VanMan, I would just like to thank you for starting this thread with such a superb and detailed review of what is otherwise an unknown make of revolver in this country. (Thanks also to the others who have supplemented your comments with their own comments about their own new Alfa revolvers.)
This sort of detailed information from someone who has decided to Take One For The Team is very useful for those of us still sitting on the fence and pondering. And it is especially valuable for someone who would be ordering from an out-of-province online dealer with no chance to fondle ... uhm, caress ... uhm, slobber over ... aha, examine (that's it "examine carefully" - knew I would find the appropriately mature phrase eventually) one before buying it.
IMHO, this sort of information exchange is one of the best aspects of CGN.
For the person wondering about the durability of the crane, to my eyes it looks relatively beefy from the photos; certainly no more fragile than the one on my older S&W 22/32 Kitgun for example.
One of my pet peeves has always been that many shooters treat the swing-out cranes on DA revolvers with far less care than they should. As much as possible, the cylinder should be eased open with a push of the fingers, caught and cradled with the other hand, then gently but firmly pushed all the way home with the fingers again. It may not be possible to use as much care when doing competitive speed shooting as when doing slow and deliberate target shooting, but even there, a shooter should avoid "whipping" the gun to jar the unsupported cylinder hard against the crane's travel limits.
If you watch revolver shooters like Jerry Miculek, they push the cylinder open and closed with their fingers rather than snapping it with their wrist.
If treated properly, I think I would expect the crane on these Alfa revolvers to last as well as those on most others; and I've seen fine S&Ws or older Colts with cranes that were trashed in short order the other way.
