Sorry guys, but I just don't have the same experience with Kimbers yall have at all.

I've shot thousands of rounds through mine without a single malfunction nor break down. Mine is the external extractor kind too. Never a misfeed. Never a stove top. Never a FTE.

As for MIM parts, to be honest, it's really a moot point IMO. I see it as something miniscule that Kimber haters hold on to as an excuse. I know that Kimbers have had actual failures, but so has every other manufacturer at one point or another. Matter of fact EVERY 1911 out there, bar custom ones/Sigs/Ruger, have some MIM parts in them. Springfields have MIM parts, Colts have MIM parts, even semi-custom guns have MIM parts in them (Wilson for example).

Instead of worrying about MIM parts, the real question should be: Are YOU going to run 10,000 rounds through the weapon you choose or not? If you are, then MAYBE MIM parts may matter. 99% of people don't run 10k rounds through their guns, so therefore they may very likely NEVER experience any of the MIM part breakage that are gossiped about all over the internet. Do failures happen? Of course. But if MIM parts are good enough for high performance engine blocks and high tolerance parts in thousands of other applications, then it's sure good enough for a handgun IMO.

I currently own and have owned Colts, Kimbers, Sigs, Taurus, Rugers, Brownings, Remingtons, S&W's, and Walthers. ALL have MIM parts, except the Sigs and Rugers. I've not experienced any major failures that would scare me, except out Hi-Points and Lorcins and most of those I accredit to ammo sensitivity (which is still not acceptable IMO). I think the big Kimber haterism comes from bad QC in a $1000 gun. I actually agree with that. If you are paying that kind of money, you expect a certain level of finish. I get it. But IMO if you buy a $500 base gun only to turn around and CHANGE out almost the entire thing to have the same things that a Kimber has out of the box......there's a reason for that IMO too.

Anyway, I like my guns due to functionality and looks. If I like it, I buy it and use it. I'm not an elitist that thinks if I don't have it, it's automatically no good. Many people, especially in the 1911 realm, are very elitist like. I absolutely do not like long slide basic MIL spec looking 1911's and some people swear by them. I don't see the functionality of a lot of things people googoo and gaga over, but they do. To each their own I say.

My long .02

BTW, the gun pictured in this thread is pretty cool looking IMO. Some things aren't my cup of tea, but overall it looks pretty good to me. Question is how much are they going to ask for it when it does come out.