First off, congrats on the big brown box!
I see you have a cat, they are very helpful during this process!
Jumping ahead to the gloves, the only thing that will stick to rubber gloves is silicone. So if you want Velcroâ„¢ on them you'll need to get the kind that's not got self-adhesive on it and then glue it onto the gloves with silicone. Then put the self-adhesive kind on the backs of the plates (which you already have) and you should be good to go.
MY recommendation is get a set of Karin's hand guards.
Now onto the armor... yes, be petrified.
You will probably pretty much ruin your first 2 or 3 sets completely. Don't worry. It's only money.
And I'm kidding.
You'll do great man!
Just dive in!
I wouldn't use the 'instructions' very much.
Ralph Hinkley actually had it good when he lost the instructions.
Use the FISD instead!
Read, search, search again, read again, and ask questions!
Looking forward to the build!