I love your formatting, now hurry up and make your armor so I can love it too!!!
JK, take your time (well, moderately take your time since you do have a deadline...), and if you mess up, no worries, things can be fixed or replaced.
I'm like 100% sure that you've probably read through everything I'm about to say from someone here on the forums in other threads. You seem extremely thorough, methodical, and like I said, I already love your formatting. But I'm going to say some things that I feel like everyone should hear, especially when it is directed specifically at them.
For your questions on Pepakura, I'm not sure if you've seen this scaling tutorial, but if not, you should check it out:
http://halogoddess.weebly.com/scale-your-armor-in-pepakura.html
Remember to give yourself room for padding for all your parts. They will have a thickness to them as you fill them with resin.
Ideally with helmets, you want to add 2" to the height of your head.
In the Pepakura Designer, there is a Measuring tool that allows you measure between two points so you can get your scale better, USE IT. It will definitely help in making sure that you get things the proper proportions. Lots of people have issues with the thighs whether they are too big (and just simply look too big) or they are too small and you can't wear them high enough.
Don't forget about your undersuit.
Girls have been kicking ass at making undersuits and those that have made them have been putting all the guys to shame.
I hope to see the same from you and I encourage you to focus on making one.
Keep in mind though, that you may want to consider adding additional padding to bulk yourself up a bit.
If you decide to fill your figure out in certain areas (like the shoulders and arms) make sure you keep this in mind, because if you do, but forget about it when trying to come up with a size for your biceps you will probably have some issues trying to get them to fit with one another.
This one has a H4 undersuit in it:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/40847-ChefBZD-s-foam-Master-Chief-WIP-(pic-heavy)
and this one also has an Undersuit in it (in fact, I think Brad started the H4 undersuit trend, and I think the source files are in the thread if you haven't already found them):
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/36909-H4-Chief-Scratch-Foam-Armor-Build
My #1 recommendation is to avoid starting with the helmet, especially if you are going with the Pepakura/Fiberglass method. Tackle an easier piece first. Helmets are extremely detailed. Forearms and hand plates are a great place to start.
A lot of people also tend to enjoy making boots, for boots, I recommend a hybrid approach, and if you'd like to read through Carpathia's thread (sorry, I know its long) he gives a lot of details about his boots having made both from fiberglass and from foam.
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php...k-VI-Armor-Master-Chief-Going-into-Cryostasis!
I don't know your background (but I'm sure its awesome... and I have a feeling it is engineering related based on your signature and the way you type
), but always remember, especially with your 1st build, it is okay to mess up the 1st time. Get some practice in and make some random things before trying to tackle and be a perfectionist for the build you want to do. I have to remind myself of this sometimes too.
If something seems too hard and daunting, just jump right in, do what you can before asking for help, and if you fail, learning how to fail is a lesson we need to learn.
I'm so OCD and anal about all my projects, that for this one, I've lost 28-lbs for my build which is still waiting on me to finish getting down to 10% bodyfat before I even start the build.
Good luck, feel free to ask questions, we are here to help and then praise you for your awesomeness once you start posting pics haha.
I'm sure you'll do great!!!
I've subscribed, so basically you have to do awesome now