For what it is worth, there is a gentleman in germany doing a great job on the 1/96 victory and seems to be on pace for completing it in about 6 months. This gentleman is working very quickly and possesses considerable skill in doing this project. Apart from painting, the work involved seems to be considerably more involved than a plastic kit. if one does everything OOB them my guess is that it will take at least twice as long to do the hull. Given the size of some of these kits, a hobby builder should not plan to exhibit a model of the Bellona for two to three years. By comparison, the given recommendation for the Heller Victory is about 2 years to complete as a hobby project, Revell big Constitution about a year.
The problem with the paper kits is that they do require a somewhat different skill set. Based on what I have seen, even the smallest of the Shipyard kits is maybe too much for a first time card modeler. The Bellona or Victory would be way too much to start with.
My plans are to start with some simple free download kits, I have a couple of air ships. Learn a bit about the medium. Try the smallest rigged ship I can find, small and simple, not small tiny intricate difficult. At this point I should know if I am up to the challenge of Bellona.