This book is a fascinating look at the hobby as it was in the middle of the 20th century.
While it details the construction of models using a variety of materials, the book also mentions that plastic kits were becoming popular. Apparently some oldtimers used to wood and metal didn't think much of the newer kits.
A small point worth mentioning for you 0 Scalers is that the scale standard used in this book for 0 was 17/64" to the foot rather than 1/4".
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009816383&seq=1&q1="scratch+building"&view=thumb