My suggestion, much like deputy dog is to start by downloading pepakura designer.
http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/
This will allow you to print and modify .pdo or pep files as many call them.
From there you print the pep.
Cut it out, cutting only the solid lines.
Score all of the dotted and dash-dotted lines. This will give you the best folds.
Fold everything out and line the numbers up (e.g. 64 to 64, 703 to 703, etc.), gluing the tabs as you go.
Once you finish gluing, you'll have your pep model.
To get to the real armor building, you have to build on the paper model.
You are going to want to coat all of the joints and seams of your pep in bondo fiberglass resin (the general brand consensus) which you can find at walmart. After coating all seams, be sure and get a nice solid coat of resin all over the rest of it. This is what gives you the stability to work off of.
Your next big test it to line the inside of the piece with fiberglass. Some recommend you use spray adhesive to adhere the fiberglass to the inside (You never glass the outside). Then you coat the fiberglass in... wait for it... even more fiberglass resin.
you should, by now, have a fairly sturdy piece of equipment there. You may notice it will look rough. That is where Bondo, Rondo, and Sanding come into play.
Bondo is an automotive body filler. It is used to patch up dents and holes in cars. You will use it to add the smooth curves on top of your piece. Simply coat the outside of your piece with Bondo and then get everything super smooth. Sand that, add more bondo, sand again, etc. etc. until you get the desired texture and look.
An alternative to using straight bondo is using what people call Rondo. Rondo is a simple 1:1 ratio of fiberglass resin and bondo. It will give your piece a smoother-to-begin-with appearance. This means less sanding. Some prefer it over straight Bondo, but from what I read it takes more practice and technique.
Once you have the shape, fell and overall look you want, you proceed to detail. Detailing usually involves a dremel tool and several reference pictures. You want to add in all of the details and bring out any bits that were lost in the Bondo/Rondo/Sanding stage.
Once you are PERFECTLY HAPPY with every part of your build, you move on to painting. Always be sure to start with a base coat of automotive primer. This will give you a great base coat to build any color on. Choos your colors, add your wear marks and battle scars, and you are well on to your way to the perfect armor.
Now if you need any more clarification, go to the tutorials (most people call em tuts). That is where I learned every bit of what's up there.
There are also a couple other options including cardboard armor, foam armor, and casting. You still have to have an original for casting. Let me know if there's much else you need.
