Interesting discussion!!! Opinions seem to be pretty evenly split.
I was in a hurry when I made my original comments earlier, so let me add to those thoughts.
Consider this, what makes something collectable??
Supply and demand. Why don’t Marx trains command the same kind of crazy prices that Lionel trains do? Demand just isn’t there. I think a lot has to do with the name and the reputation. Marx was always considered to be a lesser manufacturer, even though they made some really nice stuff in their day.
K-line has always catered to the idea of making commerative trains with unusual and unrealistic paint schemes in the hopes of reaching out to people that collect other things, like Coke or Ford or whatever. They would do a run of custom paint for anyone, when Lionel refused, and in small quantities. Does this make them collectable? Maybe, but there still has to be a demand.
Now if Allen, or anyone else, writes an article or a book saying that these things are “rare”, there is a chance that people will take notice. Suddenly there is a demand, where once there was none. Collecting is based on hype. No hype, no value. Scout sets don’t get much hype. A Blue Comet on the other hand, you get the idea.
Personally, I got over the collecting thing when the manufacturers started flooding the market. I started to see the trains for what they really were, models of real trains.
The future is uncertain. The trains are to be enjoyed here and now without regard for their future value. Do you think that people in the early part of the 20th century gave any thought to the future value of their toys? Doubtful, they just played with and enjoyed them, some even painted them.
I have a set of shells from some Santa Fe F-3’s, an A and 2 B’s (screen tops) that I picked up in a collection that I bought. All were painted.
Bottom line, they’re your trains. If you don’t like the way they look, paint away.