Hi Roger,

More than happy to take onboard advice from those who have experience

Lets just say that I did a lot of looking - While SmoothStepper's manual says its a Motion Controller - Mach3's Website doesn't list it as such.
I'm not saying SmoothStepper isn't a motion controller - however I had the confidence from multiple sources that I didn't need an extra PC - while a "basic PC" isn't expensive it does even out some of the cost difference.

If I were going to go down the kit angle, it would be a US kit from someone like CNC Router Parts - Given the cost of shipping from the US and the cost difference between Steel and Aluminium, I was certainly hoping that a self built machine would work out better / cheaper or both.

Cheers,
Brad.