In one of the recent Australian Photography magazines there was a centrefold or thereabouts of a volcano eruption...great shot, anyway this shot was taken on a D3300 + 18-55 kit lens.
I felt a bit like you some time back and scratched the itch by buying second hand stuff, saved heaps and am enjoying using different lenses and understanding what I may or may not want in the future.
After 4 years I'm still learning on my D3100 and producing much better shots now.