Review: Franklin Mint 1/48 A6M2-N Zero/Rufe Floatplane - B11E069

There are three truisms in the world of 1/48 Zeroes:

• The Marushin Zeros are nowhere as good as they are occasionally claimed to be.
• The Franklin mint Zeros are nowhere as bad as they are often made out to be.
• There is still plenty of room for somebody, which at this point basically means HM, to come in and do a proper 1/48 (or even better, 1/32) Zero.   Hey, at over $1.15 to JPY 100 right now, it seems like a no brainer.

Which brings us to this topic, the more attractive of the two Franklin Mint Armour Collection Zeroes on Floats.  This model B11E069 is often referred to as the "Aleutians" version, and that's probably accurate enough, though for most of us it's probably enough to call it the "generic green A6M2," since that's the role it will play in our collections.

I'm a real fan of floatplanes, both aesthetically and because I've been known to fly a floatplane or two myself.  However, historically speaking, these aircraft did little more than serve as hacks and targets.  A very substantial part of the IJN's aviation resources went into floatplanes and seaplanes for what must ultimately be scored as marginal results.  However, the Japanese gamble in that regard was in some ways understanable; in the absence of actual experience at the time.

At any rate, about the model:  deep-set and generously allotted panel lines give the overall impression of quality and it is about where it should be in terms of "heft factor."  There is average cockpit detail by FM standards, but FM standards continue to be higher than HM in 1/48, even today.  A small cart is provided which servers as a useful display base.  It's a handsome model which looks good on a shelf next to one of FM's very good hellcats.  The biggest complaint is the screwhead on the underside of the main float - they implemented it in a bizarre way such that a "lateral hole punch" has been taken out of the underside of float. This was a dumb decision; to wit, the piece probably didn't even need to be screwed on at all; a 'snap to fit' arrangement would have worked fine on the plastic piece.  It is probably fixable by filling in the hole with a bit of putty and then repainting, but there's no hiding the bonehead decision that led to the error in the first place.