Have Ferry

1/72 Airfix MiG-17F by Yoav Efrati

- Yoav Efrati

Two years ago, I suggested the afterburner equipped MiG-17F Fresco C to Airfix. Tomy surprise, a new tool 1/72 scale MiG-17 was announced for Christmas of 2019. When I started bragging to my friends on Facebook that this is my Fresco, everyone thought this was just a coincidence. I had the good fortune of attending the November 2019 SMW and learned from the good folks at the Airfix stand, that this new MiG-17 is not a coincidence, but an actual modeler's suggestion. To my delight, the person that told me this was the designer of the kit himself, Tom. I was elated to be able to shake hands with the kit designer who fulfilled my four-decade wish for an accurate afterburner MiG-17. Exercising some old fashioned “hutzpah” (gall), I asked the marketing head of Airfix for a test shot of this long-awaited kit, for review in Scale Aircraft Modelling magazine. To my surprise I was given a favorable response and the hot new kit arrived in Israel soon after the show. I asked if it’s ok for me to do it in Israeli markings and the reply was yes.

Two Syrian MiG-17Fs landed at Megido landing field at approximately 08:30am on 13 August 1968, due to navigational error. The two Migs were designated under two names: 05 – Have Drill and 02 – Have Ferry. Have Drill 05 was Polish-built Lim-5 s/n 1C-07-18 fitted with SCAN FIX ranging radar. Have Ferry 02 didn't have radar and its periscope was removed at some stage in Israel before being transferred to the US in March 1969. In this article, I build Have Ferry MiG-17F number 02 featured in Hi-Decals sheet 72-035.