I am in the process of repainting the Bachmann USRA 4-6-2 I got not long ago and was trying to find a match for the "silver gray" on the smoke and fire boxes when it hit me...most of the photos of real engines show the smoke box as a darker color than the main boiler.
Here's the WBB USRA Pacific:
And here's photos of real engines:
What gives? I'm I seeing it wrong or have the manufacturers duped us again? Or is the silver/gray color nothing more than something museums have done to make the engines look more glamorous?
Here's a "color" photo of SAL Q3 435. Not sure this hasn't been retouched, photo looks to crisp and clean for what appears to be a scrap line: