[Eliot Ness]

Bought the fully assembled battery from Ed (with WWII) logo.
He has it down to an art and I would have to do this...with less spectacular results and for many hours. Considering there are still expenses, not a huge price to pay.

Those are a pretty good buy for the cosmetic display alone.  Are you also ordering one of his battery holder kits, and are the D cells still needed?  When I move my radios (ugh) next week I'll peek in the back of my Bomber and see what condition the D cell holder is in.

You could also measure/compare that resistor (?) to your other chassis since you have the luxury of two sets.  I'd be curious to see what it reads both ohm and capacitor wise out of circuit, but I agree it is most likely a resistor.