I talked to Mollenhauer and yes, they agreed to repair it free under warranty. But when I found I would have to pay for shipping to Germany from California I decided against that option because shipping it would cost me $100 USPS uninsured or $325 with insurance from UPS. Then I talked to the retailer again and he agreed to fix it for me so I sent it to him. I am hoping he actually does a proper repair job rather than sticking some tape in there to hold it in place like he told me to do. This guy has had 50 years experience playing and servicing recorders so I have to trust he will do an acceptable job of fixing it.
I understand that a wooden instrument requires more care and maintenance than a plastic one, nevertheless, a new instrument costing $1450 ought to have been thoroughly checked out by the seller before he shipped it off to me. A block that rattles and falls out of the head is clearly unacceptable.
For the record, I’ve owned and played four wooden recorders for over twenty years (Dolmetsch tenor, Kung alto, Moeck soprano and Adler sopranino) and none of those instruments ever required any repair beyond replacing the cork periodically. I’ve taken good care of them and they’ve never cracked and the blocks have never got loose.