Recently I had the opportunity to look at a pair of new RIAs that a member and his wife bought for range use. Hers had a minor failure to go to battery issue that was corrected in about 20 minutes, and they report that all is well with both guns rockin' and rollin' as intended, along with decent accuracy that won't win any bullseye matches, but is fully up to informal target practice and the ritual Sunday Afternoon Ringing of the Steel.
The guns are made up almost entirely from cast (not MIM) parts, including the frames and slides, so they probably won't be as durable under long-term hard use as machined steel...but the castings appeared to be good quality with no flash on the small parts...smooth and nicely finished...and only a hint of flash here and there on the frames...mostly on the underside of the grip safety tangs.
Compared to the old Thompson Auto Ordnance 1911s of the early 80s, the
RIAs are much better as to function, fit and finish...and not a bad deal for the money if somebody is looking for an entry-level 1911 clone. Of course,
as with anything else that is mass-produced, problems are bound to crop up on occasion...and these two pistols can't be taken as assurance of being representative of the line...but my impression was favorable, with all applicable caveats in force. I may even pick one up at some point to wring out just to see what they're made of...and to save some wear and tear on my Colt beaters that are gettin' a bit long in the tooth. Of course...If anybody has one that they'd like to donate for a torture test in the name of research, I'm happy to oblige