Introduction

PlusModel has released a 1/48th scale ladder for an Su-27. I know this will not be to everyone’s taste, but I like to add simple items that give a sense of scale to a subject. In this case it certainly will provide an idea of the height of this aircraft

Contents

The product is supplied in a simple card end opening carton. In side of this is a single plastic sprue that contains all of the needed parts for the ladder, this is packed inside a plastic bag.

Review

This is a very basic model product as can be seen from the sprue shots and subsequent build pictures. The parts are well moulded with no obvious faults observed with the parts. Detail is minimal with it being made of tubular steel and metal steps with stand-off supports to keep the ladder in the correct position for mounting the aircraft. PlusModel has done quite a good job of depicting the boarding ladder, but it is not the easiest build I have tackled. The only negative I would raise as a pain is that the gates between sprue and part are on the large side, this makes clean up and removal hard than it needed to be.

The instructions for the model are printed on the rear of the packaging in a black and white line drawing format. This is not an ideal approach and if the model was any harder would be completely inadequate. You are presented with all of the parts disjointed and some arrows followed by an image of the assembled product. As I said not ideal.

I started by removing all of the parts from the sprue and taking far longer than I normally would on the clean-up, failure to clean these parts to a high level will make your life miserable. I started by attaching the steps or rungs to one of the side supports as there is a recess under each step/rung and a suitable locater on the side support. Once the eight rungs are attached I let them sit for a while before using a Mk1 eyeball to check alignment. After letting everything sit for a while I attached the other side support and made a final check that everything was true before leaving it to fully set.

After a couple of hours I started again by attaching the two ‘A’ frames to the rear of the boarding ladder. The smaller of the two ‘A’ frames locates into a hole on the larger, so make sure you have it the right way round. The two small upper stand-off or Locating lugs do have a small recessed area, and so are easy to correctly locate. Lastly there is a two rung structure that attaches to the bottom of the ladder, I placed the ladder on a raised base and the butt jointed the parts together on a level service.

Conclusion

PlusModel has released a number of these boarding ladders, and I do like what they offer. The big plus is that these are a relatively cheap product that provides the eye with something to scale the model. Clean up of the parts is the most important aspect of this offering as you need a good fit to keep everything true. Once everything is in place this does have some charm about it.