If you're still lurking.......or for anyone else who wants to know.....if you don't have experience then expect this project to take twice as long than if you did have experience. Learning as you go will make the clock move slower as they say, so you want to keep that in mind.
I have to agree with you completely. Apart from assembly taking time, I believe doing this as a newbie may compromise the quality of the final product. I am one of those people who prefers to buy and learn along the way.