I agree,...I see no reason to buy kits. anything you want can be had as prints and without the kit, changes cost no more than the original materials. certainly,.... without the "kit",.... it requires a bit more effort and time, but are we all in that much of a hurry to get a plane put together that a few hours cutting parts makes a difference ?.
the way I build, is in stages. i'll cut the parts for the different components of the plane, as I build. I also do a lot of planning in my head and sketching before I start cutting parts to avoid unforeseen issues such as two parts that don't/won't fit together correctly and things like that. once you've built a kit or tw, you get an idea about how things should go together,...then just take a deep reath and start buying balsa. you won't learn to scratch-build, unless you take that first dive. you can buy a lot of extra balsa for what they get for kits these days.