Technic osprey postponed (update: cancelled)

[Tom a.k.a. eastawat]

Bad news for Technic fans:

https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-technic-42113-bell-boeing-v-22-osprey-helicopter-postponed-and-possibly-cancelled/

Lego have decided to review whether the Osprey is suitable since, although it's depicted as a rescue aircraft, it's primarily used for military purposes and is licensed from Boeing which is apparently the world's second largest arms company.

I hope they go ahead with it as it's a nice looking set and the tilting rotors are an interesting function to build in Technic. That being said, having seen a review, it wasn't without its design flaws and it made me more tempted to build one as a moc than buy the set.

[John]

 should we boycott flying on Boeing planes?????? These stances are a little over the top. All the weaponry in combat themes and no-one has a reaction like this.

[Merlin]

lego have a long standing policy of not promoting military products, it's more their own policy in question than if people should fly on boeing planes... but as others online have pointed out, lego have made numerous versions of this type of aircraft and have other products with military applications including the range rover. so it's unlikely they will completely cave on this one especially as most stores will have already received stock and some people already have copies of the set.

[Tom a.k.a. eastawat]

Update: It's been cancelled. Statement from Lego:

The LEGO Technic Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey was designed to highlight the important role the aircraft plays in search and rescue efforts. While the set clearly depicts how a rescue version of the plane might look, the aircraft is only used by the military. We have a long-standing policy not to create sets which feature real military vehicles, so it has been decided not to proceed with the launch of this product.

We appreciate that some fans who were looking forward to this set may be disappointed, but we believe it’s important to ensure that we uphold our brand values. 

So keep an eye out for some potentially extremely valuable stock that may have already reached stores...