Don't have the gun yet; based on handling several lately I'm planning on ordering an El Patron in the next week or two.
I probably should have stressed it more strongly in the opening post, but I definitely do NOT want the straight-up fanning hammer as in the second pic. Would think (don't know for sure until I try it) that the style in the upper pic would work better for me, because with their normal hammers the colts & ubertis are awkward cocking simply because their hammers end up so low when they reach full-cock. I had an old model vaquero, bought back in 1995 or 96, that I didn't like mainly because of the caliber - it was a .357, and the small hole in the barrel & chambers left so much steel there that even with the short 4 5/8" barrel it felt muzzle-heavy and I never liked the balance of it. I haven't fired a New Model Vaquero, but I've handled a couple recently and have decided I'd rather stick with a gun that has the more traditional action-feel, such as the uberti's do.
{edit - what's a good source for a spare hammer to tinker with? I don't want to attempt any mods without having a spare on hand. Thanks}