Saeble

well, I'd say the pot is well and truly stirred, (though this was NOT my direct intention). I'm Australian, so please pack away your arsenal of anti-Yank weapons. (:P) I have English relatives/friends with long, long direct but distant memories of the Blitz, I think most of them would agree that it's long since done and dusted. If anyone is seriously offended I'd suggest some counselling is in order, or perhaps talking to thier Pastor. If we wait for every single person with any sort of memories of the horrors of WW2, we'll lose all contact with the subject, Wiki notwithstanding. In fact one of them in particular would be first in line to buy a Spitfire or a Mosquito. Those thundering Merlins tend to leave very deep and positive memories. Perhaps these sets should be limited to UCS sets and if sensitivities are still as high as some members of this board would imply, perhaps release them into very limited markets and let the bricklink underground railroad put the sets into the hands of the wowserish folk in the UK/Germany. The market is there and LEGO desperately needs every shekel it can lay its hands on if my 'inside source' can be relied upon. The friends system/themes will only go so far, though I really do welcome the loss of the vaguely misoginist undertones LEGO has always had, it wont be enough to stem the tide. The huge raft of military fans is effectively untapped aside from a few non-LEGO attempts and even those have been American fighters etc. If LEGO chooses a bolder approach and moves into WW2 stuff, then they may have a chance of surviving. I would much rather have LEGO with a 'gentler and as neutral as possible WW2 theme', than no LEGO at all. The only other really valid perspective here the one about it being too gritty and 'real'... well fine, make 'em UCS and those objections pretty much vanish into the 16+ stratosphere. Kids grow up these days, faster than many of us are comfortable with. I for one see little value in censorship, esp about topics which impact thier history. A child who grows up in cotton wool grows up soft. Pretending it didn't happen is the first step down a very dark and dangerous road. Ok so kids should not be exposed to war and all the other negative stuff until they are old enough to handle it but having that decision made for the State or by Corporate interests is folly. I say let there be UCS WW2 sets and let the market sort it out. Helicopter parents can fly off somewhere pretty full of rainbows and Unicorns and candy floss. The rest of us would like the choice to expose our kids to the truth, no matter how grim or gritty it may be. None have addressed the positives I mentioned. Technologies not directly related to killing people advanced in huge leaps thanks chiefly to the war for one small isolated example, service ceilings on aircraft climbed steeply during the war. Even the really grim business of the Nazi concentration camps had thier abysmal upsides in terms of medical research on the Jewish 'non-people'. In any case, that's not the real issue. The focus should be on the advances we all made under the auspices of war. The jet engine for example. The steam turbine in ships is another. If the LEGO conscience needs to be assuaged, then make it very clear that the models are all about the technology, perhaps even going to the extent of creating a Merlin Engine Technic kit and perhaps a Jumo Jet engine and let the buyer decide if it ends up in Lancaster or some other warbird. With the advent of Cuusoo and and the myriad of other constructor assemblages, I'm sure we could come to sone sort of compromise. LEGO is all about teaching kids about a myriad of things, we shouldn't sugar coat the bad parts. In short, I don't see why we have any right to project our prejudices onto our kids, nor do I think anyone else has the right to push those same prejudices.

I know its a long standing unwritten rule that LEGO does not create anything related to war either current or from recent times and I'm sure there is atleast one thread on this topic somewhere in the crypts mouldering away, however... ...given how long ago World War Two was, isn't it about time that this period is thrown open for Offical LEGO sets ? There is basically nobody left who has any real first hand knowledge of the period and anyone who does knows anything about it, is not on a first hand knowledge basis. I think we can safely start building with due respect to those that fought in that war and not let this period fade away completely. I am heartened by the release of the set 7292 which I've christened the 'Notsquito' because it is for all intents and purposes, a Mosquito Fighter/Bomber in civvy clothing. If I thought I could get away with it, I'd build a copy of it in greens and brown and do it properly as a Cuusoo. War is awful, most assuredly, however it has in the past driven huge leaps in many field of human endeavour to greater heights, Medicine, Engineering and many others owe a huge debt to war for fantastic achievements. We have plenty of sets with Canon's and black powder guns, I think its high time we moved into the 20th century... I for one am dying to build some of the awesome things we humans built to fight each other in the second world war.

I ended up cheating and buying a fresh box from another vendor, however I'd still like to see the internals of it, so I can perhaps resurrect the old one for shits and giggles.

chers for the advice guys but its still dead, I still maintain something is wrong internally, has anyone pulled the box apart ? In regards to the Technic Gearhead upgrade, :) sure if you want to buy the bits for me.

Hey guys, Sadly, my motor/batterybox is DOA in this set. Can somebody point me at an exploded diagram of the internals of the battery box ? The rocker assembly feels crappy and I want to open it up (carefully) and inspect it. There are signs of corrosion from some seriously melty batteries, I fear the battery box may be a throw away job but I'm hoping I can save it. If it's not the battery box it has to be interconnectors or the motor. I don't even want to contemplate pulling that apart... If anyone can offer me some pointers, that would be awesome. cheers, Saeble