OR, you'll be ready to build anything from scratch... Then you control the weight, strength, appearance, virtually everything!

Working harder does have its benefits!

BWT, Jesse, I'd go with the kit, too -- and it sounds to me like if you don't do it now, you'll do it some other time so you may as well dive in. You're goming to be wondering what it's like till you go for it and I can tell ya: today's R/C kit way easier to build than a small rubber-power kit, so much so that a good kit is actually a low-stress lot of fun way to spend some time. You know what the Nike guys would say, don't you...