Ah, the joys of modeling the Milwaukee! I have 4 Hiawathas ranging from the 1942 Afternoon Hi to the 1952 Afternoon Hi (the other 2 are '47 and "50 Oly HIs ) Each has a diferent color scheme from the others and there's one scheme from that time frame besides these.
I got one of the first run DL 109s in the as-delivered scheme (not the one shown on page 8 of The City Of Milwaukee) For a pic of the as-delivered scheme check page 130 of The Milwaukee Road Passenger Train Services. This was shortly replaced w/ the longest lived DL 109 scheme (pg. 8 C of Milw) Around 1947 the 3rd (of 4) scheme, an adaptation of the Oly Hi Erie built w/o the huge chrome nose piece was applied and finally the 1950s scheme which is the current LL offering. Personally I think that's a better choice than as-delivered scheme since I don't think I've ever seen a pic of the as-delivered scheme in service.
I agree that the white disc in lieu of a Mars light is a sorry effort. I revised my as-built scheme to the later pre-1947 by simply masking off the nose wings and repainting after adding a piece of plastic tube for the pathetic Mars light that was on it originally. Unfortunately that option won't work w/ the wingless final scheme.
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