It seems that if a bloke spends years in his shed building , lets say, an SE5a to original drawings, then he has built a replica SE5a.
But if a team of people do the same thing with a Spifire or Mustang, then they have not built replicas….. oh no no no! The’ve built the real thing apparently.

If it’s an SE5A – it’s an SE5A. It’s really all about conformity – and proving it. In theory, you can build what you like in your garden shed all on yer’ lonesomes. Some folks work with very limited facilites. I know of at least one warbird being rebuilt in the UK with fairly limited facilites. You still need all the paperwork however. Easier if it’s an LAA type, much trickier if it’s on a CAA Permit. Money, expertise and facilities tend to mitigate against rebuilding a P-47 in your garden shed though. 🙂