sounds to me that the squishy torrets are cheaper to make. maybe they needed to reduce costs?
they look cheap btw, sorry. a plastic shiny torret Im sure would look better.
i don't think the hard plastic turrets were replaced by the rubber ones to cut down on production costs - like some have previosuly mentioned, I would say it's more like a new prevention/safety measure, which is good I think (although not that good for us collectors, but the main target of toys are KIDS - we have to deal with that lol)
good review wesley, thanks - I too love the oven, and the tiles inside