John, you can comfortably go for the kit and assemble it. I converted one into a BAR and can tell you that the kit practically builds itself. They made some real effort to make it easier on the latter few F1's regarding stuff like rear wing allignment and so on, which used to be a bit of a horror on some of the earlier kits (esp on a first build).
Also, since you won't be familiar with it, watch out for the suspension parts. Press very carefully when "snapping" in the brakes - support the suspension itself and don't just press "against" it, otherwise it will most certainly break. Good luck and show us some pics! And feel free to ask if something looks threatening or unfamiliar!
RadMax8 - the F2000 is a great one too! I've built the solid one, but it was destroyed when we moved house. Have the transparent red one (the Barbie Ferrari!) to do with the SMS PE and templated CF set. Will be a fun project!