Tiberius,
The armor and shield leather bends are overkill. They are crazy expensive, and are hard to work with. From Tandy, what you want to look for is this stuff:
Select Import Saddle Skirting
Item #9047-02
It is often on sale for $80-$120. The trick to buying imported leather, though, is to check each side before you buy. Often, they will have brands and/or stress creases through major areas of the side, or it may be armor grade thickness at the neck, but thins way out at the end. When I go in, I first check the stack. you can quickly identify the thicker sides by viewing them from the edge. Identify 3-4, then have the store guy pull them out so you can check for brands or creases.