I look at the two photos and wonder if there might not be some "Ektachrome" vs "Kodachrome" going on there too.

That first shot could be Kodachrome or Agfachrome, I'm not sure. Your good, Rob my shot is Ektachrome. I can go back and find two Kodachromes of another GP-35 and the differences are still there.

The shot of 3639 is interesting. Albeit, 2 different lighting conditions. I still think the green on the P2K model is too green.
Keep in mind that paint shop fresh, and later in the weather after a while is comparing apples and oranges. . .so to speak.
I also have a pair of the Oriental GP30s; they are beautiful. I think the green is right-on with those models.

This topic is the most debated of any topic in any Q&A format. I think if you went back to the first couple Bee lines in 1978 or when ever they were and read the "Stop Look and Listen" of the day one will find this topic in the list. Usually it is the yellow but the green is the same. The paint model manufacturers strive for accuracy, we demand it. In this case they can only rely on the manufacturer's specs, those paint numbers that they get from builder, the company paint and lettering numbers or the paint manufacturers number and then how accurately was it reproduced. There is no "acurate" formula for "rate of weathering/fade" (I remember a statement from a shop employee stating they only mixed the 55 gallon drum of paint once a day and a box car painted in the morning could look significantly different than the afternoon car due to pigment settling. True? Who knows. The RCT&HS used those numbers and a surviving "can" of paint to get paints for the 5513 and 5308. The 5513, as I recall was just some pretty standard enamal auto paint. The 5308 recieved Amerflynt (sp) which was an advanced epoxy paint or something like that. One can see a difference in how they have weathered the years (BTW the RCT&HS has owned both Locos longer than the Reading did) Once they hit the road it was anybody's guess how they would weather and how much dirt anfd grime was on top when you took a photo. I have been "indexing" all of my Reading books by road number, location, and date of photo, etc. (as close as the photo is Identified) and it is amazing how many times there is a photo and the diesel looks cruddy and the a year later looks pretty good, but shows no sign of having been painted. This is an aurgument no one will win, and the only reasonable solution is paint to suit your own eye and don't judge others paint jobs because somewhere there is a picture that will match the paint job you are critiqing. Embrace the variety.

JoannaBill wrote:
Bill, thanks for posting the photos. Do you what length of time separates them? Also, in the second picture, the trees have no leaves. Was the second one taken in March and the first in June? I ask because the trees in the second have no leaves, and the plants in the foreground are starting to put out their leaves.

it is pretty much up to the individual modeler, what they feel comfortable with. when painting I use floquil Reading green, and refer yellow. when I have R-T-R equipmentI just weather to taste.