Yeah I saw that Kickstarter mentioned on CNET
I researched, agonized, debated about getting an Ultimaker for my R2-D2 project. I wanted to be able to prototype R2's varies gadgets and also print various brackets/mounting pieces in plastic for the many electronics my R2 has inside.
I bought an Ultimaker kit last September and just missed the UM2 release by 10 days (boy was I pissed...) To save money, I went with the kit but bought the Ulticontroller and the second extruder upgrade (yet to install).
Short answers for you...
* The build, in hindsight, wasn't too bad. I learned a lot about how these things work
* This forum provides a wealth of support and you'll get answers quickly.
* If you are hoping this will be plug and play, we are years away from that. You will have to be prepared to dedicate some hours to learning, calibrating, tweaking and so on. Once you get the print built, you have the bed leveling, which can be challenging. Then you learn the best temps to print at, how to use Cura and what the Advanced Settings will do. In short, you won't really be able to unbox your assembled printer and instantly print out your finest works. We aren't at that level yet. But, if you wish to learn this technology along with us, the results can be very rewarding
* If you want to draw and see your creation in 3D minus the headaches of learning the printer, you might want to consider using a service like Shapeways.
I'm still very much a newbie but I've learned a lot from reading in here and my conversations with GR5 and others.