Spiccoli, I'd go with the kit anyway. John sells them cheap enough that any cost difference is minimal and the laser cutting of the foam and lite ply parts is a thing of beauty. There is no way I could cut lite ply that well, the foam I might be able to come close, but it would take a long time. Check out my Advantage bipe build thread in the Electric 3D forum for a few pics of how nice the laser cutting is.