I agree, the HT MKVII is a little too red. In the pics I just took, the color looks almost there. In person though, my piece is really really really dark... It's almost purple, definitely closer to burgundy than red. Then again, it could just be my eyes, color can be subjective. I have all the movies and seen them so much, I can't help but feel like the color is off on my piece. Fortunately, some friends will come over and give their opinions later. As for the gold, it definitely doesn't look metallic or even painted over metal. I could be nitpicky, but the in-person proto pics from last years SDCC, the gold was astonishing. You could almost swear it was made of an alloy.