when considering a pt1911 its important to remember that their frames are not 1911 spec. Thus many parts (ignition group for example) must be ordered specifically from tarus, or another brand that makes pt1911 parts. This pretty much kills the deal for me. Also those pistols seem very hit and miss, some run and some dont. Warrenty work for tarus has to go to south america if i recall, another down fall.

Personally i like springfield and colt base models (series 70 only), then build them up from there.

Like John (truegiant) said RIA can be built up, but there is a reason the top smiths in the country pic the colt series 70 or the springfield milspec as thier buildup guns. RIA would be a good option for the low budget builds.

1911s are tricky, if you end up being interested we should probably start another thread as 1911 discussion will go on for decades