FMS 1400mm A6M Zero - discontinued?

[Arycon]

Can anyone confirm if this plane has been discontinued? Multiple major hobby retailers are showing it is. I have always wanted one of these large zeros. I have seen the 1100mm but am not a fan of sub 1200mm planes.

I would pick up a 1400mm but am concerned about parts support if they are discontinued.

Makes me wonder if maybe they are updating the larger version?

[OV10]

YES IT HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED

https://www.motionrc.com/collections/fms-discontinued-airplane-spare-parts/products/fms-a6m3-zero-green-1400mm-pnp#spare-parts-tab

[rifleman_btx]

This is why I'm not the biggest fan of fms...

[Arycon]

My local HobbyTown USA was trying to tell me it wasn't, which is hilarious because even Horizon Hobby says it is. Go figure.

[rifleman_btx]

Most of the time HobbyTown USA is the last to know anything going on in the hobby. Lol

[Arycon]

Most of the time HobbyTown USA is the last to know anything going on in the hobby. Lol

Right?? Hilarious. I remember back when hobby shops were knowledgeable and went out of their way to help out enthusiasts. Oh, well.

[rifleman_btx]

What I found with the hobbytowns here is, if you're not in to RC cars they don't really care about planes. Drones yes, cars yes, boats no, planes no. I guess that's what you get when you hire kids who just follow the new fad of the week.

[xviper]

FMS still has it listed for direct sale, as does RC Castle and I'm sure you can find other sellers that still have stock. If you really want it, you should buy a couple while you can. Personally, I never liked the FMS Zero and maybe others felt the same way and that's why it's going away.

[dkalwishky]

Personally, I never liked the FMS Zero and maybe others felt the same way and that's why it's going away.

What didn't you like about it?

[rifleman_btx]

I flew one my buddy had and it flew great.:Confused:

[xviper]

What didn't you like about it?

My (mild) dislike for this plane comes from 2 fronts. A fellow flyer had one at one of my fields so my opinion comes from observation. The first is the design, placement and quality of the main retracts. On our lumpy, bumpy field, it seems very easy to pull one or both out of the housing. FMS didn't appear to use sufficient glue for the retract mounting housing. This is also evident on other FMS warbirds of similar retract placement. (EG, Folke Wolf, P-51) I have the 1450mm P-51 and the 1700mm Corsair and both of those have needed a lot of re-enforcement gluing. Same can be said of the Folke Wolf. However, this in itself has never stopped me from buying such FMS planes as I'm always prepared for additional "tweaking" of the gear anyway.
My second front is that the Zero just doesn't turn my crank. The shape of it doesn't appeal to me. This may stem from the real planes that I've seen at air shows. The Zero (to me) just doesn't look pretty. It doesn't make pleasing sounds for me and when flying with planes like the P-51 (very sleek), Corsair (brutish, intimidating), it looks "lunky", slow, bulky. It looks like it's trying to beat its way through the air while the other planes slice through with precision and cleanness. Keep in mind that it's just me. I know of other flyers who love the Zero and I see them giddy with delight when one flies by.

[Boots Whirlygig]

The Zeros I’ve seen at airshiws have always been the “Hollywood Zeros” aka “Tora Tora Tora Zeros”, dolled up T-6 Texans, so of course the performance was understandably lacking. I’ve seen videos of the actual A6M5 and it dose NOT lack in the sound and performance department. It was and is a remarkable design achievement. I bought two, the tan and green FMS and plan on repainting them. I’d also like to do the LG mod outlined by Ryan in the video he has. It is such an icon that if it has been discontinued Flightline needs to come out with a new larger example!

[rifleman_btx]

I got to see the real thing in Houston a few years back, it was actually a nice plane with a very unique sound.

[Arycon]

It would be most welcome if Flightline released a 1200mm to 1400mm Zero. I'd be all over it. Anything smaller is just too small for my tastes and anything larger is more difficult to transport and store. 1200mm or 1300mm would be ideal for me, especially considering their planes in that range are usually about $200. It is a steal.

[rifleman_btx]

+1 for that

[AkumaZeto]

This bird has lived a long and successful life going back to the v1 days. It never made it past v2. It lands like butter. Could be the best flying foam plane ever. Its from 2008

[Loneflier]

It would be most welcome if Flightline released a 1200mm to 1400mm Zero. I'd be all over it. Anything smaller is just too small for my tastes and anything larger is more difficult to transport and store. 1200mm or 1300mm would be ideal for me, especially considering their planes in that range are usually about $200. It is a steal.

Good idea, and perhaps they could move the gear out just enough to avoid nose-overs in grass. The FMS is very difficult to fly well off a grass field without modding the retracts, and even then is prone to nose overs when taxiing. Once in the air, the FMS 1400 Zero is a great flying plane.

[bradl4648]

Yes, I have this plane as well and sold many to people because I felt that out of all the warbirds this was the best to fly. take off landings a sinch. It does anything you want it to do. I agree flight line should have in a 55"

[fieldofdreamsflyer]

Its not discontined , FMS still sells it . I think the Tan one there not making anymore
Motion doesnt sell much of FMS anymore

[DonRhone]

No kidding, most of the FMS planes listed on the MRC site are marked as "Out of Stock"

[Loneflier]

Its not discontined , FMS still sells it . I think the Tan one there not making anymore
Motion doesnt sell much of FMS anymore

I hadn't really noticed that MRC seems to be cutting back on FMS planes, but after reading your post, I went back to their website and looked at just the FMS planes being offered. There does seem to be a lot of them showing out of stock, and overall, there are not as many as there used to be. I would hate to see MRC drop FMS, but there are several other places that still offer them, and perhaps the Flight Line series will fill in the difference.