I got the usual train sets (tinplate Mettoy 0 gauge, later Hornby), but those can't really count as modelling. I think the first actual model that I made from a kit was a Kiel Kraft Spook, being a step up from the chuck gliders sold by Woolworths.
I started to learn about model making after getting a Triang Princess Elizabeth set, discovering the wonders of papier machee, sawdust, cotton wool, paint and vegetable dye, as well as Bilteezi stuff. And Airfix and Rosebud. I don't think I ever got a layout anywhere near what I had in mind after the first one, right up to when I descended from the loft, having decided that I just wasn't man enough for the climate up there. After a change to N gauge to fit in the back room, I discovered that the eyesight wasn't really up to seeing when all the little wheels were actually on the track. That, and realising that after spending my day polishing bits of brass to ensure the flow of electric, doing the same for a hobby just didn't do it for me.
Enter boats. I had motorised an Airfix Hood when it first came out, restarted in boats motorising an Airfix Bismark.
Does Meccano count? Personally, I reckon it should be a compulsory school subject.