Hi great idea and welcome, if you can build steam robots are a walk in the park, my dad fiddles about with steam engines

These are the speedcontrollers to use, they're the best, performance/value
http://www.botbitz.com/index.php?rou...&product_id=59

Motors good value here, choose 18v
http://www.gimsonrobotics.co.uk/GR02...gearmotor.html

Make your own wheels


Then read the FRA rules, ensuring you include fuses links etc. you should try and ensure it ends up the maximum weight allowed, rules I follow, build it as small as possible using up the wieght for strength so you might want to change your scale to 1/3 or 1/4

For pnumatics, look through liftoffs build diary