Meet the man who has built a full-scale replica Spitfire... in his garden

A military historian has completed a three-year project to build a full-scale replica Spitfire... in his garden. 

David Price has spent roughly 3,000 hours building the model of the iconic Mark 9 Spitfire fighter which has a wingspan of more than 11 metres and is about 9 metres long.

It currently stands pride and place in Mr Price's garden in Cumbria where it takes up much of the room, although the plan is for it to eventually move on to a museum.

Mr Price said his wife has been "very patient" with the project. 

"She's been very good about it, it has grown on her and we do have an agreement it's not going to stay in the garden, so she's looking forward to getting her garden back again."

The model has a plywood frame and Mr Price has sourced parts from all over, even enlisting a friend to 3D print replica parts for the cockpit to try and make it look as close to the real thing as possible.

"Sometimes it was just a matter of getting objects that were the right shape to start with," he said.

"There's even a baked bean tin in there - I needed a cylinder of a certain size so it became an electrical rectifier."

When asked why he decided to create the model, Mr Price said: "I gave up my building business about three years ago, just before I started this project.

"I changed careers and become a researcher and military writer... and I still needed something to do with my hands, and this was the result of that.

"The start was to find the plans, you can find the plans online, fortunately."

The Spitfire forged its reputation during the dogfights of the Second World War, taking on the might of the Luftwaffe over the skies of Europe and notably in the Battle of Britain.