Yes, I believe XE339’s emblem is intact.

Why split 339? The cockpit was wanted by someone, the fuse was wanted by me. If I hadn’t already restored 838’s cockpit I’d have been able to keep 339 intact.

This is a best-fit solution – everyone walked away happy.

Roy.

Except 339….. wasn’t there a thread last year where someone suggested that people in the “cockpit movement” were cutting cockpits off perfectly good airframes for their own benefit, i.e not to preserve something that was being scrapped, but because they wanted a cockpit.

Logically the person who wanted the cockpit, and the person who wanted a complete A/C, should both be able to have what they want without separating an entire airframe, when one has already been cut.

You would have thought though, that given the fact that it gets very windy at DX , especially in the winter, that they might have put it in a less exposed part.

As a “travelling exhibit”, presumably it doesn’t have a designated space, but a fsm, is too light (relatively), just to hang concrete weights on them; I’ve got a piccy of MH434, and its got 60-70lbs of weight in the tail.

I’ll be there, if anyone wants a piece of me…..

They are new build ones, got a drawing from a guy in the US (who works on B-17E, Desert Rat).
Took a while but worth it in the end

Dave, the seats look really good, the fluted backs look like they might have taken a while, but worth the effort; look forward to seeing the rest.

Bruce is so right with the Hurri being more difficult to restore than a Spit!! I started my project in 1978 and it had grown from one gauge. The spars have been described here adequately. I believe that one machine exists (Guy may own it). Cranfield pioneered a new tail spar design which was simpler, but I still do not think anyone has used it.

I am finding that my Spit fuz is a delight to work on compared to the Hurri. Squaring the fuz tubes for the Hurri was a pain, but I used the IWM machine (with its modified lorry hydraulic jacks and rollers). I do find it ironic like Bruce does when they say that the Hurri was easier to build in the war!!

That being the case, you can finish mine off!!

Having not seen the picture in the flesh (so to speak), in common with almost everyone else, it is very difficult to say whether, as Damien points out the rear fuselage is slab sided, or that is a trick of the light; what can be said is the front end including the wings and wing fairings look good, and that would be the hard bit to get right,so if it is an actual fault in the workmanship, one might expect the front end to have suffered as much if not more.

As an aside, I have several paintings of Spitfires (appropriate point to gasp), and even the master Ronald Wong has got a few details wrong; the best of the rest, is by Phil Arbles (if I have got his signature correctly deciphered) , I am told that he used to do the art work for one of the plastic kit manufacturers (possibly Airfix)

Bruce is right about paintings though, they don’t all go up; last year I bought one entitled “duxford scramble” painted in about ’92, the artist had a little tent at an airshow at Duxford, and it was on display (framed and stretched as they say) ; eventually negociations saw a deal at £80- on the back was a sticker with the original asking price, over £400-

I see that susequent to Dave t’s cut n paste post, my Spitfire project has become a “repro”; perhaps I shouldn’t have used all of those “repro” parts purchased on ebay from a former registered seller.

Mark, is this really the right thread to provide G Adlam with a testimonial?