Indiana Jones V Nazis & CCCP

I was in Hamley’s Toy Store yesterday, god I get around don’t I? Anyway, I went in and was predictably drawn towards the Lego section – the only toy that matters in my crucial opinion. I was taking a gander at some of the sets and I came across the latest Indiana Jones Lego sets. It all looked quite similar to the films, I thought, until I took a closer butcher’s hook at one of the baddie’s planes.

Now, if I’m not very much mistaken, all the baddies in the Indiana Jones film were nasty Nazis. But what had those Danish weirdos at The Lego Company done? Instead of putting everyone’s favourite facist symbol – the swastika – on the side of the plane, they decided to put CCCP instead. Now, I can understand they don’t really want the symbol of the most evil regime of all time sold to 8 year olds across the world – but what are they suggesting by putting the CCCP on instead?

OK, let’s all take a quick look at the history books (oh, I mean Wikipedia) and yes, we discover that the CCCP was not entirely unconnected to the 2nd biggest act of genocide of all time. Mao Tse-Tung comes first, with the Nazis making third place. In some sets they had the Luftwaffe symbol, while others had just letters. But one definitely had the CCCP.

So in Legoland, Indy battles Nazis, Soviets and random letter empires?

I think Lego should be taking a lead on representing reality to children. You can’t even get more than one Lego man in a saloon car, that’s surely not right?