Dig,
Just an observation on that latter picture of the hammergun... it looks to me like the color saturation of the photograph may have exaggerated the colors. Note the barrel color. I suspect those barrels are not bright orange nor the colors of the frame so prominent when observed in person. But I agree that some colors are OTT.
When I look at the various guns with casehardening colors, it strikes me that some original guns had subdued colors and some very OTT colors. What's an accurate representation of the original colors for one make, may be completely inappropriate for another. In general, it seems like the English guns were/are more subtle with blues and grays. The reds, browns, and yellows, in combination with blues and grays, seem to be common on American guns.
