<UserControl x:Class="ABC.APP.ProfileWpf.ChartControl"
             xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
             xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
             xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
             xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
             mc:Ignorable="d"
             d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="300" xmlns:telerik="http://schemas.telerik.com/2008/xaml/presentation">
    <Grid>
        <telerik:RadChart Margin="0" Name="mChartControl">
            <telerik:RadChart.DefaultSeriesDefinition>
                <telerik:Bar3DSeriesDefinition />
            </telerik:RadChart.DefaultSeriesDefinition>
  
            <telerik:RadChart.DefaultView>
                <telerik:ChartDefaultView>
                    <telerik:ChartDefaultView.ChartLegend>
                        <telerik:ChartLegend Name="legend" />
                    </telerik:ChartDefaultView.ChartLegend>
                    <telerik:ChartDefaultView.ChartArea>
                        <telerik:ChartArea LegendName="legend" DimensionMode="Strict3D">
                            <telerik:ChartArea.Extensions>
                                <telerik:CameraExtension />
                            </telerik:ChartArea.Extensions>
                        </telerik:ChartArea>
                    </telerik:ChartDefaultView.ChartArea>
                </telerik:ChartDefaultView>
            </telerik:RadChart.DefaultView>
        </telerik:RadChart>        
    </Grid>
 and the code where I pass the marker shape looks like this:

mChartControl.DefaultView.ChartArea.Legend.LegendItemMarkerShape = value;

I am using VS2010 and the weird thing here is if I let the code run without inspecting the object in the QuickWatch 
Dialog then it will exception with the error "Object reference not set to an instance of an object.".  If I 
go ahead and inspect the mChartControl object and drill all of the way down to the Lengend object the Legend 
object will show "+Legend{Telerik.Windows.Controls.Charting.ChartLegend Header: Items.Count:0}" that it does
exist and the code will run as it should without exception, but if I just do a hover over the string in the 
IDE the Legend oject will show a value of NULL and will exception.  Please let me know what is going on here
and what can be done to correct this.  Thanks for your help out there.