Shawn: You took Kevin’s constructive criticism well, and I agree with his comments, FWIW. The pictures struck me the same way, even before I read what he had to say about them. Good teamwork, guys! Definitely flat on the firebox, and a wooden cab would have a gloss finish one way or another.
I too felt right away that your loco already looks way better than the gaudy way LGB usually finished them. As for LGB collectors, each to his own, but frankly I find all that perfectionism just a little tiresome…
I buy stuff to have fun with, not to leave pristine for the grandchildren. They won’t give a pachyderm’s posterior.
… my 2cents.
I am convinced personally that any piece of equipment looks better weathered a bit. I go for subtle, a little road dust. Viewers may not know what you’ve done, but the overall effect will make a lasting impression.
Oldtime railroaders cared for their equipment, and not just the locos either.
During the golden age, crews polished their locos, often on their own time; wood passenger cars were finished with varnish, later with shiny paint, and kept very impressively clean and fresh. Even freight cars were well maintained; I’ve never seen an old photo of a decrepit or rundown freight car during that period, and seldom in any period if they were in use at all. Chalkmarks and a little graffiti have always been a part of freightcars though; freighthandlers often had chalk as part of their equipment, and would often doodle with it.
I was a freighthandler myself during my teenage years, drew a few Kilroys in my time … 
