Mismatches not exclusive to Lionel. LOL!
Just received this handsome Premiere Dreyfuss from 2014 and noticed that the tender is slightly lighter than the locomotive. First time I've had this experience with a steam locomotive. She's a beauty and I happen to have a Premiere RPO from some years back on hand that I plan to use with it that is considerably lighter in hue, dramatically so! It appears to be much closer to the new Legacy hudsons that there was such a stir about...
This difference in tone is more apparent in person than in these photos.
I will run the RPO along with some 21" K-Line aluminum cars that are 'generic' until or if I run across a matching 20th Century Ltd set sometime in the future. Has anyone else noticed this slight difference in their Hudsons from different time frames perchance?