As Pat mentioned earlier, it is difficult to judge by picture alone (especially some of the earlier pictures Outlaw has -- perhaps due to the methods used by their photographer). There was an old thread in the 1050 forum by someone who chose not to get a 1050 because he thought it was blue based on some pictures on Outlaw's site. When a friend bought one, he was startled to discover that it's actually somewhere between dark gray and black (not as pure black as some components in my rack, but really too dark to be quite gray if that makes sense). Looking at JasonA's 200 pictures (particularly the front and front detail pictures), it appears to be the same finish as the Outlaw faceplate I'm looking at right now (a Model 950). The finish on the aluminum can often catch ambient light a lot when photographed and make the face look lighter than it really is.

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