I caught an old episode of Miami Vice recently, the goofty story arc where Crockett really thinks he's Burnett and turn criminal. Watching it I was reminded that during those particular episodes, Don Johnson was given a two tone Sig P220. Now, I've seen a lot of two tone Sig classic pistols, but I had forgotten this one was actually reversed in color... black slide over silver frame.

For all the guys here that are much sharper than me on West German P220's, I have a two questions:

1. Was that a factory option back then? I was really getting into Sigs heavy about then and devoured every catalog or gun rag I could get, and I don't remember seeing that particular combo.

2. Since the frame was silver, I am assuming that it was the electroless nickel finish that Klein Plating did for Sig back then... there would not have been any other options, correct?

3. Anyone else ever see that pistol in that particular livery? I did quite a bit of image searches using a variety of terms, but all I could find in the same black over silver style was on a P226 (not P220), that had been used in a Fast and Furious movie (image is from IMFDB).



Thanks for the info in advance!

The pistol in your post is a Nickel finish frame.

There is an P220 SAO, P220ST and P220 10mm reverse TT. All have stainless frames. All had black controls.

There were also P226, P229, and 1911.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
The pistol in your post is a Nickel finish frame.

There is an P220 SAO, P220ST and P220 10mm reverse TT. All have stainless frames. All had black controls.

They were making stainless frames in 1988?

quote:

Originally posted by TexasRaider:...
They were making stainless frames in 1988?

quote:

Originally posted by TexasRaider:

They were making stainless frames in 1988?

No they were NOT making stainless frames in the late 80's save for their single stack .380 the P230. In the early to mid 90's they did introduce slides that were stainless steel for the P229 chambered in .40 S&W and .357 Sig, but the frame was still alloy, and the guns were black all the way around.

So I still have every issue of Sig Sauers trade publication called "Sig Arms Quarterly" that was published from 1989 to 1995. There was also a single issue of a magazine from Sig Sauer that came out in 1994 called "Sigarms Handgunning" Lastly there was a revival of a trade publication by Sigarms from 2003 to 2005 titled "Velocity."

So I poured through these issues. The only factory two tone gun that I saw advertised in the time frame of the episodes of Miami Vice you're referencing is late in the 4th season, (late winter/early spring of '88), was a two toned P225 in the same manner as the P220 you're showing. However it was for an advertisement for the P225 as an ideal undercover/back up gun for a police detective. The advertisent shows a detective holding a two tone P225, while observing a couple of sketchy dudes breaking and entering. I'm positive it's not the lighting. The slide is clearly black, and the frame likely a nickel finish of some sort. In fairness this is the only one I've ever seen. I never actually saw one out in the wild.

The first two tone guns that I see in the "Quaterly" that would become commercially available was in an article in the Summer of 1994 when they did a story of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol adopting the P220, P226, and P228 all in the nickel slide/nitride frame two tone. I'm pretty sure these were in gun stores well beforehand say '92-'93.

The first commercially available two tone in the manner of your gun was shown as a limited edition P226 Stainless, with a Nitron finish slide, and a stainless frame. This was advertised in their publication "Velocity" as being available in February 2004.

So a lot of information there. But the simple answer is that the producers of Miami Vice very likely contacted Sig Sauer and requested that two tone P220, and the powers that be in Germany and New Hampshire were all too happy to provide said gun(s). As many on this board know the gun that the Crocket character used in the original pilot episode back in September of '84 was a .45 caliber P220 with a European style magazine release. So it sort of makes sense that his undercover persona of Burnett is using an updated version four years later.

quote:

Originally posted by TexasRaider:
They were making stainless frames in 1988?

Yeah, so I should've phrased that better... I've been hardcore into Sig pistols since about '87, so yes I know clearly and obviously that Sig wasn't making stainless frames back then...that was sarcasm, but poorly worded.

Anyway, going back and looking at a screenshot, it's pretty clear that Crockett's P220 was very unlikely a factory pistol, as the controls are not uniformly the same color. It looks like the decocker and slide lock are nickel, while the takedown lever is black. I'm guessing they wanted a new pistol for the 'Burnett' character, but just like the pilot, the normal black P220 just didn't show up on the standard def video of the time, so the prop master probably just cobbled that pistol together out of two P220's. That was still a very popular pistol in 1989, so a prop master could easily have had two of them laying around and played parts switch with 'em. That's probably all there is to this tiny little mini-mystery....

I have never seen a factory original reverse 2-tone (Ni frame / black slide) folded slide SIG. The only one I saw that was in such configuration is a CPO from a 1991 P228, so, who knows what its original finish was.

Why the sarcasm?

You asked and I correctly answered.

Q- "1. Was that a factory option back then?"
Q- "2. ...there would not have been any other options, correct?"

A- "The pistol in your post is a Nickel finish frame."

Q- "3. Anyone else ever see that pistol in that particular livery? I did quite a bit of image searches using a variety of terms, but all I could find..."

A- There is an P220 SAO, P220ST and P220 10mm reverse TT. All have stainless frames. All had black controls.

There were also P226, P229, and 1911.

(I am very literal, so perhaps I misunderstood something)

Ah. Q's reply. Now I understand. You were asking if there was ever a reverse TT in that time period. And I thought you were asking if there were other reverse TT guns (ever) since you were not finding them when searching.

And I get the point of the sarcasm as well.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Ah. Q's reply. Now I understand. You were asking if there was ever a reverse TT in that time period. And I thought you were asking if there were other reverse TT guns (ever) since you were not finding them when searching.

And I get the point of the sarcasm as well.

I have to apologize, my original response was very poorly worded; maybe the simple addition of a would've added a more accurate tone. I didn't mean to come off as a rude or a smart aleck, I just meant to (attempt) to say rather whimsically, "Oh, they did that back then, LOL!" I fired way off target and missed badly, my apologies.

But yeah, after doing more research, I think you and the others are correct, that was simply not a factory offering, at least not a normal one.

Thanks for the input though, guys, I appreciate it.
Cheers!