I can't say I've really studied this (sorry, bit in a hurry here) but at first glance I'd say you're right!
[edit]
Yes, scale should obviously be inherited from the parent like position & rotation, but might it have to do with the fact you first scale the cone _and then_ parent it to the sphere (possibly creating a 'skewered' result)?
If instead you created the cone and parent it directly like "cone=createCone(x,x,parentBall)" and then scaling the cone locally give the same result or problem?
Danny
[edit]
Yes, scale should obviously be inherited from the parent like position & rotation, but might it have to do with the fact you first scale the cone _and then_ parent it to the sphere (possibly creating a 'skewered' result)?
If instead you created the cone and parent it directly like "cone=createCone(x,x,parentBall)" and then scaling the cone locally give the same result or problem?
Danny