72 Grill NOS or not how can i tell

[jc]

hey all i need a little help here. i just baught a 71 72 inner grill thats suposed to be nos its got the part number molded into it (3990700) and the box has a mathcing GM sticker(dated 1981) the box itself was made in 1994.
but the thing im not sure of is the color of the plastic. ive never seen a new inner repo or nos, just the orginals on the truck witch looks severely faded compared to the new grey/silver grill. did these grills look this grey off the asembly line. any help is greatly apprciated thanks john from jersey