Based on what I've read in other posts on the forum, MTH has a fair number of unpainted 400E engines laying around. After painting them in so many different schemes and flooding the market, why not do the Orient Express? At least it's something different, and perhaps TCA can raise a few dollars with it.
Virtually every item in standard gauge is a fantasy piece, so I see no reason to be concerned about the finer points of prototypical design or color. If a person likes it and has $2500 to spare, let them enjoy it.
Don't look for me to be among the 8 who are selected in the drawing, though. (It would be interesting to know how many people enter the drawing.) And woe to the person who buys one thinking that it will become a valuable collector item in a few years.
