.. damn .. my head just exploded ..
--updated--/ edit -
So, it looks like option #3 is the way to go .. How about not building the whole thing from the ground up/ scratch. If a person was so inclined, could he not find bits and pieces to build one of these without having to fab the whole thing? Also, we are talking about a 300mw pump diode? What would the output be? Not much power for show use I would imagine ..