But I was curious, so I started to remove the blue paint from the wings. Under it, the original German markings and camouflaged markings were still evident. Then I started to work on the nose.
At this point, it might be helpful if I stepped back and told you about another wreck I had been given in the same donated box. It was a Spitfire with a radial engine. I assumed it was some kind of whatif.
As I removed more paint from the '109', the mystery of the radial-engined Spitfire was resolved. The original builder had taken the Spitfire engine and built a Hispano Buchon. That also explained the blue paint. My interest in the restoration suddenly gained momentum. I had often thought about making the conversion, but never got around to it. Now someone had done the hard work for me.
With the rest of the paint removed, it was easy enough to mould a new canopy and make some undercarriage. I found a Spitfire spinner for a four blade version in the spares box and made some propellers from scrap bits. I also made some cannons and wing fences. I did not include the rocket supports and rails that this aircraft often had.
The rest was just a paint job and cobbling together some decals. The result has its faults, but it’s a nice on to have in my collection.
