Some Combat Masterpiece eye candy

"One small step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind"

should have been the advertisement for the Models 64 and 66 that came out one year later in 1970
as S&W introduces their popular LEO market Models, 10, 15, and 19 in the new Stainless steel
previously only offered on the Model 36 as the Model 60.
The Model 67 followed two years later as SS models were in very high demand in the LE market.

4 Stainless steel Models were a minority at first but set the stage for what was to come at S&W .

Nixon and Agnew are now in office , the 73 gas crunch is upon us and my favorite healthy breakfast cereal is Captain Crunch as the 66 and 67 below were rolling out the doors at S&W.


Note that the early examples have the SS rear site that looked real cool but didnt give enough contrast and so would soon change.


Its now April 1975, Saigon is falling to the Communist North Vietnamese and I attend 5th grade classes at the Sussex Ave public School in Morristown NJ .
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And this 18-3 Serial 5K9042 K22 Combat Masterpiece is rolling out the doors of S&W ,


Pretty much the same Combat Masterpiece except for the usual ampersand changes, the dash 3 rear leaf site screw relocation and new short brass grip escutcheons, black washers for blued guns and SS for SS Models inside their numbered Magnas .


Ford, Carter wide ties the Bicentennial , Billy beer, Disco and Star Wars are just ahead on the horizon ,
 
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Son of Sam, Disco, Carter, Iran hostage crisis...Maybe lets skip ahead a bit to the 80s.

1980 Assassination attempts on the Pope and Ronald Reagen... Lets skip a bit more ...



1982 ET is in the theaters , Micheal Jackson sings Thriller and I am a part time Senior in High school ,
Full time surfer dude in Boca Raton Florida favorite hobbies are beer and girls.



At S&W The large right side trademark migrates to the left side frame,


The Alpha serial prefix is born and we see poorly fit blocky Magnas with goldish medallions, sloppy checkering , chemical bluing , smooth combat triggers and crush fit barrels that signal the end of the Pinned and Recessed (P&R) era
(Note K22's never stopped having recessed cylinders).

Models 18-4 Serial 270K816 and 67-1 AHY6291 exhibit the serial prefix change, blocky Magnas, Crush fit barrels and chemical blueing that is here to stay.


Interestingly the 18-4 has a Wide TT/TH where the 67-1 has the Smooth Combat trigger and semi target hammer .


What else is new ? the Ampersand of course


PS, What happened to that big channel cut behind the ejector rod knurling?
the rear site channel is no longer grooved to match the barrel rib also as a cost cutting measure.
 
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I need to stop for a moment because to know where we are going we have to know where we came from ,
Stepping back in time to 1950 the wide rib 6" K38 was introduced with matching frame in an attempt to weight match the 3 different caliber Masterpiece series.

The 1950 AMC advertised the new wide rib 6" K38 as the "Heavy" Masterpiece to distinguish it from the narrow rib tapered barrel design still available for purchase.

1950 Heavy Masterpiece in matte blue with non relieved walnut target grips with 1950 K22 tapered barrel Masterpiece.




By comparing the two designs side by side you can easily see the differences in barrel and frame,



Interestingly the wide rib K22 does not appear until 1955 and is not called a "Heavy" Masterpiece like its K38 sibling.

in 1965 by combining the heavy barrel from a Model 10 with the adjustable site Model 14 frame
a limited run of 4" 14-2's are produced and advertised as the "Hanen Special" ,
AKA the 4" Model 14-2 Dayton gun or 14-2 Heavy Combat masterpiece .


In 1970 another small run of 4" Model 14-3's are created with barrel rib grooves By shortening a Model 14 barrel (left),
The 14-2 HB (right) in comparison had a smooth rib from the Model 10 HB

This is important to know as we jump back to the mid 80s and evolution of the old tapered barrel Combat Masterpiece .
 
