Cool tool!
I didn't know they came apart. I've never actually seen/held a real (or repro) Patterson revolver. I remember one that figured prominently in a Gunsmoke episode. 'Course, it was blown way out of proportion - it was shown to be a real magnum of a gun on the show, unlike what I'd imagine they really were. I hardly think they were more powerful than your basic 45 Colt round, and not very comparable to a Walker or a Dragoon at all! (Which I've also seen in the show.)
However, and this is a bit off the Patterson tool topic, but one of the things I DO like about the old Gunsmoke shows and movies, was that they DID show some neat guns. I've seen Remingtons, Merwin-Hulberts, Colt-Root rifles, and at least one Root revolver, as well as other less-than-common guns. I've actually seen REAL Henrys ... as well as plenty of Hollyweird-Henrys too!