Gentlemen... THIS. ^^^^^^^^ THIS Right here, is a solid bit of advice, from a guy that knows what he's talking about.
I'll only chime in as a relative newb myself. That's the path that I took. Just yesterday, my last soft part arrived in the mail. I'm just about done with my Doopydoos E-11 build, and I've got only one more piece of electronics to order for my armor kit - which will finally arrive in May sometime (after being on a wait list since August).
Do your research, figure out which armor kit/maker is the right fit for you, get on the wait list and then start collecting accessories and knowledge. Before you know it, you'll be excited about the arrival of a big brown box, and you'll be ready to go as soon as you're done with your assembly.