The rifle arrived today and the finish is lighter than my 44. I don't know if you can tell from this photo or not. It also has less grain than its older cousin. New 357 at top. 44 bottom.
I haven't cleaned out the shipping gunk yet, but I think the trigger is going to clean up better than the 44. This new one has that silly bolt safety. It also has the Taurus Security System. If you are not familiar with it, there is a small allen key that ships with the rifle. It mates with a keyway in the base of the hammer.