I've never built a plank-on-frame hull, but I've done several plank-on-solid ones. On that basis I don't think you need a special tool to bend the planks. In a Model Shipways kit they'll be made of basswood, which is a nice, soft material that can be bent pretty easily. That particular ship has some rather sharp curves in the bow; in those cases you may have to soak the planks, or notch the insides of them. Or maybe apply a little heat; for that purpose the fat part of a soldering iron works well. But I don't see much point in spending the money on one of those purpose-built tools.
The library of ship modeling books is a little weird. Most of them fall into two categories: (a) the ones by experts, who are understandably interested in demonstrating the most sophisticated techniques; and (b) the ones intended for beginners. Most of the latter, unfortunately, were written by people who never got beyond beginner status themselves. (A widely-distributed one that I most emphatically do
not recommend is
Ship Modeling From Stem to Stern, by Milton Roth. The pictures of finished models in it are nice, but the amount of misinformation in it is disgraceful.)
Another problem is that many of the classic books on the subject are getting old now. The ones by C. Nepean Longridge, George Campbell, and Harold Underhill, for instance, were great in their day but make reference to all sorts of materials and techniques that are obsolete now. There's a real dearth of good, up-to-date ship modeling books for newcomers to the hobby.
I suggest you start out by taking a good look at the instruction book that comes with the kit. Model Shipways instructions are generally pretty good; you're likely to find all the information you need there. If you want to go a bit beyond that, an excellent place to start would be
How To Build First-Rate Ship Models From Kits, by Ben Lankford. He knows what he's talking about (I think he may have drawn the plans for the Virginia Sloop, as a matter of fact), and the book was published just a few years ago; the techniques, tools, and other products it describes are generally available. The book can be ordered from Model Expo (www.modelexpoonline.com), and it's quite reasonably priced.
You'll need some means of holding the hull firmly to your work surface. Several of the European model companies make fancy clamps that are designed for the purpose, but such things aren't necessary; in fact I question how sturdy they really are. The usual approach is to start the project by making a "building board" - a piece of plywood or other stable wood to which the hull timbers will be firmly but temporarily fastened as you make them. I suspect the kit instructions will have some good advice on how to make a building board. You want it to be firmly fastened to your workbench, but you also want to be able to move it around, in order to work on the other side of the model. My approach probably would be either to screw the building board to the workbench with removable screws, or just hold it in place with c-clamps.
On the general subject of work spaces - you'll find it far, far easier to build a model like this if you can arrange some dedicated space for it, where the model and the associated tools, etc. can be left standing while you aren't working on it. A model airplane or even a modern warship model can be built quite successfully on a kitchen table, and everything can be shoved out of the way when the family needs to eat. Good sailing ship models have been built that way, but life will be much easier for all concerned if you can get hold of some space in a basement or a garage. You'll be working on the model for several months, at least, and clearing everything away after every work session will be a major hassle.