I’ve got some bad news for LEGO Technic fans this morning.
42113 Bell™ Boeing™ V-22 Osprey™ has officially been postponed, and possibly cancelled.
While this version of the Osprey is based on search & rescue work, the fact that the Osprey is primarily a military aircraft has become an issue.
Here’s the official statement from LEGO…
The LEGO Technic Bell Boeing Osprey V-22 was designed to highlight the important role the aircraft plays in search and rescue efforts.
While our set depicts a rescue version of the plane, the aircraft is predominately used by the military. We have a long-standing policy not to create sets which feature military vehicles and in this case we have not adhered to our own internal guidelines.
As a result, we are currently reviewing our plans to launch this product on August 1.
That’s a shame, this one looked interesting functionally. Did wonder how it had gotten through the process though, especially as they would have had to have gotten a licence. Sucks for the designer, it looks a good model. Perhaps they’ll re-jig it so it has similar functionality but doesn’t resemble a real plane.
How did they not realise this earlier?
And how did not one but two Sopwith Camels get through?
My local Costco has them on order apparently
…and don’t forget about set 60021 Cargo HeliPlane designed around the geometry of the Osprey.
Anyone who got a model to review now has a very rare item. Will be interesting to see if they come up for sale later or Lego requests them back. Wonder what prompted the late withdrawal?
I don’t get it. How about the 31039? It is obviously modelled after F-35. Lego just saying bs without basis.
It’s rather hypocritical of TLG considering they have produced historical military aircraft in the past, and the Osprey fits the historical narrative. Ultimately, they could rework it into the civil AgustaWestland AW609
Notable military aircraft they have previously produced include:
691: Rescue Helicopter (1974) (Based on the Sea King helicopter)
770: Rescue Set (1976) (Based on the Sea King helicopter)
3451: Sopwith Camel (2001)
10024: Red Baron (2002)
10226: Sopwith Camel (2012)
40049: Mini Sopwith Camel (2012)
I note too they produced set 6769: Fort Legoredo (1996), a military fort!
Presumably these are manufactured and ready for shipping, if not already shipped?!?
This is a huge shame, I’ve been looking forward to this set for so long now and to have it pulled 10 days before isn’t great, lego has done loads of military based sets (fighter jets and the like) before and this just seems like a weak excuse.