Hello again R-man...
As noted - you're welcome to PM me with any specific questions as needed or tack on to my existing log - or start your own and I'll reply to yours...
I would echo others in saying the Heller Victory is one of the finest sailing ship boxes of plastic out there - although I'd say that the 1/96 Constitution measures up in it's own right. And it looks like you have built up a terrific collection of these larger scale models. I don't know where/how you'd be able to display them all... If you do manage to build them all I'm sure some friends and family will be beneficiaries of your largess.
Specifically regarding the Victory... I'd recommend that you thicken the gun ports at a minimum. My build log (among others) would certainly show examples of other ways to abuse the kit beyond that... It is all tied to your enthusiasm and patience. This kit has something north of 2,000 parts - I'll probably add another 1,000 with the various bits of styrene to be added before I'm done. Heck, in the many months I have invested so far, I have yet to glue together two kit provided pieces.
I am working from two kits which allows me to experiment on the backup kit before applying changes to the main build. If, gawd forbid, I screw something up I can fall back to a replacement from the other box. One of mine is an older version - acquired decades ago. The other I outbid a Belgian for on ebay three or four years ago. The newer versions seem to have some mold sink issues on the stern galleries and that can be solved various ways - probably casting a mold of the unaffected sections and replicating into the damaged area is very doable. Perhaps across all the kits you have, one of the boxes may have a good version. The instructions provided are, as you've probably already surmised, next to worthless with many errors and confusing diagrams. The placement of the support beams on the lower decks are shown in the wrong order, for example. No need to worry - the sheets are good for part number associations and otherwise are not really needed for the build. Many folks get a hold of the Anatomy of Nelson's ships and the AOTS Victory. Haines publications (of car repair manual fame) have recently put out a very comprehensive "owner's guide" book that includes much of the good stuff from other books (some no longer readily available).
Many people start these kits, few finish them. It may be best to follow Don's approach - nibble away at sections periodically with a few other projects interspersed. I have paused my Victory build to turn my attention to the Connie during the Bicentennial of the War of 1812. I may end up completing her hull with some temporary stub masts in an "Admiralty" model fashion and return to the Victory before coming back to rig both ships. This may give me enough variety and enable me to apply lessons learned from one model across to the other. I've always expected these builds to extend across years - not months.
A final recommendation is to join the Pete Coleman model forum indicated by Bondo... The guys on that forum are very focused on models like these and are enthusiastic experts in all aspects of ship modeling (with the occasional airplane or tractor model tossed in) - they'll be happy to provide insight and encourage you along the way. Their site already includes many fine build logs and some very detailed practicums directly related to building the Heller Victory.
Please make the plunge and start snipping, gluing, and painting. You'll have many folks encouraging you along the journey.