The body shell is completely retooled and captures the good looks of the DF4DK. Some of the better features are separate metal roof grilles, machined brass air horns, roof glass panels and windshield wipers. The paint work is generally very good, although there are a couple of fuzzy lines where the maroon and cream merge. The lettering and logos are very nicely done as usual. What I do like is the subtle individuality between units with different sized China Rail logos, the positioning of the side numbers, etc. The front handrails are painted maroon which is better than plain steel, however DF4DK's are painted in both maroon and cream to the same design as the body work - see prototype photo above.

In my eyes, the decorated version 3094 is the disappointment of the bunch with the large front brass characters painted on which gets hidden by the overall paint of the rest of the locomotive. and the Youth Civilization separate badge far too thick, hence my decision not to buy one (although this was also in part to the huge cost of these models).

The color scheme of 3113 bears a more yellow livery than the rest of the versions. This was supposedly a locally applied color scheme by the Tianjin local railway, an outfit which liked to paint their locomotives in their own flavour. I have found the real 3113 twice in my recent travels to China, but never in this rich yellow color scheme (see photo above in the "prototype information" section) so possibly the model is based on an earlier time (however, it is worth noting also that the model bears Beijing bureau markings).