Charlotte Austen and Jack Munro. Pic: Three Sixty Communications

Two Hackney-based sculptors have built a life-sized Battle of Britain Spitfire from egg boxes to help raise awareness for a war veteran charity.

Unveiled to the public at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford on March 3, the full scale model is made from 6,500 ‘eggs for soldiers’ cartons. ‘Eggs for Soldiers’ campaign in support of March Fourth, an annual event in aid of charity Help For Heroes.

Charlotte Austen, 27, and Jack Munro, 26, of Landsdowne Road, London Fields, spent six weeks designing, building and painting the Spitfire. Adding to the vast number of boxes that make up the aircraft model, the duo also used five litres of glue, 10 litres of paint, 5,000 nails and 10,000 staples.

Austen, a Central Saint Martins graduate said: “We took the design and measurements from a scale model of the Mark-1 Spitfire.”

Architectural designer Munro said: “It has been hugely enjoyable to work on such a unique project for a fantastic charity.

“The biggest challenge in building the structure of the Eggs for Soldiers Spitfire was to recreate the plane’s iconic but complex geometry as accurately as possible.”

The duo did have extra help from a carpenter who built the inside. The Spitfire’s frame was constructed with a mix of steel framing and timber, covered in fabric, and then the egg boxes were individually glued on.

Glueing eggboxes onto the Spitfire. Pic: Three Sixty Communications

Munro added: “Every surface of the Spitfire is double curved, and to replicate this we have used a combination of traditional timber construction techniques and advanced digital processes such as laser cutting. This has enabled us to create a light, efficient and precise structure.”

Now in it’s second year, March Fourth supports servicepeople and veterans who have suffered life-changing injuries and illnesses. Last year’s campaign made an impressive life sized Challenger II tank out of 5,016 khaki egg boxes.

Steve Horton, Marketing Director for Noble Foods, another supporter of Help For Heroes, said: “‘We hope this year’s March Fourth campaign will be as successful as last year’s. That way we can continue to raise money and awareness for Help for Heroes and the vital support they give our servicemen and women.”

So far this year, Eggs for Soldiers has raised over £650,000 for Help For Heroes.