Basic material questions..

hello...
I am looking to begin replacing my armor that I purchased a few years ago and that is now in various states of dis-repair.
I have some questions that are probably going to be basic, but I just don't know...

The pieces of armor/helmets etc... I have seen around come in all sorts of different materials, but I am not sure what the differences really are... are they just personal preferences? is one stronger than the other? better for modding? painting? longer lasting?

So what is the main differences with stuff like abs, sintra, other plastics, fiberglass, resin, etc.....?

Is there any special equipment or knowledge I would need to scratch build or modify an existing one?

Most people who scratch build the armour plates use sintra becouse its easy to work with and acheives desierd efect simply by heating and pressing a positive of a mold form in to the peice you can also just use a heat and bend method tho results are not as desierable for people who produce armour to sell tend to go for fiberglass i wont go in to the methods used to produce armour using this product some people go the even easyer way out and use plastis trash cans that have a curve already to use just place template in chosen positoin and cut some also go for the metal armour witch is quite a dificult substaight to use for a novice and not advise able unless you consider your self up to the task , as for the gauntlets for best results unless your skill level is quite resonable paying for them is the way to go they can cost from any thing from 80 dollars for the budget ebay fiber glass main and resin grebles tho they not screen acurate can still look ok if finished right all the wayto 450 for a top of the line gell coat fiber glass with metal greebles , how ever lots of poepl utillse the W.O.F templates tho there size is a bit of and they are missing a few key details can be made to look very nice and if you know were the missing detail is supossed to go and add said detail can enhance the resulty greatly , Now the piese te resistans The helmet regardless of who much work you put in to the rest of the costume the helmet will either make or brake the whole thing ,The helmet prices start from the bottom of the range rubbies and don post vynil or ridgid plastic any were from 40 nto 100 dollars and the result is any thing less than desierable and will take alot of work to achieve a resonable overall look and regardless of ones work the size is to smallsome have managed tho these helmets usualy are a starter point to a long ladder of up gradding all the way thro a good skratch build fan speccial to the not produced any more mystery helmet to some quality fan made items ranging from any were of 100 to 400 unpainted then there is the master replicas helmet witch is considerd the best mass produced helmetpriced from450 all ther way to 1200 from an extremly over priced ebay seller and then there is the recasts of these with make there way around under the table inhushed tones ,and then there is the retoooled versions witch in all opinions are the best of the best due to reworking of certin details and quality workmanship and top notch products witch are priced from 150 for a budget ears and helmt all in one peice to the premium version witch goes for arond 350 to 450 dollars for an unpainted gelcoated fiberglass helmet withcold cast resin grebles witch if one can aford and knows the will do such a beutifull peice justice is the way to go, Hope that answers your questions

Thanks it does help...
I have decied to make a custom Mandalorian costume instead of concentrating on Boba Fett... I have a Fett costume already that is in need of heavy repair /repalcement, but I don't think that my body type fits the Fett style.
I will also probably just but most/all of my pieces for my first set, but still wanted to know what would the best material...
It sounds like it may be a hard chocie.. From what I read, the gell coated fiberglass may be the best/strongest, but I am wondering what will happen if I need to mod it as it sound like it may be more difficult to adjust/play with... but I do want good quality to start with. I bought my existing costume is over 10 years old and I can see a HUGE difference in quality from the current products.
Now I just have to find someone that is currently making fiberglass armor/gauntlets... Everyone seems to use resin and I don't know how strong that will be... I have had resin props in the past and they seemed to fall apart pretty quickly...
I am also concerned about the sintra/plastic cracking quickly....
Thanks for the help.