I built the Revell kit on commission, and a great reference was a book called "The Great Iron Ship". It includes the story of the riveter who was sealed in the hull, and whose bones were found when the ship was broken up. I have a bunch of other reference books I can recommend if anyone is interested.
Using "The Great Iron Ship", I built the Great Eastern in a unique configuration that if you were a real nut about the ship, you would know the exact day depicted. It has been years, but I remember it was after she had lost one of the cables for the second time, and on that occaision, and that occaision alone, was under sail only. The rig was described in her log, referenced in the book.
ERic