So tomorrow I should have Norwegian quotes from a friend; I feel like if they turn out too expensive too then this might be the end, simply due to the cost.
Response wise, I had 41 responses - 33 people chose aluminium, 8 for clear acrylic and 17 for frosted acrylic, this meant that aluminium is the only real option. Stock was the most popular color, with 22 votes, with black and purple slightly behind with 17 and 14 respectively. The other options were under 8 and not worth considering.
However, I won't give up on design work so my next project would be the case teased above. It still has to be designed in the appropriate CAD files so that's a short time away. Still have to figure out how to connect all the parts...