Wot? You have trouble operating the toggle? American design best design! It's certainly better looking than the P-35, M1911, S&W M&P Victory (talk about rough machining of the exterior), Nambu, Tokarev or Webley revolver (ungainly but I do have a soft spot for them). OK, life or death I'll take the 1911 or P-35 over the P-08. Both are less likely to jam due to dirt.
Of the more modern guns I like the Uzi submachine gun. Transporter 2 and Lola. Looks good but someone is better....
If we're talking Lugers, I'll have to vote for the Artillery Luger. They're just off the charts cool. The Luger is a WAY better pistol than most Americans think.
I find this little beastie very aesthetically pleasing. Functional. $129,250 at a recent Rock Island sale, so doubtless of far more historical/collector significance than I can fathom. Western Legends (The Colt gatling on there is 'beautiful' to my eye too. Function leading form, successfully.)
I own/have owned a ton of guns, IMHO the most beautiful was my 1862 Richmond rifled musket in .58 caliber. The shiny metal, beautiful wood and brass accents contribute to a simple elegance.
An uncle had a kit built percussion black power I shot and when he said " It has a 'hair' trigger', he wasn't kidding !
Maybe slightly hard to explain, but I find this a rather handsome piece: Strange, isn't it. I've a fair amount of experience with Brown Bess muskets. I'm not sure any of them really pass a 'normal' aesthetic test, but there's something that affects the mind along the lines of 'Like it or not, this little slab of technology made our modern world, out of all proportion to the sum of its parts' that tremendously pleases/fascinates me. Imagine moving from Flint or match to percussion... Must've been quite the 'Whoah?! moment'.