You want to go with a cardstock. Pepakura is a design program which people have "unfolded" objects making them creatable. Kind of like reverse engineering. You can download the program/viewer for free, then printout the designs. Look at all the "sticky" posts in the top section of the Noob forum. They all have the answers you're looking for. A LOT of reading, I know, I'm having to do the same. Post up what you're looking to build, along with you "plan of attack" and I'm sure a lot of the folks here will be very helpful with the tips and tricks then.
