At 06:47 PM 2/14/2005, you wrote:

On Monday, February 14, 2005, at 08:23 AM, Tim O'Connor wrote:

P.S. The worst ever paint matching might be the Kato ACF covered
hoppers. Their Cotton Belt models were GREEN, while the prototype
used a light gray color!

Tim,
Not true. This model very closely matched an AC&F paint sample that I
sent to Kato at the time.

I have to agree - I saw some of the SSW cars that were almost brand new (and others from other lines - the grey had a most definite green cast to it. And, if you look at cement as it cures you see that same color. I'll also say I saw some of the "green" ACF covered hoppers some months later and they looked awfully (more) grey. Whether this was due to moisture in the original cars curing, or whether it was a case of material handling weathering I don't know. But I can vouch for "green" SSW and other covered hoopers.

Funny - as I write this, I am wearing a grey fleece top. The lights in this room have "sunlight" florescent bulbs. When I look at this thing in the right light I could swear it's that exact shade of "green" that is to say, grey, that I saw on those cars. Put it in full light, and it sure looks grey.