It’s important to remember in this case, and very encouraging to see, that the parts that won’t go back into the rebuild are still to be kept for reference. There’s therefore no loss or waste of original material. It also has to be remembered that even though she has now been recovered, a large number of parts will continue to corrode despite the best preservation efforts. The replicating of badly corroded parts while we still have them is vital to ensuring that we have the information for future reference. This may be the last chance we have to glean this information, and a complete static exhibit will come from it. It’s a win-win situation to my mind.

As for provenance, well there will still be alot of the original aircraft in the rebuild by the sound of things, so I don’t think there’s a case for comparing this project with an airworthy data-plate Spitfire job.

Just my tuppence (if that!) worth…

IIRC, the difference in pinky/sandy shades on RAF Tornado’s was down to where they were despatched from, those despatched from RAFGermany being the pinkier ones. This was down to the RAFG guys having to mix their own desert camo paint, there being no pre-mixed desert camo in RAFG stores.

Nice work Elliott, I dread to think how many man hours have gone into the above parts, let alone the whole project so far! Well done to everyone involved, I really think this is one of the greatest restoration/reconstruction projects ever undertaken.

As time rolls on restorations will start from less and less, to me the real crime in some cases is ripping all this stuff apart then binning it for a few spacers, brackets etc

The big problem for me, as Junk Collector says, is the binning of original material. When I watched the episode of Time Team on the excavation of Klipsch’s Spitfire I was thinking the wreckage would make a very moving and poigniant exhibit in it’s own right. The bullet holes, the personal effects and the utter destruction of the airframe were all part of the story, a reminder of the brutality of war and of a young life lost. Now that Klipsh’s Spitfire is under rebuild to fly, you have to wonder what will become of the remains excavated on that day. When the regular Time Team archaeologists excavate Roman coins and the like, it’s not with a view to binning it all within a couple of years. Would anyone make a replica Roman helmet if the original bits had to be destroyed in the process? Would the archaeologists bother digging them up if they knew this was going to be the case? For me the original artifact is more important than any restoration or reproduction that might come out of it, it’s a crying shame that original parts are being binned for the sake of provenance.

Heads up, it’s on tonight…

What look like ‘hardpoints’ are actually the doors of the underwing bomb bays in the open position. There were three bays in each wing, but IIRC they were more usually occupied by cylindrical fuel tanks.

Edited to add that the wing bomb bays are visible on NA337, although she appears to only have four. Found the following shot on Flickr, not my photo!

http://flickr.com/photos/bobolink/2939495696/sizes/o/

According to http://www.84squadron.co.uk/html/body_wapiti.html

“The aircraft in No 84 Squadron were painted overall silver with Nivo (dark green) upper decking to the fuselage. The rudder stripe markings had the blue flash forwards until 1930 then the red stripe until 1934, when stripes were deleted. A scorpion insignia was painted on the nose, together with a very small ‘84’. Later this was replaced by a letter and number combination and the Flight was indicated by various devices on the fin and under the wings. ‘A’ Flight exhibited an ace playing card, ‘B’ Flight a swastika insignia and ‘C’ Flight a triangular insignia.”

Presumably this was prior to the Nazis hijacking the swastika.

The front cover painting on Air-Britain’s history of 84sqn “Scorpions Sting” depicts a Wapiti bearing the fylfot symbol on the fin and beneath the wings.

http://www.mossie.org/images/book_covers/scorpions_sting.jpg