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Description

This is an injection-plastic aircraft model kit.

From the instructions, here's her story:

Discovered abandoned during the allied advance in North Africa 1942, Messerschmitt Bf109G-2/Trop, Werk Nummer 10639 ? `Black 6' - was briefly operated by 3 Sqn. RAAF, a P-40 Kittyhawk unit. Australian `ace' Bobby Gibbes as Sqn c/o flew the a/c once some minor repairs had been performed. Upon hearing of the new acquisition, the British MOD requisitioned this new type for immediate comparative trials before onward shipment to the UK for more in-depth evaluation.

Having been used as a roving static display piece immediately after WW2, the a/c then passed through various RAF stations hands with an abortive attempt being made in the late 1960's to make the a/c airworthy. After this effort was abandoned, the a/c was discovered by then RAF Flight Lieutenant, Russ Snadden, a keen warbird enthusiast who had long been looking for a likely candidate for an airworthy standard restoration.

The a/c was duly delivered into his custodianship at RAF Lyneham in 1972. Assembling a small team of volunteers around him very quickly, Snadden set about evaluating the magnitude of the project. Initial estimates had been pointing to a 5-year turnaround. However, Snadden's eye for detail, allied to the requirement to coerce many commercial organisations into helping with a project with no budget, resulted in nearly 19 years passing before a first flight.

In the aftermath of the first post-restoration test flight in March 1991 (a very fraught affair for all involved!) the a/c transferred to Europe's premier Warbird operating centre at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford in Cambridgeshire, UK. An agreement had been reached between the a/c's owners (the British MOD) and the IWM to operate the `109 for a period of 3 years before retirement (in the interest of preserving airframe life) to the RAF Museum in London.

With various minor technical problems encountered during display operations from Duxford, ‘Black 6' actually operated 6 display season's, occasionally changing it's colors for various commercial contracts. The unique aeroplane quickly became probably the worlds best known warbird restoration with visitors making the pilgrimage to the UK from all over the globe to witness the unique sound and shape in the air.

After an accident (not caused by technical failure of any sort) at Duxford in October 1997, Snadden's team reassembled her upon winning the tender to rebuild the `109 and returned it to flying trim, whereupon they delivered it to RAFM Hendon in March 2002. Scheduled to be one of the selected exhibits in the new `Milestones of Flight' exhibition hall at Hendon in late 2003, `Black 6' was and is likely to remain the world's most authentic and only original Messerschmitt Bf109 to be returned to flying condition anywhere in the world.