What 'Vile' & 'Tasteless' Toy Did This London Store Pull After Customers Complained? (Hint: It Has Big Guns)

Described by some as "vile" and "tasteless," this toy has been pulled from the shelves of Liberty, a popular London department store, after dozens of customers complained:

Critics are upset because they say the wooden toy closely resembles this:

Image courtesy lindsayfincher

That's a Soviet Katyusha rocket launcher.

So what? It's a wooden toy version of old Soviet gear? It's not like we're still in the Cold War. What's the big deal?

"Recently, [Katyusha rocket launchers] have been used by Hezbollah militants to fire rockets into Israel and during the Libyan conflict last year," the Daily Mail explains.

"A model of a Katyusha rocket launcher and a billboard promoting Hezbollah, the

militant and political group," the NYT reports.

Oh.

"Liberty can sell what they like, but I think it is bizarre," Democrat MP Jo Swinson, who is also a parliamentary aide to Nick Clegg, told The Independent on Sunday.

"When small children in conflict zones around the world are being killed and maimed by rocket launchers, it seems rather tasteless to be marketing a sanitised [sic] pink version to young children in our country," he added.

Kids on Roof, the Dutch toy company responsible for the wooden rocket launcher, lists the toy on its website under the category "uncensored toys."

The wooden replica, which is marketed to younger children, is available in baby pink, yellow, or natural wood and cost about $36.00. Oddly enough, despite the reported backlash, the toy sold out on Liberty’s website and in store, according to a spokesman for the company.

“However,” the Daily continues, “he admitted the toy was an oversight which should not have been ordered.”

“We do not condone warfare and we apologize for any offense caused. We won't be selling anything like that again,” the spokesman said.

What do you think?