AHA! :
Now you have brought up a great subject here .Let me expand on it if you don't mind . I agree with your whole assesment of wood ship modeling .I do have to say , Anyone who has done one can indeed use all skills learned on a wood model and transfer it to plastic and even metal !
I know , you're saying how ? Well planking for instance .You can heat and shape plastic strips and mount them .The result a planked ship that is the right appearance for the era , but smoother as a result of chosen material .
Try this ,Cut your keel out of quarter inch lexan . The frames are eighth inch lexan .Now you plank with those thin Evergreen strips .You are doing exactly what the wood ship modeler does with one exception ,Well two .You are dealing with all the inherent problems of building a ship model this way AND you are dealing with the problems inherent with the materials you are using .
Can each ship be judged the same ? NO ! Why ? Again it comes down to materials . Either one will test your skills .I think each and every ship modeler should build at least one vessel out of wood .I don't think type is important .This will indeed push your skills to the limit and you will learn new and interesting ways of building in general.
Look at the photo . Now this ship will live because you wish it so .Therefore you step up to the challenge to your skills and can look forward to the experience and think to yourself I did it right and look at the results .meanwhile when somenoe comments on the skill you used you'er thinking " yeah , and I learned a whole lot of new stuff along the way too " This is what modeling is all about . Tanker - Builder