I built this MK1 VOM about 50 years ago. Still works great.
Somewhere around here is a VTVM, ocilliscope, signal generators and more. I built that color TV also. I think my first kit was around 1953, with help from my dad (now 90).
I too built them to finance my purchases.
My big treats were to go shopping in lower Manhattin’s electronics area. WWII surplice heven. That area was eventually bulldozed to build the World Trade Center.
Today Radio Shack still has (I think) a series of small books on electronics and projects. A good way to play with electronics is with the little “mock-up” boards that allow easy temporary connections to ICs.
Vernier Software sells a great PC based analog-to-digital converter that turns an old PC into a voltmeter or storage ocilliscope. I have a 20-yo MPLI. An old PC can be salvaged for a power supply.
Best,
Grady