Hey Bob
A little more history on the "Mod 042" from a factory letter! The guns were made to recover the cost of a problem(the factory never wasted anything). They were made on 642 frames that the factory was having problems producing a proper finish on for the 642! I have owned 2(still have one) of these and under close inspection you will find the mod 042 was stamped over the original 642 stamping. Both of the guns I have had were a high polished blue but I have seen a dull blue finish also. This model was never a catalogue item. These were sold in 1992 and 1993 with a total production of 4415 guns made. An interesting side note to scrap frames, the factory also produced a "Mod 032". These were produced on "cosmetically imperfect frames" of the 632 model. There were 180 of these made in 1992.
jcelect