Alan, you said the majic word as far as I'm concerned - "Build". A reasonably low cost entry into jets is building a balsa kit. My first thought is a Reaction 54. About $480 for the kit and add on $329 for the complete gear package and $80 for the basic wheels and an electric brake. It is not scale but with some imagination during the build you can make a very attractive jet. In my opinion, scale and entry into jets do not compute. Scale tends to demand a little more expertise from the pilot and if you don't have a lot of high performance prop experience I would wait till you get your feet wet. The R-54 is a very gentle flyer and a sloooow lander. The turbine for this bird is low cost relative to it's higher thrust brothers. A 13 to 17# thrust turbine will cost about $2K. Last thought. Jets are not inexpensive but the sound and smell of a turbine can't be beat.