The Manhattan looks like a cool mod, but really all mechanical mods like the Manhattan do the same thing, just alterations of a basic principle (battery with a direct on/off button/switch). You really don't need (and I wouldn't recommend) dropping serious cash on a $200 mod if it's your first venture into rebuilding. Luckily, there's a lot of clones of popular mods that are nearly identical and very well-machined, and much more inexpensive. Here's my first rig, it's a Tobh Atty clone with a Panzer "Black Hawk" edition mod clone. It cost about $80 for the mod and like $25 for the atty. I still have it, it still works great, and I still use it even though I've gotten into some of the authentic gear.
That being said, I'd say get a mech mod clone and an RDA clone. Once you have these, you'll need a solid battery to power it. Here is a list of safe batteries you should use. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/4848-9-battery-basics-mods-imr-protected-icr.html
Once you have all that, you'll obviously need to rebuild. It's tricky at first, but you'll get the hang of it pretty fast. Because you'll probably be wrapping and re-wrapping a lot of coils when you start, I'd recommend you go to Amazon and buy a big spool of Kanthal. I just checked and 100 feet is $4-7, depending on gauge. If you buy your wire from a vape shop, $4-7 will only buy you a very small spool in comparison. http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Akanthal%20wire
Watch some YouTube videos to learn how to physically wrap the coils. RiP Tripper's has been a hot topic lately, but he has a lot of great videos on rebuilding and I learned a lot watching his videos. Don't bother with the advanced builds if your new, just get down a basic dual coil set up and then move up. Here's a link to RiP's coil building tutorials. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKD8bdRWqx77f-ie7-TyYDzFo_Eh3I2zY
With your coils built, you'll need wick. There's a ton of opinions on what to use, none necessarily right or wrong. If you don't want to boil cotton, just get some ready-to-use wick. I use cotton bacon, it's very cheap. http://www.electronicstix.com/products/cotton-bacon-10-pieces
I'd also recommend you either get a multimeter or coil tester, to verify the resistance of your coils. I really don't hardly ever test my coils anymore because I just don't build that low, nor do I find scorching hot builds really that enjoyable. When you're new and not sure, however, it's best to be safe. If you don't already know Ohm's law, learn it inside/out/front/back whatever. This isn't something you want to mess up on. http://ecigarettereviewed.com/ohms-law-explained-for-vaping
Fortunately, however, if you use good batteries (which you absolutely should), they will likely let you know ahead of time before they blow. If your mod starts getting warm, take the battery out and feel it. If your battery is getting hot, that's the first indicator you either have a short, or are running it with a coil that is too low.
Here is a link describing some basic vaping terminology http://guidetovaping.com/2012/06/13/a-z-e-cig-glossary/ If you have any questions about further terms (RDA, RTA, RDTA, APV, whatever), google is your friend.
