Sorry, but I only have a picture of the models from the right side avalailable ... (and I'm too lazy to get out the camera tonight
)
In the above picture an "original style" model is on the top and a new production model on the bottom. (The Hogue grips on the original style model were not made for that model with the cutaway grip, but modified from standard Hogues for the 4516/457.)
As
40cal stated, the original model has
TACTICAL laser-etched on the left side, and the new model has
45 TACTICAL laser-etched on it.
The original model uses a 6-rd magazine which sits flush with the bottom of the grip, while the later production version with the standard profile grip uses 7-rd magazines (butt plate protrudes below the bottom of the grip profile). The butt plate was actually wider than other .45 butt plates, so they could become part of the grip.
I don't have any images of the difference in the .45 butt plates from a perspective that best illustrates this, but I do have a clickable thumbnail image of the difference between the standard curved butt plate of a 3913/908/CS9 magazine, alongside the wide butt plate used on the original style 3913TSW's 7-rd magazine, and it's the same concept as was used in the original 4513TSW:
The original 4513TSW has the plain stainless finish manual safety & slide stop lever assemblies, while the same parts on the new one has a black finish (contrasting colors, apparently thought to be attractive by someone in marketing, or so I was once told
).
The original 4513TSW slide had a machined recess under the right hand ambi safety lever, angled forward & downward, so the ambi lever could be removed when the manual safety had to be removed. The new models received a dimension change and no longer have (or need) such a machined recess for ambi lever removal. (You can see the angled recessed groove on the gun in the top of the image.)
The new one has a loaded chamber visual inspection port in the barrel tab (nice feature), and has the riveted accessory rail (no comment).
The new one has also received the necessary machining in the slide (under the left side safety lever) required to accept the optional spring-loaded, decock-only assembly. The original model doesn't have this additional machining, so the optional decock-only assembly couldn't be installed in an original model without the slide being sent back for machining, which I'm not sure they're offering anymore.
You can see a slight change in the grip tangs, and there were some machining changes inside the newer ones which aren't visible unless you know what to look for and have the gun disassembled.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head this late at night.
4513 TSW Tactical
Linear Mode