Its 1985 and one consistent thing is change,
Back to the Future, Top Gun, Ron Reagans 2nd term, SALT, Titanic is found as well as U2,
Genesis, The Police, Madonna, Prince, Wham, Boy George, New Coke fizzles,


1955 (Pre 18) Combat masterpiece (top) shown with 1985 Model 17-5 HB AWN1230 (bottom)
Hard to believe but that 30 year jump from 1955 to 1985 is the same 30 year jump from when the 17-5 was made to today in 2014


1986 Shuttle Challenger and Chernobly disasters , US bombs Libya , Perestroika and Glasnost, Iran-Contra Affair,Magnum, P.I., Platoon, Aliens, Dynasty, Hill Street Blues, Cagney and Lacey, Cheers ,The A-Team , The Bangles, Billy Joel, Robert Palmer, Lionel Richie, Van Halen, Culture Club, Pet Shop Boys


A change is in the works for our old tapered barrel Combat Masterpiece that now has a wide rib barrel (top).


A bit heavier but now built on the same frame as the 6" Model 17,


The Model 15 has the same profile and the Model 14 wil get a full underlug barrel in .38 special.
 
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Combat Masterpieces are sweet. I've got two in blue (one is a .38 and the other a .22), and one in stainless. I thought I had problems. :)
 
Combat Masterpieces are sweet. I've got two in blue (one is a .38 and the other a .22), and one in stainless. I thought I had problems. :)

Only three ?
You do have problems ha ha...Just kidding one each flavor is perfect,
I like the expression, " Enough is good, More is Better and too much just about right"
Truth is too much is really "Too Much" but its fun.
 
1989 The Year That Changed The World "Time "
Khomeini dies, Berlin Wall falls, Tienanmen square, End of Cold war, Panama, Noriega, Oliver North , Poland Solidarity, The Brick phone
Batman , Home Alone, Uncle Buck, Pet Cemetery, Major League , Field of dreams, Bobby Brown, Milli Vanilli ,
Fine Young Cannibals, Roxette, Mike + the Mechanics, Bangles, Bad English, Tone Loc ,


Cold War ends , cellphones are $1000 and the size of a brick and I am a brand new rookie FF on Engine 1 FLFD.
The Model 15-5 continues with a non underlug HB looking just like the old 14-3 and 14-2 below


The 14-5, 17-6 and new 617 in Stainless steel all get full underlug barrels and Finger groove combat grips,
 
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My 18-4 must be an early one with a pinned barrel and 24K99XX serial number. It came with TT and TH. While some of my favorite S&W's, this information makes me appreciate my 14-3, 15-2, 19-2, (and a couple of 19-3's) 66-1, 67 ND and the 18 even more. Thanks again.

Actually took quite a bit of typing and 3 full days at my computer but its fun to share the hobby and Im Glad you enjoyed it,

Puts things in perspective and kinda shocked me to realize how old alot of these revolvers really are,
Especially when posting the full underlug 17-6 and 617 and suddenly realized they came out when the brick phone did made me realize I had considered them as fairly new production but are actually 26 years old !
 
Additionally, my 18-4 has the logo on the side plate and a recess behind the knurled end of the ejector rod.

Actually took quite a bit of typing and 3 full days at my computer but its fun to share the hobby and Im Glad you enjoyed it,

Again, nice work and the connections to world events gave a unique perspective. Except that part about you being in the 5th grade when I graduated from high school...
 
Additionally, my 18-4 has the logo on the side plate and a recess behind the knurled end of the ejector rod.
Again, nice work and the connections to world events gave a unique perspective. Except that part about you being in the 5th grade when I graduated from high school...

Yes, The early pinned barrel Model 18-4 (and 17-4) was more like the 70's era 18-3 with its gas ring reloctaed to the cylinder instead of the yoke,

The change to the crush fit barrels in early 80's also saw the large right side trademark migrate over to the left side frame and get smaller, the 3 letter serial prefix and a change in the Magna grips to a large blocky square shape but unlike their Magnum big brothers the K22 cylinder continued being counter bored.
 

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