About a year ago, I stumbled upon the Arduinome project. Back then I felt though it’d be a great build — more cost-effective than a monome and more rewarding. Having said that, I was absolutely petrified about embarking on the soldering epic of the button pads. After a few other kits and bits and pieces (SID2SID, C64 mods etc) I felt ready.
It isn’t hugely difficult but it is time-consuming. I would suggest soldering other kits before doing this. Looking back on my old soldering jobs, I’m glad I took the time to perfect my technique. The tutorial I used can be found here. On to acquiring an enclosure now!