Fas 6004 v 604

[zooma]

Again
This was an issue with the 604 AND NOT the 6004.
The latter had a change of design in this area to make it stronger.

The 6004 appears to be made of a more malleable (softer) alloy than the old 604, and this together with the new radius on the cocking lever/barrel shroud should make it a lot less prone to a fracture in this area than the old 604 was if it should be dropped.

We will have to wait a few more years yet to see if the 6004 castings harden and embrittle with age (as some alloy castings do) but the barrel shroud does still have that radius to protect it and being softer to start with they may well stay more malleable over the years and remain more resistant to impact fracture than the old 604 castings.

Also, being a current production model, a replacement barrel shroud casting would presumably be available if one were ever needed?

The vast majority of 604 (Mk 1 and Mk 2 versions) are "getting on" a bit now, but they have survived and are mostly still working well, but has anyone looked to see if the 6004 barrel shroud will fit the 604 to make a suitable replacement for the few that have cracked?

If the 6004 barrel shroud will fit the early (FAS made) 604 air pistols this would be an ideal scenario as even the odd few that have been dropped and suffered a fractured barrel shroud could be saved.