I guess it's all in what you want to do. RC cars are expensive too, as you know. No offense, but they would bore me to death because that's not where my interest lies. I'm a flier, not a driver.
Boring trainer? You bet! Who doesn't want to fly a warbird? But on the other hand the Apprentice will perform most of the the maneuvers the Wildcat will. It doesn't look as sexy doing it but it's much less likely to present you with a pile of broken foam to show for your investment. This really is a case of crawling before you can walk. If you really want that Wildcat buy it. Then find an experienced instructor to Buddy Box with you. He will fly the plane first and get it trimmed out. Then he will get it off the ground and turn it over to you. He will take over and keep you from crashing when you screw the pooch. Another, cheaper, suggestion is to go to your LHS and ask if they have a simulator program you can try. Most do here in the U.S. Summon up a warbird and fly it. Be sure to program in some wind and gusts. I'm only familiar with the Phoenix 4 simulator but I can guarantee it is a good one. There are some others online, especially if they are free downloads, that will lull you into a false sense of security. Avoid them. You don't need a false sense of security. Crashing your chosen warbird a few dozen times should make an impression.
The simple fact is that there is no easy way into flying unless you are willing to limit yourself to your Champ or its equivalent. I have several hundred hours in full scale planes and I can tell you that learning to fly the "real thing" was easier than standing on the ground and trying to make the plane behave itself. I've mastered the Apprentice and fly the 3 channel Champ and J-3 Cub whenever I want to just get up and drift around, weather conditions permitting. The other day I bought an E-flite Carbon Cub and got another lesson in humility. I crashed it on the first flight. Me, the guy who is a pilot! I got too cocky and the bird bit me. At least I wasn't sitting in the cockpit for real.
It's all up to you. I and others can caution you but only you can make your choices. The choices you make will determine whether you remain in this hobby or not.
Storm