That's funny, like Ken I built my first plane when I was 8 years old too. Control line and a Ring Master. First one was one that one of the big guys crashed and gave to me so I learned to repair first then I started building. That wasn't my first plane though, I had an ARF for my first one. That was 1956 and it can be argued but the Fire Baby was most everyones first plane back then and it was an ARF, probably the first one on the market. When you broke a wing you went to the hardware store and spent a dime to get a new one. A stab was a nickle and the fuse was a quarter.
Not many folks had a TV and boys would play outside. We had seasons too, kite season, fishing season, hunting season and airplane season plus a bunch more for most sports and hobbies. Once you got past the Fire Baby then you had to build. Modeling was a big deal nation wide and hobby shops were loaded with kits of both planes and boats.
Building for me is just a way of life and it involves a lot more then just model planes, it's anything I need and can build myself.
If I crashed all the models I have on hand, I'm down to only a few at the moment, I would go right out and buy an ARF to keep flying until I was able to get more planes built. Flying is a big part of the hobby and when I have a plane in the air I care not if it's an ARF or something I built. I just prefer to build my own planes.
I have never crashed them all and had nothing to fly but if I did!!