I bought a new 642 two years ago and it is well made and finished. The action is as crisp and smooth as any factory J-Frame I have ever handled from any era. The only change I made was to replace the factory grip with a Hogue Boot Grip, because the original S&W Boot Grip did not have quite enough clearance for use with HKS speedloaders.

I think the new J-Frames are just fine.

Life is like a purple antelope on a field of tuna fish...