Actually this is a growing hobby.... but not one being taken up by many young sadly. Tens of thousands of middle-aged men who built the old Airfix kits as children are returning to doing it every year. That said a lot of them are getting sons (mainly) into doing it as well, my own son started building models around the time I restarted.
With those returning to the hobby being older and more affluent the demand more more accurate, better engineered kits has grown along with the standard of the builds. Many say that we are living in a 'golden age' for model making. More money is being spent too on both kits and a wide and growth range of aftermarket and build materials/tools etc. The most exciting developments with the best kit developments are in 1:32 scale. A 1:32 scale Lancaster with over a 38 inch wingspan is being released later this year (a similar sized B17 Flying Fortress has already been released) - you need a whole room dedicated to display each of these they are so big!!!
http://www.scalemodelnews.com/2013/05/incoming-super-giant-132-scale-avro.html Much as I would love to build one of these (expectyed to cost around £250, not pocket money...) I just do not have the display room, the 'build room' would be an issue as well even though I have a large workbench!!!"
Yes, Howard 'Barry's models' has a certain ring about it but as you suggested when Googling models I did not really get the results I was looking for.....so best as individual threads and I do hope they do inspire some people to 'have a go', its a lot healthier than sitting playing mind numbing games on computers.