New robot kit (coming soon) on the market, still priced rather high ($300) but has a controller that should kick ass.
Each kit contains everything necessary to build an radio-controlled Erector-set-style robot including a pro-level, six-channel radio controller, a programmable micro controller, and hundreds of nuts, bolts, gears, wheels, and flexible metal bars that you can bend into almost any shape and even cut into pieces. Radio Shack says there are over 500 parts in each 2- by 2-foot box.
No mention of a speed controller but maybe that’s something you can buy later.
The large metal plates remind me of parts that I found in the Robocon store in Japan. They had those and other beams and plates that looked like some sort of industrial Meccano set.