****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
During my research for a new globe I discovered that the Chinese communist party recently mandated that Made In China maps and globes must include disputed markings favorable to China, such as a 'nine-dash' line in the South China Sea and modified political boundaries in Kashmir. (Do an Internet search for 'map war'.) This Made-in-the-USA product does not have such propaganda printed on its surface.The globe arrived nicely packed and in great condition, and lighted up as expected when plugged in. There are instructions in the box for opening the globe and repairing the light; fortunately I did not have to use them. The cord itself is about 3' long with a small high-quality switch box (and presumably the circuitry to convert 110V AC to the LED DC voltage) about 16" from the globe. The plug is 2-prong polarized. In a bright room it can be difficult to see the lighted effect, but in a darker setting it's quite spectacular to see the political boundaries jump out when the light is switched on. Replogle also includes a mail-in card offering 50% off on a new globe if/when political boundaries change in the future.I only have three complaints with the globe, and they're all minor: it would be nice if it had an Analemma, I wish the two halves fit together more precisely at the equator, and the terrain texturing for the Andes seems to be slightly off on the border between Chile and Argentina. However, those are all nitpicks. Overall I am very pleased with this purchase. There's about as much detail as you can cram on a 12" globe, the terrain texturing is fun, the ocean currents and directions are shown and the ocean terrain is shown (although the ocean terrain is not textured), and the lighted political boundaries are awesome. Very pleased with my purchase.
