LINK**
A previous editor of Model Boats magazine once commented to me that many Victories are started but few are finished as builders take on more than they can cope with. By starting with a simpler model you can assess your capacity to tackle something which is several orders of magnitude greater in complexity.
Hope this helps,
Colin