I'm always the odd man out, but I really really like the unpainted models with all the brass detailing showing.
At one of the last "good" Cal-Stewart meets ten years ago, I found a mostly unpainted MTH Premier GS-4. Made a motor mount out of a car radio chassis, used a motor that I had from Sunset and lengthened the dog bone connector to the gear box (no flywheel). An ERR Cruise Commander completed the project.
Love it!