Hey man, the amount of time you have spent on the internet, you could a built ya self a foamie, you dont have to be a good modeler either. As for the right gear, i have my own design foamie which uses a standard 19-20 gram brushless outrunner (1600-1900Kv). One 9 gram fast servo (ailerons), and two 5grams servos (HXT 500's ok). 12 amp ESC and a 450mah battery (all standard foamie gear).

My 700mm plane which can fly in a very tight space, is a very good flyer indoors and outdoors. It is called 'Slave', yes becoz it will do what u want it to do). I have a video of it flying which i made yesterday, if anybody wants a plan, i will try and upload it here, i am not that clever on computers so i need instructions. The plans are very basic, but detailed and accurate.
Note EPP would be the best choice if you are wanting to learn 3D and/or fly in tight spaces, this plan needs 6mm thick foam).

http://youtu.be/ul7d-UlgQAs