While production was never on par with the American made Remington No1 Rolling Block rifles (premier examples being the M1868 & M1870 Spanish Remingtons), nor even with the numbers of British Martini Henrys or Providence Tool Company Peabody and Peabody-Martini Rifles produced, the basic M1870 Comblain was certainly a successful rifle for its time, seeing adoption across multiple different countries in Europe, South America and even the Middle East. Still, by 1880 the design was due for a refresh and the companies making up the consortium manufacturing the Comblain undertook improvements in the rifle, both as to design and quality control. In 1881 the Liège syndicate introduced the improved Fusil Comblain Modèle 1881 (Comblain rifle model 1881) featuring an extended all steel action with sling swivels as located as originally designed, ahead of the receiver and below the upper barrel band.

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By the time that this model was adopted by the Belgian Buarde Civique and readied for production, it featured the same extended steel receiver into which the buttstock, which now had a short integral tenon similar to that found in British Martini Henrys, allowing it to lock into the rear of the receiver thus eliminating the receiver's rear most transverse screw. The shape of the hammer was different from the earlier model allowing for easier cocking and setting to halfcock, and the sling swivels were now affixed to the comb of the buttstock and below the rear barrel band. All hardware was also now steel rather than bronze or brass.​