John I believe the Lindbergh Constellation can be a good kit for those learning to rig sailing ships.
Me:
I'll take the liberty to offer an opinion that differs from that of several Forum friends. I don't recommend the big Revell Constitution to newcomers. I really like the kit, but to do even a reasonable "out of the box" job on it takes a huge amount of time. I've never heard of anybody doing it in much less than a year. Newcomers improve fast; by the time you get to the mizzen mast you'll think the work you did on the foremast isn't good enough. That's one big reason why (as I learned firsthand when I was working my way through grad school in a hobby shop) so few of the big, plastic sailing ship kits ever get finished.
I've been preaching for years that the best way to get started in sailing ship modeling is with relatively small ships in relatively large scales. Unfortunately few such plastic kits are available at the moment. The Revell Golden Hind (one of my all-time favorites) isn't bad for that purpose. Neither is the old Revell yacht America - if you can find one. An excellent kit that is currently on the market is the Revell Viking ship - a beautiful representation of the real Gokstad ship. Another, if you aren't too bothered by the fact that it's based on now-outdated research, is the Revell Santa Maria.
Many years ago, Pyro made a series of really nice, basic ship kits that were, I think, just about ideal for newcomers: the revenue cutter Roger B. Taney (AKA "Independence War Schooner"), the fishing schooner Gertrude L. Thebaud (AKA "American Cup Racer"), and the revenue cutter Harriet Lane (AKA "Civil War Blockade Runner"). For a long time they were sold under the Lifelike label, and most recently by Lindberg. They can still be found on hobby shop shelves, at modelers' conventions, and on E-bay. Any of those kits, with the help of a good book or two, can be turned into a fine model of a handsome, important ship in a few weeks. In the process, the modeler will learn about the basics of sailing ship construction and rigging, develop the necessary skills - so his next model will be better. To my mind, that makes a lot more sense than shelling out a big wad on a big kit, starting it, getting discouraged at the amount of repetition, getting frustrated when cannon number 50 looks so much better than cannon number 1, and finally sticking the whole thing on a closet shelf to be forgotten about - and never trying a sailing ship again.
Those are personal opinions, with which anybody is, of course, free to disagree. But I will say that I've never known anybody to regret starting with one of those kits - and I know the vast majority of the big Constitution, Cutty Sark, Victory, and Soleil Royal kits I sold never got built.