Plus model, maker of fine detailed aftermarket products, just produced a ladder for the McDonnel Douglas F-4 Phantom II. What is unique about this item is that it is injection molded instead of resin or photo etch that other companies make. Although this does require some assembly, being able to make fine adjustments to better fit the various kits is a real bonus.

The kit comes in a sturdy box and the sprue is in a suitable plastic bag. The instructions are printed on the back of the box and are basic but sufficient to assist your build. I am not sure if the parts layout changed from previous releases but instructions indicate the steps (rungs) are separate parts but that is not so with what is on the sprue. That is very good since I can image how difficulty it would be to attach and align those parts. Hopefully the instructions will be updated on future releases. The 8 parts have minimal flash which cleans up easily.

Assembly was simple but when I test fit the ladder just after assembly, the ladder was at a higher outward angle than reference photos. Two items helped me get a better fit in this area. First I removed 1.5mm from the mid brace so it would not push the base of the ladder out that far. This helped only a small amount. The next change I made was to cut away the two small bumps below the top of the ladder that rest on the canopy. With the bumps removed, this requires that the ladder be glued to the cockpit sill which is ideal for my application. Remember to always check your references and test fit on your kit.

After a coat of primer, I painted the ladder yellow (no specific color spec was listed) and some areas black. I decided to use yellow (Vallejo Amarillo Dorado #71078) acrylic paint and it looks ok from reference photos but insignia yellow may be a better choice. Each step and fuselage contact pads were painted black (Tamiya X69 NATO Black). Once dry, a little black wash in strategic areas, a dull clear coat was added. Yellow matched the era aircraft I was adding the ladder to but the ladder may be various colors from Gray, green black to just name a few. One item I noticed in reference photos was the significant amount of paint chipping. I did not take my weathering to that extreme. This build was enjoyable and will make an outstanding addition you your F-4 family of Phantom II’s.

The ladder was test fit on recent Academy release F-4C. I would like to thank Plus Model for this review sample.