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Opinions please.

Thanks in advance.

YYs are not my area of expertise, but I do have some knowledge of sunfades.
According to the second post here, the normal grey will fade to pale blue. Having said that, I would add that completely even sunfades are unusual (but not unknown)and, in my experience, Lesney sunfades have a tendency to look slightly dirty, sometimes with an almost mottled experience.
This model seems to have an even colour all over with the possible exception of the back half of the undersaide of the rear leaf springs (or is that just dirt?). These should be investigated further. I would also suggest that comparison of the overspray pattern on the inside of the bonnet with a normal grey example might pay dividends.
Please note this thread discusses a further example.

The radiator on this model has the mottled gold surround which other examples of light blue models have had. This is the most likely candidate for the real thing I've seen.

I'm going with sun fade Bob. Under the axle in middle section it looks discoloured, same as the side. I would try giving this area a clean to check if it is dirt or has it discoloured from the original blue. When I look at mine its even blue all over in every nook and cranny. Another way to check is as the decal is so bad, scrape a small piece away and check the colour under it.

Here are some additional pics based on your suggestions, and some in natural sunlight. Sunny day out here in Lemont, Illinois.

From a well known auction house

After seeing the most recent pictures, it's clearly sun faded.

Tinman wrote:After seeing the most recent pictures, it's clearly sun faded.

yes as seen where the red label trim was

do these start out as the light or dark grey..... does not matter?

The shade there may be caused by bleed from the red in the decal but the left side shade viewed from underneath worries me as it looks to have a greenish tinge to it. Usually it is the area under the cab roof which gives them away but hard to see in the photos. Its one of those models you have to check in daylight and in hand.

I have to go with Sunfade. Those water slide decals have certainly suffered from something as you can see a transposiotion of the Red lining embedded into the paintwork behind where the decal was/should be. The decals may well come away quite easily if they are totally dried out, but if not, I would source some of the decal softening liquid from a hobby store and see if a section of the decal can be tempted away from the model without further breakage or cracking.

Ghosthunter.