I’m a newbie, other newbies listen to me!

[Laggard]

Avoid my mistakes, get a good start on your keel and bulkheads.   I installed mine poorly and spent a lot of time making parts fit.  Because of that I had to use a lot of putty to make corrections and am not happy with how lumpy my hull is.  
 

Get a good start!!!

[BenD]

Ahh yes lumpy beginner hulls.  I almost wish I had some pictures of my first unfinished mess the Amati Adventure. That thing was just about as lumpy and misshapen as you could imagine.  I only got to about half way done the second planking before giving it the quits.  I didn't dare try another kit for 6-7 years.

 

I bought the kit without even thinking of looking for books or forums.  Just jumped right in and slapped it together like a plastic kit 😆.  Some of us just have to learn the hard way.

[Jaager]

5 hours ago, Laggard said:

am not happy with how lumpy my hull is.  

 

3 hours ago, BenD said:

Just jumped right in and slapped it together like a plastic kit 

Plastic model assembly is not really all that much help in preparation for the skills and tools used for building a wooden hull.  

A major advantage of a wood based model for a plastic one is that it is much easier to backup and redo - often with much better quality wood - if you so choose.   The plans that come with the kit should have the patterns  for the parts that have been poorly assembled.  Obtain plywood stock,  It can be AA quality and thicker than the kit supplied.  Scan the patterns - double check for any scanner distortion and adjust and cement to the new plywood, cut the replacement parts out and assemble using your hard learned experience.    Check the vendors here,  planking stock is available.  The species will be much more scale appropriate. 

[jayaero1]

for what it's worth, an old Body-Shop guy showed me years ago how to smooth bumpy or wavy surfaces on cars.   take a piece of radiator hose and wrap the sandpaper around it.   the hose is stiff enough to hit the high points of the surface, but flexible enough to follow the contour of the quarter-panel.   I've found the same applies to plastic models, and should also apply here as well.