Plastic Antweight (1 lb, plastic only)
The cheapest, safest entry point. 3D-printed frames, hobby motors, no metal weapons. A great first build for kids and adults alike.
Pick a Build Path
Two decisions: what weight class you'll build for, and how you'll build it. Both are reversible — but picking well saves you months.
Pick a weight class
Antweight (1 lb) and Beetleweight (3 lb) are the most beginner-friendly. Start small — your first bot will lose, and small bots lose cheaply.
Antweight (1 lb)
The most popular beginner class. Big enough for real spinners and wedges, small enough that parts are cheap and a single failure won't ruin your weekend.
Beetleweight (3 lb)
More room for serious weapons and better drive trains. Costs and consequences scale up — usually a second build, not a first.
Hobbyweight & up (12 lb+)
Bigger budgets, bigger arenas, more travel. Worth aspiring to, but don't start here.
Pick a build approach
Kit build (1–2 weekends)
Buy a proven kit, follow the instructions, show up at an event. The fastest path from zero to driving in the box. Pros: guaranteed-working geometry, spare parts easy to source, strong community support. Trade-offs: less learning per dollar, you'll want to modify it almost immediately.
Modified kit (2–4 weekends)
Start with a kit, then swap a weapon, motors, or armor. The sweet spot for most second-time builders. Pros: keeps the kit's reliable base, real design decisions without full CAD, cheap iterative learning. Trade-offs: easy to break a working bot, requires basic tools and patience.
Fully custom (1–3 months)
Design from scratch in CAD, fabricate, iterate. The highest ceiling — and the longest ramp. Pros: learn CAD + fabrication deeply, unique designs win events, full control over every gram. Trade-offs: expect multiple revisions, higher cost, longer to first match.
Next: see it in person.
Watching a live event will tell you more about your build path than any spec sheet.