Thanks for the kind word Greg. I defer to Chris Pearson, and also our other wcha member R C Cross, when it comes to constructing models. They are certainly the experts when it comes to building and/or repairing, whereas I'm more of a collector. While I have done a small amount of repair work, and have built several model airplanes, my attempts at model canoe and ship building from kits remain to be finished. The few comments I would offer are in line with what has been said above. Do some 'homework' preparation first; resist that temptation to jump right in. I'm a poor example when it comes to instruction manuals, but have usually found that, had I taken the time to read first, I could have saved many errors and often some expensive and wasted effort.
I do know that models take time to build properly. Just because they are smaller does not mean that they take less time or effort. Most model builders will tell you that a well-made piece will take about 80% , if not an equal amount of time as a full-size canoe. Why? Because those small pieces take a lot of fiddling to get into place. It can be tedious and exacting work, which requires great dexterity and nimble fingers, not to mention steady hands. Be prepared to go slowly, and to set things aside if you become tired or frustrated. Stubbornly plowing ahead can wind up ruining good work already done.
Hopefully, one of these days, Chris can be persuaded to write that "how to" book he has been asked to author; it will be difficult to tear him away from his work bench, and his customers will lose out on some production, but the book would be of great assistance. Maybe we can convince him to write one chapter at a time, with photos, as he works his way through constructing his next model - i.e., build a bit, take photos and write about it; build a bit more, with photos and text, etc. R C has done a piece on his re-build and restoration of a very badly damaged antique Carleton display sample. That will make for some very interesting reading when published.
Good luck, Todd.