Given that the Snipe was the newly formed RAF’s first new fighter into service after it’s formation, it is a significant aircraft in any museum aiming to present the history of the service.
The number of original Snipe survivors totals 2 and a fuselage and the potential to wrest any of these from their current custodians is zero. A replica/reproduction – call it what you will – therefore represents the only chance to display this significant aircraft in the history of the RAF at Hendon.
We know that finances at the RAFM are limited (let’s just park overblown architectural flights of fancy which could have funded significant acquisitions/restorations for the time being) to the extent that they now have to charge for parking in the absence of entrance fees – so swapsies represents a pragmatic approach to relevant acquisitions.
Presumably the monetary value of original airframes is greater than the value of reproductions so this too increases the opportunity to fill more gaps in the collection.
There are already reproductions at the RAFM – the Pup, the 1 1/2 Strutter, the M1C, and much of the Bristol Fighter spring to mind. If the quality is as good as the original, I see no problems with it.
Nobody denies that the skills needed to reproduce a Snipe are available in this country (as Bob T is demonstrating). TVAL simply represents a happy confluence of skills, knowledge, experience and more importantly will and the potential for multiple examples (producing economies of scale), which can be used to the RAFM’s advantage
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