Help a hobbyist craftsman build some relatively complex armor?

Here's what I want to create.

You will recognize this as Jaime Lannister's Kingsguard armor from the Game of Thrones television series (based upon the wonderful series "A Song of Ice and Fire".

In addition to the body armor I would love to make some greaves (probably imagined around some high boots) and a helmet.

FULL PIC

I'm a fairly experienced amateur craftsman with years of costume-making experience, but I've always just created things piece-meal by creatively attaching things together and artfully composing things (delicately) to look believable.

In the past I've made items like these...

A year ago I took welding lessons for a few months and learned how to perform various welds and grind things to a gorgeous sheen, but I don't own welding supplies myself... so that may or may not be a viable option. I can acquire pretty much anything if it costs less than 500 dollars though.

I want this armor to last for decades and be as close to the real thing as I can possibly make it. Obviously I'm not going to wear it every day, but I want to make it strong.

That said... I'm fine painting filigree and distress onto the metal. I don't need to actually engrave it and specifically age every scale of the helm/greaves/chain-skirt/spaulders. So please suggest short-cuts if they look good and won't break.

What's the best way to tackle this project? I have approximately 4 months in which to build it.

Thanks!